Student dissertation that analyzes Schweitzer’s conclusion that we must revere all life and actively aid all life in its pursuit of its own self-realization, and extrapolates this analysis to the veterinary profession.

This abstract summarizes a Ph.D. dissertation by R.A. Bennett, which explains and analyzes Albert Schweitzer’s ethic of the Reverence for Life, emphasizing his use of reason/thought and the primacy of the knowledge of the internal will over external knowledge of the world.

The ethic is discussed with respect to sociobiology, anthropology and psychology, then applied to the veterinary profession in terms of animal welfare theory and specific application to pet, wild, research and food animals in Western culture.