Dr. Albert Schweitzer, A Truly Ethical Man Does Not Injure Anything That Lives

Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a physician, theologian, and philosopher. He was an early advocate for the ethical treatment of animals and a strong protagonist in the evolution of our concept of animal rights. He wrestled with the paradoxes of the relationship between man and animal. His philosophy has made a difference and has led to the passage of laws and helping the cause of animal rights in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer said,

“A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives.”

The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition or surrounded by a halo. We need a boundless ethics which will include the animals also. My life is full of meaning to me. The life around me must be full of significance to it. If I want others to respect my life, then I must respect the other life I see however strange it may be to mine. Ethics in our western world has hitherto been largely limited to the relation of man to man… but that is a limited ethics.