Reverence for Life (UK)

THE PLACE OF ETHICS IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE. Editor?s note: The context of this conversation is fully explained in the text. It marked the beginning of Percy Mark?s sustained effort to explore and give expression to his attempt to seriously engage with the challenges of our time and to ?nd the root-causes which work towards a change of direction.

18.01.2008. It was mid-January. My wife Vreni and I were spending a few weeks in the Bernese Oberland, in the small town of Zweisimmen, where Vreni?s brother and sister live. Skiing conditions were good and Vreni?s brother, Klaus, having just retired from being a sixth-form teacher, had the time to accompany me on the slopes. At the age of 72 I was no longer the fastest skier on the pistes, nor was I interested in any black runs, but skiing is still my most favourite sport. Klaus, aged 65, was much ?tter and faster than I, but ambition for speed and daring were no longer his main concerns either. So we had a good time together enjoying the ?oating feeling of gliding gently through the powder snow and perfecting our style in making turns with the minimum of effort.

Lunch on the mountain is by no means the least of the attractions to be found in this way of life. On this occasion we had chosen the restaurant high up on the Saanersloch to have our frankfurters and chips and enjoy the glorious sunshine on the terrace, with panoramic views all around. We chatted about the wonderful snow-conditions, the lack of "crowds" after the New Year stampede, the amazing weather and of course the fantastic views, with Klaus explaining the various mountain ranges and peaks, - as you do when you?re high up in Switzerland - even if you?re an Austrian! After a little pause whilst munching our chips, I started the conversation again:

PERCY: "May I ask you something completely different?"

KLAUS: "Of course."

PERCY: "Could you describe for me what the words ?Culture? and ?Civilization? mean to you? Do they mean more or less the same?"

KLAUS: "No, I don?t think of them as being the same. Under ?Culture? I would include music, painting, sculpture, - all the major arts, - like literature, theatre, opera, also ?lms and the like. Until a short while ago I thought that only the classical arts and music were included, but I had to give up this narrow interpretation when our government offered ?nancial support in the form of grants to encourage our cultural life; - because then jazz-groups and pop-groups came forward, - alpine folk-singers and yodeling groups and all sorts of activities which had to be accepted as ?cultural pursuits?. Mind you, one does have to ask oneself nowadays, how far you can take that. Anyway, that is our culture. Other peoples have other cultures. History shows that there were periods of ?high culturural achievements? and then again ?cultural low-points? with very little that has been handed down. Civilization is more dif?cult to de?ne, and there is a real danger of being biased: but anyway, crudely expressed, we are civilized in comparison to a bushman in Africa. Here it is more a question of the organization of society, its institutions, laws and traditions, its technical and scienti?c achievements, its works of craft and architectural merit. Here too, history has examples of  high civilizations like those of ancient Egypt and Greece, or the Mayas and Incas of South America or the ancient Chinese.........." I interrupted:

PERCY: "This is most helpful, -many thanks. Now I will tell you why I asked the question. You know that I have immersed myself deeply in the legacy of Albert Schweitzer. We know that from the age of 25 onwards, he was convinced that western civilization is in decline if not in a state of terminal disintegration. And I am trying to correctly understand and evaluate this view of his: - I mean, - to ?nd out, when this decline began, when in his view our civilization was at its height and what it is, that is being lost in the decline."

KLAUS: "Well, in my career, especially as a 6th form teacher, I have experienced very clearly what is being lost. I can certainly give you an example of that! You know that it has always been a great concern of mine to incorporate as much cultural content into my classroom activities as possible. We did a lot of play-acting and of course a lot of music, we made extensive trips to France, Italy and Holland to see their architecture and their art, and we made frequent visits to museums and art galleries. I always tried to provide maximum opportunity for my pupils to have varied cultural experiences, - and that was completely incorporated into the curriculum. This has all been stopped. The curriculum now prescribed has changed priorities to such an extent, that such things are no longer possible. There you have one example anyway."

PERCY: "It?s hardly credible, that this has happened here in Switzerland as well as in England. My daughter Franziska, who is a primary school teacher as you know, has a very similar story to tell, and we thought that this only applied to the UK. It?s an excellent example. But may I go back to Schweitzer, - because the crux of what I am working on has to do with ethics. As a result of my repeated reading of some of Schweitzer?s books I was under the impression, that ethics are an essential part of what is considered to be true Culture and Civilization, and I have assumed that this is generally accepted. I was therefore most surprised when, during conversations with my sister and her husband in Vienna last November, it became clear, that this is not at all so. They like to quickly consult the dictionary in such conversations and that conclusively proved me wrong: - and now you have clearly con?rmed that for me too: In the generally accepted de?nition of these two words, ethics does not get a mention. Of course I then immediately checked this out in the Oxford dictionary when I got back to England and found it con?rmed again."

KLAUS: "Well I do believe that is so, -but of course I haven?t got access to a dictionary up here on the mountain. Ethics are not something many people talk about these days; - but perhaps it is coming more into focus again now, - I mean in connection with the concerns about the environment, the protection of nature, climate change and all that."

PERCY: "Well, for me that doesn?t necessarily have anything to do with ethics. If we begin to realize that we are endangering our habitat, and may be even our existence, and we start to worry about that, then this is initially only the instinct of self-preservation kicking in and has nothing to do with ethics. It would only indicate, that we are realizing our stupidity and ignorance compared to the animal world, which would never knowingly destroy its living conditions. In connection with the concept of "Civilization" this only shows that man as a creature has sunk in intelligence below that of the of the animal world and would only re-enforce Schweitzer?s view of things in this respect. That mankind is beginning to take notice and worry about it, could of course be regarded as a turning point, - though not from the high plateau of incomparable achievement which scientists and economists would have us believe, but from a low ebb of cultural and civilized behavior."

KLAUS: "Whaw, that is harsh! But I can see where you?re coming from."

We had ?nished our frankfurters and chips, and Klaus got up to bring some coffee and the obligatory Swiss chocolate. We sat and admired the view and enjoyed the fragrance of the coffee for a little while. Then Klaus asked:

KLAUS: "Well now, what do you understand by ethics? What can you say about it?"

I had to gather my thoughts in response to such a direct question. Eventually I tried to answer:

PERCY: "Schweitzer of course concerned himself very deeply with this question. He studied all the great religions to which he had access, in order to ?nd out to what extent they embodied and encompassed ethical thinking within them. In the end he came back to Christianity as having - in-spite of everything - the highest conception of the ethical."

KLAUS: "And that is... ?"

PERCY: "He refers only to the direct sayings of Jesus which have been handed down: ?love thy neighbour as thyself?, - ?love thine enemies?, - ?if someone strikes your right cheek, offer him your left also?, etc, -it is these statements he claims are the highest expression of ethical thought."

KLAUS: "And the 10 Commandments?"

PERCY: "Jesus of course lived in a jewish community in which the 10 Commandments were common knowledge; but he spoke only of two: ?Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.....? and ?Love thy neighbour as thyself?. If you can keep these two, you won?t transgress against any of the 10, which are more like social rules and guidelines, - points of support for those who can?t cope with the two which Jesus proclaimed. Schweitzer always refused to set up such rules and guidelines about his ?Reverence for Life?. He repeatedly came under pressure to do so in respect of vegetarianism, vivisection, animal experiments etc. People wanted him to say something categorical about these things, but he always avoided it; - only in the area of animal sports such as bull-?ghting and the like could he not contain himself and he condemned these outright. For him it was always a question of an individual decision in a speci?c situation, - a question of the individual conscience as the only relevant authority. And I think that in this he was a follower of Jesus - and that this is the truth about ethics."

KLAUS: "That makes a lot of sense to me."

PERCY: "There was something else that was very important to Schweitzer: he was looking for an ethic that was compatible with a life-af?rming view of the world. Nearly all ethical concepts which he found in the great religions seemed to him to go hand in hand with a life-negating world-view; a view in which the ?World? was evil, - was that to be shunned and from which to escape. Monastic life and hermitages in Europe and the life in ashrams and the retreats to the forest in the East are all examples of this way of life. For him the ethic which he sought for the future of humanity would have to cope with daily life in the market-place, - would have to stand its ground in the rough and tumble of life, and conversely, the life of society would have to be in harmony with the ethical conception and accept it as its basis."

KLAUS: "And he found such an ethic within Christianity?"

PERCY: "More as a possibility than in reality. It was exactly this, that he experienced as the great disappointment of western, - christian - civilization: that until now the realization of this possibility has left so much to be desired and that the 19 and 20 centuries moved further and further away from such a realization. He found beginnings of such ethical thinking with Zoroaster in the Middle East and with the ancient Chinese thinkers. In India he found both Buddhism and Hinduism to be too life-negating. Amongst European thinkers he mentions the Gnostics, Spinoza, Hegel and Kant in this context, but I really don?t know enough about these. Have you read any of them?"

KLAUS: "No, I?m afraid  I haven?t either."

PERCY: "To understand Schweitzer properly I would actually have to read all these people."

KLAUS: "But that would be a huge task."

PERCY: "And especially for me, since I am such a slow reader. One of my brothers in Vienna advised, that I should look these people up in an encyclopedia of philosophy. He thought that would suf?ce."

KLAUS: "And you don?t believe that it would?"

Once more I fell into a prolonged silence. It was wonderfully quiet up here and conducive to ?just sitting?. Eventually:

PERCY: "You know, it seems to me in this conversation, thinking about this question, that Schweitzer challenged humanity to conceive and imagine a culture and a civilization in which ethical thought is a fundamental ingredient. This challenge is perhaps his truly original contribution, and a fundamentally new concept for the West. Now if amongst these philosophers he found ?rst indications and beginnings of this, then it is most unlikely, that historians and the writers of encyclopedia would have found and recognized these also and included them in their summaries."

KLAUS: "You might be right about that. Then you will have to read the originals yourself. I wish you luck! But what do you mean by his truly original contribution?"

PERCY: "I mean the concept of a culture and civilization based on ethical thought! As you have perfectly illustrated:  in the general usage of these two words, ethics has no part to play. But I have to say, that in my view this is not new for the East. Unfortunately, the East is hell-bent on copying the West! - not the other way round; - a further indication of civilization in decline - globally!"

KLAUS: "Yes, I wanted to say: what about Buddhism, - for a Buddhist this is surely quite familiar territory ?"

PERCY: "Absolutely! Anyway, for me Schweitzer has not evaluated the Indians quite correctly, although he studied them and wrote a lot about them. Perhaps he only had limited access to their written material and maybe he did not have anyone who knew the Indian religions thoroughly from personal experience. He could read Latin and Greek, I think, and maybe even Hebrew, but not Sanskrit and only very little English. You know that I have immersed myself pretty thoroughly in Indian thought and know that for them Schweitzer?s ?Reverence for Life? is something they take for granted, - certainly the Buddhists do, and the Hindus have a much stronger life-af?rmation than Schweitzer gave them credit for."

KLAUS: "Is that not also true for the indigenous inhabitants of America? Their reverence for Nature and natural forces and their love of Mother Earth is only now becoming accessible for us through recently published books and stories."

PERCY: "That is so true!"

We again fell silent, letting our gaze rest on the shining white mountain-range opposite, where delicately transparent plumes of mist were chasing like living veils over the ridges and peaks, glowing luminously in the afternoon sun. Klaus explained that this was the effect of the southerly winds coming up from Italy. Then I began again:

PERCY: "Yes, - globalization! Perhaps there are some good aspect to it after all!"

KLAUS: "How do you mean?"

PERCY: "That we now have access to so much from all corners of the earth."

KLAUS: "But whether that is a good thing is still questionable. Whether we will cope with all that wealth of information and know what to do with it? Is it not likely, that we will be  inhibited in our own creative action and our own independent thinking? Just as when your desk is piled high with papers and innumerable suggestive brochures, and you can?t decide where to start."

And Klaus added after a little pause, - with a deep sigh:

KLAUS: "You know, it is so wonderful to be able to sit up here together and have such a conversation!"

PERCY: "Yes truly!" I responded in a whisper.

KLAUS: "As you know, I am very happy with the tasks which occupy me now at the beginning of my retirement: the music with the choir, the planned trips to places of cultural interest like the one to Andalucia in March with a coach full of people, and of course my new role as grandfather. As ever, it is still my deep interest to open up opportunities for people to visit cultural centers and have experiences of our own and other cultures which they couldn?t otherwise have. But my desk is a bit, - well, as I said - piled high with stacks of papers, and the telephone and e-mails are constantly on the go with ?xing dates and venues and making all sorts of arrangements. In all this, to have a conversation like the one we are having, which opens up distant horizons for the mind and touches ideas and thoughts for which normally there never is time, is something very special. And that is something very refreshing up here in the silence. From now on I will always have to think of this moment when I am up here."

PERCY: "Yes, it is a great present, - and there is something of grace about it, - to be able to spend a few hours in the exchange of deeper thoughts without haste and the usual pressure of time. For me, moments of silence and the contemplation of fundamental ideas has become a vital necessity. There was a time when I nearly lost it altogether for lack of access to this world of quiet and deeper contemplation. That was soon after Vreni and I started our life together in London. She didn?t notice much of the state I was in at the time. She needed all her strength and concentration to forge a life for herself, and for us together, in a totally strange country with a language she could as yet not speak and where she did not know anybody. That took enormous courage and all her energy. But for me, - after my time with Schweitzer and the whole African experience, I found myself back in London with the task of starting and maintaining a family, - and I found life in the huge metropolis utterly senseless and mad and I was barely coping."

KLAUS:  "I can understand that, - but what did you do?"

PERCY: "A friend rescued me. You know him, James, - he came to stay with you once up here in Zweisimmen."

KLAUS: "Yes of course, I remember him."

PERCY: "We met, and got to talking, and he noticed that things were dif?cult for me. So he invited me to take part in a course, where he was in charge of a beginners class at that time. It was a course for the study of normal psychology. I took him up on the offer and started going there. Later your sister started there too. Eventually we were taught to meditate and my inner life found nourishment once more. I got started on a path, - albeit there was often only the immediate next step to be seen; - but a path on which not to go forward is now no longer imaginable for me in this life."

The wispy strands of mist falling over the distant ridges coalesced into clouds and rose into the sky. A dense haze began to draw across the sun and it became cold instantly. We two friends got up, hugged each other and skied down the mountain, gliding smoothly through the wonderful powder-snow on the way home.

(Written in German and translated into English by Percy Mark.)