The Self in History: The Story of Albert Schweitzer

THE SELF IN HISTORY: THE STORY OF ALBERT SCHWEITZER ANTHONY H. VAGNUCCI, JR.* Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) opens his autobiographical account, Out ofMy Life and Thought, as an encyclopedia might present the history of any notable man: with the place and date of his birth and the circumstances of his parents. But as the reader struggles with Schweitzer's prose, she or he undoubtedly will be struck by the uniqueness of this person. For while the author's dull, encyclopedic style of writing sometimes obscures the brilliance of his self, that self remains, speaking at once shyly of its actions and somewhat pretentiously of its thoughts. As a sexagenarian looking back on an extraordinarily productive life, Schweitzer must have found it difficult to describe his "life and thought" without sounding affected. An accomplished theologian, musician, and minister, Schweitzer may be remembered most by history for his decision , at the age of 30, to become a physician and practice in the wilds of Africa. Who is this Albert Schweitzer? How did he develop his unique sense of self? And, most important, what perspectives can the study of this unusual physician's autobiography offer us today? The portrait Schweitzer paints of himself is dynamic, with the outstanding influences in his life clearly acknowledged. Born the eldest son of a Lutheran pastor and the grandson of an organist, Schweitzer naturally was introduced early to theology and the organ, and soon mastered both. Although later he would claim, "To me preaching was a necessity of my being" [1, p. 36], Schweitzer dwells little on such deterministic thoughts. Instead, he focuses on what was a most powerful instrument in his shaping: formal schooling. From Schweitzer's self-description, he sees himself more as a child of the academy than of Louis and Adele Schweitzer. For while the author The author acknowledges the encouragement of his father and the constructive comments of Michael Slater, Hayes Gladstone, and Theodore Brown. *Address: 2187 Garrick Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15235.© 1990 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-5982/90/3302-0678$0 1 .00 258 I Anthony H. Vagnucci, Jr. ¦ Story ofAlbert Schweitzer spends little more than two paragraphs describing his parents and their influence, more than half of his 285-page work exalts every significant teacher he had by name and expounds on the courses, lectures, exams, and papers that he feels were significant signposts in his "life and thought." For young Albert, school is a controlled, nurturing environment where one can learn without risking the turbulence outside the academy. It is where he can be exposed to teachers like Dr. Wehmann, who showed him "how to work properly," taught him self-confidence, and was always "a model of fulfillment of duty" [1, p. 13]. The academy is also where he encounters Ernest Munch, the organ master who introduced him to Bach and inspired in him a love for his music [1, p. 22]. With gratitude for so many benefactors, Schweitzer's tale often reads like a litany of personal thank-yous. Sentences beginning "My teachers brought me along so well that . . ." and "This instruction was to me of decisive importance . . ." form the backbone of the autobiography. What can it mean to grow up in the academy, to remain a student until the age of 35? To seriously identify oneself as a student at any age is to commit oneself to a realm where the cultivation of the mind supersedes physical necessity, where life is defined by one's voyage within and between academic disciplines. To choose to live in this way, as Schweitzer does for almost 30 formative years, is to make the academic "thoughtworld " [1, p. 85] one's home. Indeed, young Albert becomes so committed to this thought-world that he carries a copy of the Greek Testament with him while on military maneuvers in order to pursue questions that interest him and not disappoint his teacher Holtzmann [1, p. 17]. As he grows older, Schweitzer continues to travel with burgeoning mental excitement—and less formal guidance—from the eschatological Weltanschauung ofJesus to the philosophy of Kant, from the words of Saint Paul to the melodies of Bach. Meanwhile, his "worldly" time and...