Out of My Life and Thought: An Autobiography

A great philosopher and mystic argues for rational thought and what he called reverence for life. "I am in complete disagreement with the spirit of our age, because it is filled with contempt for thought." The primary issue of philosophy was to achieve an active ethic, a realistic confrontation with reality. His active ethic was to serve the poor and the sick in West Africa.

"Rational thought boils over into mystical thought. Mysticism is knowledge of the infinite. Mysticism is not the flower on the plant of thought. It is but the stalk; ethics is the flower." A very provocative and quotable book.

This book is a bit hard to categorize. It's definitely biography but Schweitzer spends a great deal of time on his researches into religious thought and the early history of Christianity, his thoughts on philosophy, and his work as a concert organist. Before he became a physician he was known as a theologian and philosopher and was often asked to give concerts and lectures outside of his duties as a professor and vicar. Even after entering medical school at the age of thirty he continued these other studies as much as time would permit. The reason for becoming a medical doctor was his conviction that that was his best way of helping the people of Africa and his decision to go to Africa as a missionary led then to his decision to show more practice medicine.

In addition to his earned PhD and his M.D., Schweitzer received many honorary degrees in all the fields he worked in as well as the Nobel Peace Prize. He also published a number of books, pamphlets, and articles. This book was first published in 1931 and this particular translation into English was published in 1990 from a German copy in which Schweitzer made his own corrections between 1930 and 1960. Out of My Life and Thought was a somewhat slow read for me as so much of the book was about his thinking on subjects I know little about but it was interesting enough that I did eventually finish. show less

Certainly an interesting guy with lots of fingers in different pies. Probably better as a philanthropist than a philosopher. He certainly seems to know his way around an organ.

Certainly an interesting guy with lots of fingers in different pies. Probably better as a philanthropist than a philosopher. He certainly seems to know his way around an organ.

Fair condition. Dust jacket is much worn and somewhat stained. Cloth cover is in good condition. Pages are clean and binding is tight.

With Postscript 1932-1949 by Everett Skillings

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Schweitzer-Ma-vie-et-ma-pensee/60486

> LE DOCTEUR SCHWEITZER ET L’ESPRIT DU MONDE MODERNE. — « N’est-ce pas la plus grande chose à demander à la vie, savoir ce que c’est: vivre ? »
Surtout connu par la culture populaire comme le grand pionnier de la médecine humanitaire (le fameux Il est minuit, docteur Schweitzer), Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) fut bien plus encore. Théologien luthérien de haut vol, profondément influencé par les philosophies indiennes de la non-violence, il reçut le Prix Nobel de la Paix en 1952, non seulement pour son œuvre au sein de l'hôpital de Lambaréné en Afrique-équatoriale française, mais aussi pour son message philosophique centré sur la notion show more de « respect de la vie ». Son autobiographie, Ma vie et ma pensée, fut longtemps un classique de cette « spiritualité humaniste » à la fois universelle et consciente tant de ses racines chrétiennes que de ses connotations mystiques et panthéistes. Sa réédition récente est l'occasion de la redécouvrir et de mesurer son influence toujours prégnante.
*Albert Schweitzer, Ma vie et ma pensée, 288 pages, 17 €, Albin Michel.
Du même auteur :
- Vivre, Paroles pour une éthique du temps présent, 240 pages, 7,70 €, Albin Michel.
—L’Homme en Question, (37), Printemps 2013, (p. 10) show less