ABSTRACT
Suffering cast a shadow over Schweitzer’s life.2 It shaped his life plan, especially
his decision to become a physician in order to provide medical care for Africans
who had only ‘witch doctors’ to help them.3 And it shaped his moral philosophy.
Compassion, understood as active caring in response to suffering, lies at the heart
of his ethical mysticism – the unity with all life experienced in helping even one
