Civilization and Ethics: The Philosophy of Civilization, Part 2

A philosophical treatise written in the early 20th century. The work addresses the relationship between world-view (Weltanschauung), ethics, and the course of civilization, with an emphasis on diagnosing and remedying the spiritual crisis of Western society. Its central concern is the contrast between material advancement and spiritual decline in Western civilization, positing that true progress depends on a renewed ethical and optimistic world-view. The book appears directed at readers interested in philosophy, ethics, cultural criticism, and the historical development of ideas. The opening of this work lays out Schweitzer's conviction that Western civilization is in crisis, not because of external events like war, but due to an internal imbalance—an overemphasis on material progress at the expense of spiritual and ethical development. Schweitzer critiques the history of Western philosophy for failing to establish a stable, serviceable world-view that could underpin a deep and lasting civilization, claiming that our present ''uncivilization'' stems from this lapse. He argues that previous efforts to ground civilization in optimistic and ethical interpretations of the world have failed because they did not account honestly for the rift between knowledge and will. He introduces the idea that only by resigning oneself to the limitations of knowledge and rooting ethical action in the ''will-to-live''—culminating in his principle of ''reverence for life''—can civilization recover. The early chapters proceed to contrast Western and Indian philosophical traditions, analyze the intertwined nature of optimism, pessimism, and ethics, and begin a historical survey of the ethical problem, all toward the goal of finding a new foundation for ethical civilization.