Changing fashions

At some stage in life we relish the crisp feeling of a freshly ironed garment, a new shirt, a snappy suit or formal attire for that special occasion. During such occasions or be it frequently for those more fashion conscious, it is inevitable fashions sway our choice. Fashions and tastes repeat in all walks of life, whether spiritual or secular,since even those most sacred ideas will eventually be jettisoned or rebirthed to reflect changing ideas.As we add new rules we dismantle the old ones to leave the only certainty, which is change.

Take poetry for example. Those elaborate rhyming masterpieces have given way to modern free verse.The rules for free verse (if there are any) are only described in such subjective terms that only the finest distinction exists between a highly abbreviated short story and free verse poetry. Rhyming poets convert their poems to free verse to be fashionably commercial- if they want to be considered for publishing. Rhyming poetry is now mostly confined to greeting and Christmas cards. Rhyming is thought to undermine a poet’s freedom to create clarity and purpose. Will rhymed poetry ever come back into fashion? -Maybe!!

Music is another entering new cycles. Most types conform to mathematical intervals as anyone with an ear will attest. Try singing or playing a musical instrument off its designated musical key signature and what you hear is very unpleasant. But contemporary modern music is experimenting with discordant sounds to create for its listener a new experience. As you listen to it, it can grow on you and so you get used to it; although to my ear it will never replace the more traditional music. But what was once fashionable in everyday popular music has also changed enormously from the days when you sang along with the latest hit record. It has become more fashionable to choose your own genre and be entertained with its many different facets. I am yet to meet anyone who claims to like all the different styles such as classical, opera & operetta, Gilbert & Sullivan, choral, lieder, pop, musical theatre, jazz, folk, rap, hip hop,soul,baroque,classic rock, heavy metal, punk rock and country or blues. Interestingly enough classical music and opera has increasingly entered our daily lives in unexpected fashionable ways: cartoons, movies, advertisements and on TV shows. Classical themes help create an emotional mood to prompt an audience to be in a more receptive state of mind to the words and images.I think it will become even more fashionable to link music to your presentations and to choose that genre which best represents words and images.

It has become fashionable to suggest that a new model is required in economics because of the failure to predict or prevent the current economic crisis. But thinking in economics is paramount since economics is unlike Science which can perform repeated scientific experiments within a controlled laboratory to prove causation. Economics studies society in the raw whilst it is in a state of flux experiencing changing fashions and technology.It aims for the best model in the interests of the public good. It started out with Adam Smith’s idea that the invisible hand of the market provided what was needed in spontaneity and natural restoration. John Keynes’s mathematical modeling predicated a government’s need to intervene with increased spending measures (creating a budget deficit) and money supply during any downturn and for the reverse to apply during overly expansionary periods. Both measures were demonstrated to restore the economy to its optimum state of equilibrium when demand and supply are in balance.
However he would have assumed governments were net savers during those periods of relative prosperity so that the accumulated surplus was available during an impending downturn.
This theory was further endorsed by acclaimed economist Paul Samuelson whose extensive mathematical modeling further endorsed Keynesian economics. But it was in 1970’s the economist Hyman Minsky further refined Keynesian theories to support intervention in the financial markets. Minsky’s theory was surprisingly simple yet very elegant and influenced by his understanding of human nature. In a nutshell his idea was that as prosperity lengthened over the economic cycle an overly optimistic euphoria inevitably occurs as part of human nature. More and more of a cavalier approach would begin to take hold to ensure aggregated savings dissipated in favour of more risk and debt. This would lead inevitably to a financial crisis unless there is government intervention via the central bank to quell any early signs. Otherwise if unchecked any bubble developing will inevitably burst and reap havoc with accompanying credit tightening as the economy subsequently contracts with all of its ensuing misery.
His ideas necessitated the need for preemptive action to control any tell tale signs of an impending bubble or excesses through regulation to put the spark out before it does too much damage. But his ideas were soon to be out of fashion and his books failed to make the required reading list in the graduate schools. In stark contrast deregulation became the latest fashion that characterized the economic management from the 1980’s and ensured the sub prime fiasco could flourish unhindered. In just the few intervening years immediately prior to the sub prime fiasco twice as many homes were sold in the USA as what averaged the proceeding period.

Given the Minsky model; banks would never have been allowed to become so highly leveraged, to create immense non disclosed off Balance Sheet vehicles, to allow prudential lending standards to be waived and to allow Hedge Funds free reign with immunity from transparency and regulation.

I think it’s time for a fashionable change.

Growing up in Australia

Recently while engaged with my grand children playing games in the back yard, it caused me to consider how much has changed from my childhood days growing up in Australia. Australia then was influenced by large scale immigration which later, not only changed our food and what we drank, but underwrote the multicultural country we are today. Most artists then needed to travel overseas to further their careers and although our first cultural icon, The Australian broadcasting commission had been established in 1932 (The ABC) it was not until 1956 that The Australian Opera was established, followed in 1959 by the National Institute of Dramatic Art and in 1961 the Australian Ballet. But most of our culture influence still came from abroad. The “Dream machines” manufactured in America gave us such icons as Roy Rogers with those captivating tales of the Great Dividing Range to dominate my childhood memories, along with British spitfires and adventures set in England. Australia in custom and culture was said to be more English than the English; perpetuated by constant pilgrimages by our Prime Minster Sir Robert Menzies to the “Mother Country’ as he reminded us. He was our longest serving Prime Minister, serving between 1939-1941 and then for an uninterrupted period from 1949-1966; retiring at aged 70. But Australia also continued on at times in blissful ignorance, with racial prejudice and abuses never far away, hidden away by a majority who enjoyed a seemingly carefree existence as distinct from our Aborigines who were only being given the vote in 1962.

My early childhood memories were very happy ones. I grew up in the picturesque small dairy farming town of Kyogle situated on the NSW side of the border with Queensland. The back fence was all that separated our house from fields of grazing cattle and the river; an endless source of entertainment and excitement for me. I was scarcely ever indoors, coming in only at the shrill cry from my mother “The Search” a call to us to come indoors to listen with bated breath to the daily radio broadcast of “The Search for the Golden Boomerang”. Radio, books, comics, making sling shots, playing in the dirt under the house, bows and arrows, climbing trees or exploring the river banks with family cats and dogs kept us actively interested so I can never recall feeling bored. In later life when I first watched the same radio script on TV, I was sorely disappointed. Actors and sets seemed surprisingly insipid and imprisoned on an impoverished tiny screen compared to the images conveyed by exciting radio broadcasts.

I loved the weekly visit to the movies.Coming home afterwards we feasted on hot chips, smothered in salt and dripping with fat, wrapped up unceremoniously in old newspapers- it was indescribable manna from heaven to me and no doubt frightfully unhealthy. When I returned home it was time to re enact the scenes, embellishing the story line to make it more exciting whilst playing in the bush outside.

Supermarket shopping didn’t exist but there was a constant stream of merchants and visitors to our house; the milkman at first light filling your jug with fresh milk and cream, a baker carrying his basket under his arm of freshly baked bread exuding its enticing aroma, the postman’s shrill whistle, ice from an ice cart for your ice chest, an insurance man collecting the premiums and an occasional salesperson selling encyclopedias and so on.

Each week the faithful ‘Dunny man” had to carefully exchange your full dunny for an empty one which was an operation that required a combination of brute strength (as they were rather heavy when full) and skill to ensure you didn’t spill any of the contents out while lifting on to the truck. The contents were respectively referred to as “Night Soil”.

My best pal conveniently lived next door; he was several years older and the wrestling champion of the local neighborhood and my experience wrestling with him turned out to be invaluable when I went off to school, when dealing with an older school bully. He launched an attack on me on the way home; and I though I was a goner but resolved to do my best. To my surprise as the small crowd gathered around to watch I managed to get a decent head lock on him and wrestled him to the ground. To my astonishment and relief it was soon over; as he heeded the chant of the crowd. “He’s got you!. He’s got you!! Give-up. Give Up!!”

Christmas time was always an exciting time and receiving a Bike for a Christmas present eclipsed all known previous joyous experiences. My parents had laid a string throughout all of the rooms of the house and back down the stairs to be attached to the bike situated on the front lawn. Christmas morning at first light they invited me to follow the string and see what was on the end of it. Needing no encouragement I tore through the house and in a state of heightened excitement to finally survey a wondrous bike. I immediately hopped on and cycled away. It didn’t matter a fig to me that it was an old bike, painted and spruced up with a false “Malvern Star” sticker on it.
It was the best thing that could have ever happened. It was only in later life when I recalled the details in my mind of bubbly paint work covering up rust and the shiny new bell on an otherwise heavy old frame. Freedom is an elusive state but I never felt as carefree as when riding that bicycle around in the country.

When Queen Elizabeth’s visited Australia no one really knew why we should all be excited.It was as if we were all swept along with this national bout of infectious enthusiasm and delight for the Queen. The cheers of the schoolchildren echoed everywhere as the Queen was greeted with unanimous delight. We travelled a long distance by train with thousands of cheering country children to catch a glimpse and listen to her speeches.

Growing up in Australia in the fifties is similar in many ways to what is described by author Bill Bryson’s account of the life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid in America when he recalls that “growing up was easy. It required no thought or effort on my part. It was going to happen anyway”.

Tenebrae

 

 

We gathered to meditate on the most sacred day of the year. The focus of our ceremony was the seven sayings of Christ uttered when he was dying on the cross. Through a series of psalms, reflections and sacred music, we were led to the foot of the Cross.

later in the darkened church the lighted candles represented our world about to be plunged into darkness.

The lights were gradually extinguished throughout the ceremony until only one flame remained, symbolising Christ. When the last light disappeared a loud noise (strepitus) was made to remind us of the earthquake on that fateful day on Calvary.

G20 junket summit

I didn’t expect much from what might cynically be described as a 2 day G20 junket summit so I was pleasantly surprised when I read about the overall result. Credit is due for the extra funding measures to be provided for the IMF to provide additional drawing facilities for developing nations and for agreed tighter regulatory measures over executive pay, hedge funds, credit ratings/banks and the long overdue proposed sanctions on known tax havens. The biggest obstacle remaining are those few very large and technically insolvent USA banks (from a total of over 8,000 banks) presiding over frozen credit markets which have kept interest rate spreads artificially high. But it now seems inevitable more control will be exercised over the Banks or even some nationalized, should the latest plan prove ineffective.

The Meeting of the G20 was symbolic in that:

It was more representative than previous G7 meetings dominated by the USA and excluding China. The G7 has literally become ‘dead in the water’ since it’s dominant members became heirs to a lack of good governance with reckless leveraged lending that successfully exported the toxic assets all over the globe as AA A rated securities to unsuspecting buyers; the genesis of the current crisis. Obama typified the new administrations fresh approach by stating he was there to listen.

Secondly it recognizes the reality of the global village. It might be good practice to grow your own where you can close to home, but there is no escaping our interconnectivity and the need to act in concert with one another. It is of particular importance for the ongoing developing nations which although culturally different need to work together for a more sustainable future. It is a lot easier to raise issues such as human rights and climate change and so on when you’re actively involved in a relationship than when you’re locked behind an iron curtain.

Finally it will form the groundwork for a more sustainable future since the exchange of fresh ideas from a much larger audience will become an oasis for new innovations. One that I like was fielded from Beijing’s Professor Yu Qiano, of Tsinhua University who, it was reported in the Australian Financial review of the 3rd April in an article entitled “G 20 politics thwarts innovation”, was concerned (and justifiably in my view) about an expanding USA treasury bubble (as a consequence of expanded public debt financing) leading to the dollar tumbling in value and causing havoc to Asian creditors with resultant higher inflation. His solution involves Asia ceasing to buy US Treasuries in favour of acquisitions into a special purpose vehicle whose purpose would be to fund future capital infrastructure projects within the USA supported by a guaranteed sovereign risk rating. These Funds received into the special purpose vehicle would therefore not be used as was past practice to fund over consumption but rather future investments in infrastructure. The indebtedness could be redeemed from a conversion to equity if the US government so desired at any time. It’s not an idea that is likely to pass through the current politics but that may change further down the track when inflation finally rears its head.

Defending the indefensible

I don’t think the latest Geithner plan to create a private/public partnership to buy up to 1 trillion of toxic assets from the Banks represents the zombie solution as described by many leading economists.

I think whether or not you nationalize some Banks makes less difference than is contended, since in my opinion it all boils down to how they are regulated and managed- albeit very poorly in the past. The latest Geithner plan proposes an auction purchase system of the the toxic assets held by banks by investors with up to 97% in non recourse funding whose risk and funding can be as low as 3%. In other words a Hedge Fund bidding 70 cents in the dollar for $100 million of debt securities held by Citicorp would purchase the $70 million dollars of securities but only be on risk for $ 2.1million or 3% of the $70 million dollar security parcel purchased.

These established Funds would be available to investors and 401K superfunds and so on.

The arrangement as I understand can be described as follows:

1. The FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) guarantees 85% of the value of the loans without recourse.
2. The Treasury provides further capital for 80% of the balance(balance is 15% after 85% guarantee by the FDIC )to cover 12% from TARP Funds leaving a balance of only 3%.
3. The balance of 3% represents the capital used from Private Investors (Hedge Funds) who risk losing all their capital (assuming they are unable to hedge their investments by buying credit default swaps) and who bid at auction for parcels of the securities to establish a market.
4. Banks holding the Toxic Assets will sell them to the highest investor Bidders (Hedge Funds)which will then enable eventually a resumption of normal lending.
5. The taxpayer effectively takes on 97% of the risk by virtue of the non recourse loans.

The concerns over taxpayers costs hinges on the economic outlook over the next 3- 4 years and the extent or otherwise of recovery in house prices and the general economy. In the event of a recovery, losses may be minimal, if any, with possible gains but should the reverse occur the consequences will be disastrous to the extent the whole economy collapses. The banking system may be equally badly off with no less in future challenges, but that would also signal even more deep seated economic woes at that time.

However a more pertinent argument is about whether or not you allow the banks to fail or as the case may be to recover of their own volition. Due to the very low funds cost now available (with Fed easing) margins have improved considerably, hence, putting aside additional write downs from prior toxic assets sales and bad debts and assuming economic recovery I would estimate all the write offs could be absorbed within a four year time span. But in the meantime the credit squeeze and all of its misery would continue with the risk of further contraction which clearly politically has become an untenable option.

Hence, if you are in favour politically of a bailout, you cannot avoid risk by nationalization as it involves simply transferring risk from the private sector under government regulation to the government under government regulation.If you are not in favour of bailouts you would argue it is better to do nothing and not risk further taxpayer money, but you cannot have it both ways and assume government nationalization would somehow provide an immediate superior solution.

Furthermore Bank nationalization is both complex and costly and for it to work would entail the need for a broad guarantee of the entire USA banking system obligations which would make people even more unhappy.

I don’t particularly like Geithner's plan but its worth trying. In the meantime it is sensible to enact new legislation to allow a single government regulatory agency( like the FDIC ) to vest with sufficient power, when necessary, to safely dismantle all big financial institutions so as to minimize damage to the financial system and overall economy.

Age of Excess

Cart has an interesting and comprehensive post on Excesses which got me thinking that excesses and unhappiness go together.

Professor Bagaric contends it’s better to "overdose” with family or friends than to engage in mad shopping sprees to feel happy. Don’t buy the latest new big car or flat screen TV to increase your level of happiness but disconnect from the mobile phone to be more involved with your local community or invest in a hobby or buy a dog to go walking regularly, as these activities lead one to be happier than investing in material acquisitions.

The myth of the Great Depression (with its 25% unemployment) according to Bagaric was that everyone was depressed and unhappy. This was not the case since even those eeking out existence in shanty towns or residing in caves around Sydney did not see themselves so badly off as their pervious homes also did not have electricity or running water. Being dirt poor does not necessarily lead one to being very unhappy, so long as you have enough to eat. During the Great Depression many more people survived by growing their own vegetables which became an ennobling experience.
When everyone‘s driving old bomb cars and few have any real wealth than the communities are under less stress in a material sense as the high societal expectations dissipate as people become more concerned about looking after one another than in keeping up appearances by acquiring material acquisitions.

Not that I would attempt to glamorize the misery of the Great Depression (and the unhappiness of many)but rather to concede the important point our happiness is a relative measure and is influenced more by our expectations than by the measure of material items. So long as you have enough to eat the simple pleasures in life can always be enjoyed. With the world’s economy sunk in a continuing mire of despair in what we might call the Great Recession (a mere shadow of the Great Depression)it might be wise to seek out more simple blessings and to pass them on for serious consideration.
In early May I am off to Malawi which only has a per capita income of $250. It will be interesting to hear the many stories of ordinary people and experience the warm heart of Africa- to gauge also the general level of happiness.

Ink Pen to paper is hard to erase

It was in 1956 in primary school I remember the pungent odor from recently filled small round ink wells embedded in the centre top of our desks. Its contents encouraged us to write down what was taught about our history carefully, so as to avoid splotching from dipping the pen too deeply; to think very carefully before committing ink to paper since untidy corrections were not acceptable.

Our history lessons centered on the discovery of Australia and its settlement when the first Australians, our Aborigines, were universally portrayed as nomadic hunter gatherers, representatives from a timeless primitive Stone Age society residing in temporary bark dwellings. Colonization had sought to impose another culture on to a much older landscape and its inhabitants to naively conclude unbridled universal enthusiasm; to jointly establish a new found utopian state.

But our first early farming practices of extensive tree felling and overgrazing raised water levels which gave way eventually to present day widespread salination. The first Australians were all viewed primitively; as if seen and filtered through the lenses of a early English camera, as inevitably their lands were stolen; as wars grew; they were viewed as savages. Scarcely as the ink dried on those first recorded misconceptions and inaccuracies they bercame permanently etched into our history.

But thanks to archeology and many new researchers the tide has finally turned.

One such voice is from acclaimed author Bruce Pascoe “It is on the public record that Aboriginal people were not feckless and innocent nomads but constructed complex housing; harvested grain, yams, eels, fish and other produce with sophisticated feats of engineering; and created the first and most enduring art, music and language in the world.
The social organisation looks amazingly like the first democracy, the first modern state where art and dance were devoted more time than the procurement of food.
We live in an incredible place but refuse to believe its history.
The eel aquaculture of the Western District of Victoria covers thousands of hectares and involves hundreds of kilometres of stone walls, weirs and tunnels burrowed through solid rock. The houses for these fishermen were set out in large villages and some of them could accommodate 20 or more people. They are like small town halls.
Grain was harvested in Queensland and from other grasslands: the fields of over 1,000 acres were carefully managed to maintain productivity. Settlers found this grain stored in stone silos and intricately sewn, vermin proof skin bags. Often the stored grain weighed over one tonne.
This is all on the public record in the first hand reports of Europeans. So why do we maintain the myth of a crude civilisation meandering hopelessly across the continent? Because we have to? Because to admit anything else defies our perception of ownership and legitimacy, our own perception of how we took the land?
We need to understand that there was a war in this country and the Indigenes lost it but not before conducting battles which forced the Europeans back on many fronts in the campaign. Aboriginal people did not just go away, disappear, die out from exotic diseases - they were defeated in war. That war is on the public record. The word “war” was used by our first governors and magistrates: it is there for any Australian to read.

For the full text

Gundagai -Poet’s Recall & Niagara Café

We stopped off overnight at a motel named ‘the Poets Recall’ at historic Gundagai on our recent trip to Sydney.

Gundagai is a small historic town of only 2,400 located midway between Sydney and Melbourne and was first settled in 1850 alongside the Murrumbidgee River. The 13 streets of the new township were all named after famous poets- Shakespeare Terrace, Milton St, Pope St, Johnson St, Maturin St, Landan St, Hemans St, Sheridan St, Otway St, Byron St, Homer St, Virgil St and Ovid St.

But in 1852 tragedy struck when the Murrumbidgee flooded and completely wiped out the fledgling settlement with nearly half of the township (nearly 100 people) perishing. The rebuilt township with new roads on much higher ground abandoned the earlier literary intention so Gundagai’ streets could no longer lay claim to be graced by that literary theme until the present owners decided to honor this memory.

In the bar, exquisitely painted onto local slate tablets (mined from the area), were portraits of the 13 poets and 13 units had a slate tablet with verse inscribed from one of the poets above each entrance.

On the way back from our most enjoyable stay in Sydney we again stopped off at Gundagi but this time for a cup of tea at the Niagara café. The large homely Cafe was deserted on that smoke filled hazy day from the bush fires around Victoria which hung over the township and severely reduced visibility.

Adorning the walls of the Café were pictures of famous people who had visited the Niagara to celebrate one event or another including 3 past Prime Minsters of Australia. One such story which may be of interest concerns probably Australia’s greatest Prime Minster namely John Curtin. The story relates to an incident in 1942, after midnight when the owner heard a loud banging on the locked front door. Annoyingly opening the door he was just about to tell the visitor ‘where to go “when he discovered it was Prime Minister John Curtin.

Curtin in his typical fashion tipped his hat and said that both he and his ‘mates’ (future Country Party leader, Artie Fadden, and future PM, Ben Chiefly) were both hungry and freezing and would appreciate very much such tucker! They had been out all day from very early morning on the hustings promoting “War Bonds”: – but soon they were able to relax at last whilst eating a hearty meal of steak and eggs convivially shared around the warmth of the kitchen stove.

Curtain ascertained the Cafes meager war time ration of 28 lbs of tea per month was totally inadequate and absorbed with the first few week of each month, so for the remainder of the war Niagara received 100lbs. The PM frequently dropped in for a cupper when he was passing through. This was the way it worked then – the return of favor not forgotten rather than the corruption of the present.

Along the Road to Gundagai

There's a track winding back
to an old-fashioned shack,
Along the road to Gundagai.
Where the gum trees are growin'
and theMurrinbidgees’s flowin
beneath the starry sky.
Oh my mother and daddy are waitin' for me
And the pals of my childhood once more I will see
And no more will I roam 'cos I'm headin' right for home
Along the road to Gundagai

Jack O ‘Hagan.

Tragic loss of life in bush fire inferno

All Victorian records have now been ecilpsed ; the longest dry period ever without rain -none this year except for a few drops, only 2% humidity, 3 consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 43 C (109 F) and with catastrophic consequences last Saturdays hottest day ever at 46.4 C (115 F) became the catalyst for over 100 raging bush fires which aleady represent the worst natural disaster to ever befall Australia.

Over 5,000 homeless and it is thought there could be up to 300 people dead. Just about everyone knows somebody badly effected in in way or another. If you would like to read or hear some of the stories of this unprecedented disaster click here.
There is also a good coverage at Bloomberg.

Bush Fires down under are like hell in all it's fury, since the oils from leaves of the giant eucalyptus ignite the whole tree and causes such heat intensity the tree literally explodes with such force that fireballs ignite bushland up to a kilometers ahead of the main fire front. Burning embers travel another 15 km further on to create spot fires.

The intense radiation and accompanying heat and smoke fanned by fierce winds of up to 100 km/h decimated whole townships as no dwelling was spared. In some towns everything was raised to the ground whilst in others up to 50% were destroyed.

The death toll continues to rise as emergency fire teams and the army gain entry to previously completely inaccessible hostile regions captive to the raging fire. But new spot fires continue to ignite dense nationl parkland areas in addition to those fires which are already burning out of control and threatening the Glenhope area north of Melbourne and towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah in the northeast.

Our family and close friends are all safe and their homes are intact but a good friend of my wife lost her house whilst another's grandson has perished.

That is the the news for the moment- "The nation should brace itself for a very challenging time ahead," said Prime Minster Kevin Rudd - see his interview here.

Reverence for life

Reverence for life is terms not widely used today but a Google search will easily identify those words with Albert Schweitzer.
I was first interested in his writings in my youth, but it wasn’t till much later as a member of a monthly friends philosophical monthly meeting that I revisited that interest to present a brief paper on his life and thought.

I have decided to update that paper which is now included below.

In researching his life I was drawn to a quotation by Sir Winston Churchill: “We shape our strategies and then they shape us,”since that applied to Schweitzer throughout his long and dedicated life devoted to serving others.

Firstly after obtaining Doctorates in philosophy and theology and establishing himself in academia he felt the call to be a jungle Doctor. It was during his time in Africa that he abandoned his incomplete work on the Mystercism of St Paul to return to the Philosophy of Civilization in an attempt to provide a philosophy which would guard against the terrors of war which he witnessed first hand.
During this period he gained his “insight” on the “Reverence for Life” principles.

I will begin with a brief outline of his life and thoughts, attempt to explain his interesting philosophy, then follow with selected quotations that provide further valuable insight and finally talk about the effect of his thinking and his enduring legacy.

A Brief Outline of His Life and Thought.

Albert Schweitzer was born in Alsace in Germany (later to be annexed to France) as the son of a Lutheran Pastor in what was then a predominantly Catholic place. He showed extraordinary skill as a youthful organist under the tutilige of Europe’s finest professionals.

In adulthood he was both an acclaimed concert artist and a sought after speaker of sufficient popularity so that during those brief periods whilst engaged he was able to fund his beloved African Hospital.

His early life was dominated by music and academic research with a brief interruption for compulsory military service before obtaining in 1900 Drs of Philosophy and Theology and a post as Professor of Theology.

In 1903 he became Principal of the theological seminary of St Thomas in Srassburg. At that time in his life he recalls his delight in teaching the simple Biblical truths to students in the hope his teaching would provide a refuge against life’s stormy weather. Students in later life thanked him, stating their faith would not have survived the “cruel sea of doubt” of life’s existence had it not been so firmly secured.

His published theological research at times was contrary to conventional wisdom as he did not accept that the Gospels (Mark, Matthew Luke & John) represented a collection only of Jesus’ sayings interwoven loosely with his life story. He contended that the expectation of the Messianic Jewish belief that the “End of the World” was imminent influenced profoundly many of Jesus’ sayings.

Hence his interpretation was that Jesus and the Gospels can only be understood from the point of view of the false eschatology that permeated Jewish thinking at that time based on the expectation the end of the world would occur within their lifetime.

Schweitzer contended Jesus’ ideal love could be replanted from within the original metaphysics background from which it arose, just as his philosophical insight on the idea of reverence for life could likewise bear fruit.

In 1905 after reading an article in the Paris Missionary Society describing the desperate need for medical doctors in Africa in the region then known as the Congo he decided to enlist and change his life course.
It was to shape the rest of his life.

Once he decided to become a jungle Doctor he was ridiculed by friends and academia that put a fist in his heart so to speak arguing he could do more from his existing privileged position in society than to undertake such a rigorous long course of study.

In 1913 as a qualified Doctor he departed for Lambarene with his wife (whom he had married the previous year) and who was to be of incalculable support in the Hospital and as a research assistant over the next 40 years. His base remained at Lambarene for the reminder of his life except for internment during World War 1.

However it was the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 that triggered within him the change of heart to abandon his nearly completed work for publication on the Mystercism of St Paul and return to the Philosophy of Civilization. His writings in this book contain his famous Insight” on the "Reverence for Life” principle.

His achievements were recognized in 1952 when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and later he formed collaborations with the leaders at that time including Bertrand Russell and John F Kennedy.

In 1958 he made calls on radio Oslo for the abandonment of nuclear tests and the production of atomic bombs.

He passed away in 1965 but his spirit continues today in enduring ethical thought and work.

His philosophy – Reverence for life

It is difficult to describe what is meant in a few sentences but his theory acknowledges the reality of our own conscious will to live and all that is around us. Reverence for Life is the end result of a fusing of ethical principles within our conscious will to live and hence world and life affirmation. It is the spiritual act in which one ceases to live unreflectively but adopts a reverence for all life in order to raise it true value. Its aim is to create values, and to realize progress of different kinds, which shall serve the material, spiritual and ethical development of mankind.

At first glance one might regard these ideas as somewhat vague but on further analysis they represent much more deep thinking than appears at the outset and his philosophy become very interesting. I will attempt to expand what I think he meant in a little more detail.

Firstly Schweitzer was a believer in rational thought and as a Scientist his philosophy followed a rationale that sought to find a way through the fog of the present day decay of civilization as he saw it evidenced in the ultimate horror of War. Schweitzer abhorred philosophical abstract thinking and believed in the reality of life and the will to live that enveloped all life. I am life he said ‘in the midst of all life that wills to live’.

In that respect he shared similar views with Nietzsche and Arthur Schopenhauer insofar as either adopted a will to live or will to power in recognition of our natural biological reality.

But there is where it ended for Schweitzer who contended that such a will to live in itself cannot be confused by attempting to obscure its reality with abstract values that nullify our existence or conclude that the only way forward is withdrawal from the world we live in. Hence he wanted to introduce ethics into philosophy but not of the kind that attempts to define them in the sense they become simplistic rules or represent enslavement to someone else’s abstract values. Similarly Schweitzer resisted any attempt to grade life based upon whether or not that life might have feelings which in turn would determine our ethical stance towards it but rather his ethics were based upon mysticism; a seeming contradiction in itself. Schweitzer contended the values of compassion and empathy for all living things will become self evident when we adopt a reflective reverence for all life which in essence is a spiritual dimension based upon a practical life affirmation.

Reverence for life harnesses our emotive compassion for all living things that will to live as we will to live in our ongoing relationship in the world which will be manifested instinctively in our service to humanity.

Hence reverence for life includes a reverence for our own lives and Schweitzer was not against self defense and common sense dictating some form of killing but only as was necessary for survival.
Rather what he wanted us to avoid is the ethics of expediency.

Schweitzer’s philosophy concluded that the failure of civilization was due to the failure to show reverence to all life (not just human life) which has led to the decline of civilization and the decimation of our spirituality. In that sense his philosophy has some affinity with Buddhism concerned for all sentient beings but he also contended it made no sense for one to conclude the only sensible thing is to withdraw from the world, since his philosophy is life affirming.

Hence his insight to show reverence to all life involved a change in thinking to embrace the ethic of love in life to live our life to the fullest in the service of life within its midst and to alleviate suffering in the most practical ways possible in accord with our natural spiritual dimension or instinct in harmony with nature.

Selected Quotations and extracts

Schweitzer was also influenced by Goethe who he admired and completed 4 studies into his work.

Here is an extract …..Goethe is well aware that in all the thoughts of guilt and guilt-consciousness with which we are occupied we are touching upon a great secret which we cannot comprehend and cannot fathom. He surmises, however, that the power which guilt seems to have over us is not appointed to destroy us, but in the end must contribute to our purification. ... When guilt begins to operate in a man he is on the way to salvation through the unfathomable secret of love, which penetrates into the darkness of earth like a beam of eternal light."

On Life

Anyone who proposes to do well must not expect people to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot calmly if they roll a few more upon it.

The most valuable knowledge we can have is how to deal with disappointments.

Religion & Philosophy

Any religion or philosophy which is not based upon a respect for life is not a true religion or philosophy.

It is good to maintain life and further life, it is bad to destroy life. And this ethic, profound, universal has the significance of a religion. It is religion.

When we observe contemporary society one thing strikes us. We debate but make no progress. Why? Because as people we do not trust one another.

Because I have confidence in the power of truth and of the spirit, I believe in the future of mankind.

Nature and the Environment

Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world any more. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.

The deeper we look into nature the more profoundly we know that it is sacred and we are united to this life.

The effect of his writings on religious and secular communities.

His quest for truth and the spirit of “liberty” as he put it at times led him to conclusions on biblical interpretation at variance to accepted orthodoxy. Indeed they cost him some considerable hardship with the Parisian Missionary Society for his strict instructions as a Jungle Doctor was to refrain from any form of religious discourse with the locals for fear he might introduce them to some doctrinal errors.

However at the insistence of the missionaries at Lambarene the Parisian Missionary Society relented on their embargo as the realization slowly sunk in that his views in no way contradicted the simple gospel of salvation understandable by the local inhabitants.

His attitude to African culture was not to try and change their way of life to ours but to serve their physical and spiritual needs. His approach was the forerunner to to-days generally accepted missionary objectives seeking to include cultural aspects and tradition within worship and Christian life practices.

His life as a devout Christian had a profound effect on the Christian community at large as although the shadow of sacrifice hung over his life he was able to “find his life.”Whosoever loses his life for my sake shall find it”.

When he left for Africa he was prepared to make 3 sacrifices.

1. To lose his financial independence and become reliant for the rest of his life on donations from friends.

2. Discontinue his career as Concert artist.

3. Renounce academic teaching and lecturing activities.

However to his great joy found himself in the same position.The Paris Bach Society donated a piano with organ pedals specially adapted to the tropics.

He was able to return (between long intervals in Africa) to Europe as an esteemed professional as his performances continued to grow in popularity.

He was only totally reliant on the financial help of others for a short period as his publications and acclaimed recitals soon made him financially independent.He was also highly acclaimed and sought after as a Lecturer in Europe and in the leading universities in the USA.

Effect on Society.

Schweitzer was clearly ahead of his time in calling for the human treatment of animals in medical experiments and in food production and today many such organizations continue to quote selectively from many of his publications.

His reverence for life principle continues under the Albert Schweitzer Foundation supporting ethically based aid and educational projects.His work is of appeal to any group that has a common interest in the general wellbeing of peoples around the world.However in the earlier post 2nd World War period his thoughts were of great appeal to a society ravaged by war and mindful of the need to establish a new “world order” to prevent a recurrence of past atrocities. Invitations flowed to him to give lectures abroad from world-renowned academic, ecclesiastical and musical bodies.
His view was eagerly sought after and at times he must have felt some satisfaction as it is recorded “He dashed off a letter to John F Kennedy congratulating him on his recent peace initiatives”.

Legacy

His enduring legacy of thought contained within his writings on “Reverence for Life” provides a “Bridge over troubled waters” for to-days contemporary society.

Its enduring interest is in the bridge his philosophy creates between Christian orthodoxy and a naturalistic world view which contends plants, animals, and humans all interact in complex chains of interdependency, thus we are all united with nature and dependant upon it for our existence.

He was a philosopher that both acknowledged that competition and killing were essential elements to the survival of the food chain but perhaps of far greater importance was the cooperation and tolerance which have evolved in the shared struggle of survival. The ethical consideration as to ultimate sustainability can have no better focus than that aligned to the "Reverence for Life" principle. It blends in with concerns over “Mother Earth” and her ultimate sustainability in the face of depletion, waste and pollution attributable to mankind.

The missing link is the principle that establishes our conscious “will to live” that affirms our relationship with the world but requires us to create values that in turn generate outcomes sustainable to all life. In essence Schweitzer was ahead of his times and one of the first modern day philosophers to introduce to us a life affirming bio centered ethics.

The ethical basis contained within the "reverence for Life” principle is then the essence of the way forwards as the global village becomes more and more interwoven. This is essential if globalization is to become civilized and deliver benefits in a uniform manner to all mankind.