I have come to the conclusion, that we have to re-visit the definitions and what we understand by these two words:
CIVILIZATION and CULTURE:

It is obvious enough from some of the titles of Schweitzer's books, but I have only just realized how central to his concerns the meaning of these two concepts was to him.

I therefore think that, at this time when, what we have been calling "the civilized world", is causing such havoc and destruction on our planet, an attempt to formulate a new vision of what it might mean to be "civilized" and "cultured" in the 21st Century, could be of far-reaching benefit.

Anyone prepared to have a go? - we don't have to cover everything in one hit; - little by little we might piece something valuable together! Perhaps we have to first be prepared to acknowledge what has gone wrong with the current definitions?

I would find it especially helpful to have input into such a discussion from areas of the globe we in the "West" have traditionally excluded from the "club of the civilized". - i.e. from the "developing" as opposed to the "developed" (as in 'arrived', 'completed') or as sometimes referred to, as the "third world".

with bated breath.......Percy

That is exactly my point too! Gauky.

But to follow Schweitzer's example: when he was put under house-arrest in Lambarene in 1915, and started straight away to continue working on his manuscript for a book called "Wir Epigonen". He soon decided, that he could not only criticize our civilization, but had to come up with some constructive ideas of what to do about it.

That is my question: what can we do about it? We have to come up with our own new conception of what it would mean to be civilized.

Civilization and Culture to me are both terms that encompass a wide range of behaviours, belief systems and complex social interactions. One can correctly say there is a strong drug culture in this suburb. One can also discuss opposing or waring civilizations. In this context these words are a long way from having a link with ethical behaviour.

A civilized person on the other hand, I understand to be educated intelligent and therefore complex. A person with strong cultural expression I would consider to be someone with talent for art music, conversation etc.

I see the perfecting of society, civilization and culture to be linked to ethics very directly. Civilization in itself does not have to be ethical it is just inherently more complex than simple societies. However for me a better civilization would be a more ethical one. So the focus should be on ethical behaviour.

Within everything that exists in life from simple things like food harvesting, travel to work, friendship to more complex things like nations, multinational companies or civilization/s we are always applying our own code or framework for decision making, which guides us. When decisions and actions are defined by groups then they have within them this code, which is normally more complex and is almost always support by legal systems.

The message that I got from Albert Schweitzer was that we must bring simplicity to this process of finding the right decision making code. Strive for a truly ethical framework.

Reverence for Life is a core start point that if fostered by the individual will lead to ethical interactions with ones surroundings.

There are many things in the world that are inherently very unethical, war being the pinnacle of all of this. However I think we need to focus on improving what we can and hope that these bigger issues will also get resolved.

I have a lot more to say on this topic and will get back with a few references from books I have read recently to illustrate how I think we can make - and are making - progress in the right direction.

Hi Percy and all,

When ever I question my own ethics, values and what I believe to be civilized , I always hear Albert's words and I truly and religiously live by his words each day.  I also read a lot of Henry David Thoreau and his essay on Civil Disobedience is one that we should all read at some point, I believe.  

I tend to believe that despite the evil that abounds, we must remain centered in our ethic and live with a true reverence for life.  I know it's difficult.  But, we must always remember that someone will take notice of us and want to model their own behavior after ours.  

I'm having a horrible day Percy.  I came here today because I'm so heart broken and sick that I can barely stand to be alive at this moment.  My neighbor poisoned the rabbits in my yard ( the wild rabbits).  It's the same neighbor that did that a few years ago.  Anyway, I'm feeling completely disheartened, hopeless and disgusted with humanity.  I had to bury Luna, the female that's been with me for over 2 years.  I also buried another rabbit and a squirrel.  
I lay on the floor sobbing then filling with rage and disgust.  I feel as though I cannot bear to be in my own skin as a human.  
Please Percy and everyone, help recharge my spirit.  Help me to rise above this hell.  
I cannot even begin to describe the suffering that I am enduring right now and have been enduring all week ( having to deactivate traps, search for poison, etc..)
I even ordered another of Albert's books and I also bought a book by Ram Dass called, ' How Can I Help' which is recommended for anyone who dedicates their life to service- even if you are just being a role model.
I ordered some books by David Suzuki and Rachel Carson as well.

I'm in dire need of support and inspiration folks.  I'll give this topic some more thought and respond to it in the next day or so.  I need to relax and rest a bit for now.  

Peace and Love, Lizzie

Thank you Percy for your uplifting and compassionate words.  They did indeed help me to put this entire nightmare into a more enlightened perspective.  I had a very nice funeral for Luna yesterday and I buried her at the base of my life size St. Francis garden figure.  I wrapped her in a soft pillow case embroidered with hearts and I will carve a verse into a big stone for her.  Percy, while I was burying her, I realized how truly blessed I was to be able to have that final moment with her. Most wild animals would have died somewhere, never discovered.   But, Thurs afternoon as I was hanging laundry, I just happened to look over toward my neighbors flowerbed and the sun was shining down on this one particular part of the bed and I saw what appeared to be her body and of course, it was her.  She had died moments earlier.  Sadly, she was desperately attempting to nurse her babies in a nearby nest but fell over and died.  The babies are dead as well, probably from the poison.  I am so blessed that I was there when she was born and when she died.  Her beautiful spirit will live in my heart forever.
Every time I must endure this type of human-inflicted tragedy, I do grow from the experience and I could write a book on all my thoughts.  
To address your questions about my neighbor and why he behaves as he does may actually shed some light on this topic about civilization and culture which in my mind seems to translate into ' nature vs. nurture' in many respects.  So, let me begin by saying that ethics develops when an individual is wise enough to decide for themselves what is good vs. evil, what is ethical vs. inhumane, etc.. and we can only do this by having a desire to be able to distinguish between what we have been taught and socially conditioned to believe vs. what is spiritually ethical.  
As a scientist, I can attest that there are even scientists who fail to recognize the impact of many natural systems on the whole of this earth.   Why is this?  Well, I believe that the way we are educated in early life will determine how we choose to learn and apply anything in life later on.  I was taught at an early age to question authority, question everything and ask, ' Who, what, where, why, when and how' when addressing any topic.  I seek the truth in all things and I was taught that with every action, there is a consequence.  I was given free will by my parents but also taught that I WILL reap what I sow and should choose my path wisely and compassionately.
Ultimately, the quality of education at home and at school will determine how someone chooses to utilize information in later life- it is the education of character. The other determining factor in what makes someone ethical, comes from their inner spirituality.  I'm not referring to religion.  My first husband was an athiest and he was one of the most spiritual, educated, compassionate, ethical humans I've ever known.  He and I shared a very passionate level of concern for the environment and living creatures.   Even though he didn't believe in a man-made God, he did believe in a Divine natural order that applies to life on earth.  We could recognize that every process on this earth was hinged to every other process on this earth and so we tread carefully through life with a very keen awareness of the footprint we left behind.
So what makes people like us different from my neighbor?  Given what I know about my neighbor, he seems to lack the ability to love or see the value in any living creature. So perhaps my loving nature frightens him as it's unfamiliar territory. To him, verything is expendable and can be replaced, even his wife and dog.  He's not formally educated and grew up in a very uneducated family where communication was limited to barking orders at one another in order accomplish the chores, etc...  He was also raised in a home where you never question what a parent says, you just do it.  He doesn't believe in God but he also isn't spiritual on any level.  His garden is only an extension of his ego and serves no other purpose in this life than to feed himself and it's success is clearly a physical symbol of his own worth.
I tend to believe that early childhood education that teaches a child to think more universally vs. egocentrically is key.  Even if those children are socially conditioned  to be materialistic and capitalistic, they will be more receptive to alternative philosophies in life when they present themselves. I will add more thoughts on this topic as I think more deeply about it.  But, for now, let me leave you with a quote by Walt Whitman called, ' What You Shall Do":
"Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men-go freely with powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and with the mothers or families-re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency, not only in its words, but in the silent lines of its lips and face, and between the lashes of your eyes, and in every motion and joint of your body."--from the 1855 preface to Leaves of Grass

Hello Michael,
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated and I am in agreement with you on most everything except your comparison of significant suffering.  What I mean is that for me, any suffering that presents itself to me on a personal level, has more significance in my life than all other suffering since I am a witness to it and therefore, should respond to it if I'm able to do so.  
I was blessed at birth as an Aquarian- the passionate humanitarian and I have always been an ethical, honest and dynamically compassionate soul who had dedicated my life to service.  I admit that there are times when I rant that I hate my compassionate nature but it's only because I don't like hurting and those feelings are always temporary.  
Additionally, I come from a line of human rights activists too which only fuels my humanitarian nature- Harriett Beecher Stowe, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Laura Beecher Comer and a few others.  I've been genetically forced to activism!  
I began to suffer burn-out back in 2005 during my social and political activistism and I read one of Dr. Schweitzer's quotes, "A great secret of success is to go through life as a man who never gets used up. " I realized then how important it was to nurture my own body, mind and spirit so that I could continue with my activism and humanitarian efforts.  Additionally, I began to live very strictly by my rule that I will help when I can or I will find someone to help or I will walk away when I'm absolutely forced to.  But the truth is Michael that in all the years that I've been in service, it's very rare that I ever find myself unable to make some sort of contribution toward an effort.
The book that I mentioned in an earlier post by Ram Dass was recommended to me by an associate scientist who knows all too well, the risk of emotional, mental and physical  burn-out.  I think the book is titled, 'How can I help?".  It's sort of a survival handbook for those in service.
My recent rabbit experience is a cultural, a social, spiritual and environmental issue for me. It's a symptom of a social and cultural disease.  Sadly,I realize how one man has not only negatively impacted the environment but also my soul.  I feel as though I cannot be myself and enjoy anything in my garden now because there will always be this underlying fear that he will destroy all that is good, natural and merciful on this earth.  I must move to another place when I can afford to do so ( cave or farm) the sooner the better.  A large part of nurturing my own spirit comes from the very thing this man steals from me- my relationship with nature and my home. I cannot safely enjoy having any nature living here.  He's not the only neighbor that I have that is so hateful.  My other neighbors bait birds to their home and then send their hunting dogs on them.  
I often ask myself why am I different from those folks?
I'm genetically wired to be a compassionate person but compassion was nurtured by my family, friends, and teachers.  My education in Biological Sciences further developed my ethics and my spirituality which is directly linked to all of it.  I see purpose in all my experiences and in all living beings. I find purpose in suffering. So, in a sense, I do not believe in 'suffering' as a bad thing.  I know it's uncomfortable but it's always temporary if we do not allow ourselves to suffer in vain.
I recently read Eckert Tolles book, ' A New Earth' and he addresses the collective conscious of this world as it relates to civilization, culture and spirit.  Very good book.  
I agree with your comments about how education influences ethics but I've also known some highly educated unethical folks ( I currently work with many) In fact, I think that sometimes too much formal education can be harmful in that it seems to create chronic myopia ( nearsightedness).  
Charlotte Gilman wrote her thoughts about social ethics in 1914 and I think we could say that her theories still apply today:
..that we cannot progress to a fully social ethics unless we understand the morality of collective action from a specifically sociological point of view. Gilman argues that in order to be fully progressive, ethics must shift from its traditional focus on individual behaviors to the structure, morality, and outcomes of social or group actions. The social ills she addresses in her attempt to advocate for a reexamination of our ethics include topics still relevant today: militarism, waste, religious intolerance, conspicuous consumption, greed, environmental degradation, preventable diseases, and patriarchal oppression in its numerous manifestations. Traditional ethics fail to resolve the enduring problems facing society because our received ethical systems are invariably and mistakenly founded on individualist rather than social logics. The shape of our collective future, if it is to be progressive and morally responsible, depends fundamentally on adopting a sociological perspective, and our guiding principle must be to make the world a safe and nurturing place for babies and children. Anything less is morally degenerate.

In the USA, the neo-con fundamentalists have often been the less compassionate.  They use religion to justify their dominance over the animal kingdom and the environment resulting in degradation.  Religion, a cultural manifestation, doesn't promote free thinking or personal accountability.
I've run out of space so I must sign off for now. ( sorry to ramble so)
Peace, Lizzie

Greetings Percy,

Guess what song I sing almost every day ( it seems to come naturally to me without any affinity for it actually), Imagine by John Lennon.  Your words reminded me of that song.

I know you will enjoy Eckert's book because he had the exact same thoughts that you and many of us have about how we are in desperate need a collective moral conscience.  

Percy, at the risk of sounding cynical and hopeless, let me just say that in almost every moment of every day, I have two opposing thoughts at all times:
My initial thought is that we have evolved into such materialist and capitalistic creatures that we could never ever return to a more spiritual life.  And, with that said, let me also say that I know that when we choose to identify ourselves with material things, we simultaneously decrease our spiritual awareness and of self in this world.  
But, my second thought is that, although many like myself must suffer the consequences of others' unethical, hateful, degrading choices in this life, it is we who will plant the seeds of love and peace that will eventually be harvested by others.  We may not see the results of our good seed but we must trust that a green tree will emerge.  I also believe that ' God picks on powerful people' and what I mean is that he chooses his teachers wisely.  Unfortunately the best teachers are those who will suffer the greatest and yet they know that there is great purpose in that suffering and choose not to suffer in vain and instead find a way to make a positive difference.

Oh my, it's been such a painful year and I admit that I am just not myself Percy.  I don't know what's happening to me lately but my mind has turned to thought and I have hardly anything to say outloud anymore.  Perhaps it's just my way of grieving.  ( sorry for that segue, but I tend to express myself as I feel in the moment)

On the topic of Charlotte Gilman Perkins...It might help to know where she's coming from.  She was an oppressed woman/mother who fought for women's rights.  She refused to call herself a feminist and I agree with her reasoning on that.  It's not about feminism, it's about human rights- PERIOD.  Every single human should have the right to choose and decide their own destiny.  
"Traditional ethics, Gilman argues, fail to resolve the enduring problems facing society because our received ethical systems are invariably and mistakenly founded on individualist rather than social logics. The shape of our collective future, if it is to be progressive and morally responsible, depends fundamentally on adopting a sociological perspective, and our guiding principle must be to make the world a safe and nurturing place for babies and children. Anything less, in Gilman's view, is morally degenerate."

I agree with her words...especially that we need to create a world environment that is safe and that nurtures children.  You see, if we were to think about creating a world for children ( whether or not we have children), we would be unselfish people who were aware of our impact on those who depend on us - our fellow humans!  We need not receive her words literally regarding children.  In fact, I view the earth as my child, the rabbits and all the living creatures as my children and I do what I can each day to make their environment safe and secure in the present moment as well as the future.  What Gilman believed was that social groups must adopt moral ethics that will influence individuals.  I agree with her but the problem is that we have too many groups and many of the groups are created out of a need to 'differentiate' themselves from other groups which again points to ego.  Religions ( and governments) for example,  have become so powerful and dictate so much of what people do and our laws and yet, religions have failed to address the very things we are in critical need of- environmental and social ethics.  Churches and religions are man-made and were created to serve the needs of the leader's egos.  Anything founded in egoism will not be ethical and withstand social pressures to conform to the easiest path.  
I have so many thoughts on this topic and I'll add more later.  
But, let me just say that governments and corporations are so intertwined now that it's unrealistic to expect them to concern themselves with doing the right thing.  Do you think they will ever reward people like myself who conserve, live the simple life and don't have children? Of course not.  We reward those who have children, who are gluttons, who spend frivolously.  The gov't definition of ethical means anything supporting capitalism and profit.  Schwarzenegger said that if we made  being ' green' sexy, everyone would do it.  It's pathetic that we must assign a sexual nature to being environnmentally ethical but at this point, what other choice do we have?  We can't force people to grow a conscience!

Lizzie,
I have written about my experience with Eckhart's book under "Philosophical". I can't wait to get my English copy in order to finish reading it.
But I have thought recently, that the obstacle to our making progress towards a more ethical society is mainly, that we cannot imagine it. We cannot conceive how it would actually be, if the "News" had no murders and rapes and burglaries to report, if advertising were to tell the truth, if science and technology were to operate on the precautionary principle, if politicians were to be allowed to be honest and caring, etc.

Now that the environmental targets, which could have avoided major climate change are most unlikely to be met, and we must brace ourselves in anticipation of the great upheaval to come, do you think it would be time to try and imagine how it could be.....?

If we turned our attention to visualizing how it could be, - whilst we still can, whilst we are not yet turned up side down and inside out by events, do you think we could learn to imagine it? Is there a time for dreaming constructively about utopia?

I wonder        Percy