Abstract

Health care assistance in Brazil has followed the biological model paradigm. This model of assistance has a negative impact on the physician-patient relationship and leads to a progressive loss of patients’ autonomy. The supremacy of Cartesian objective science has taken the place of the study of humanities traditionally inherent to medical practice. In this context, Albert Schweitzer’s reflections on Reverence for Life and human dignity may be applied in healthcare. We aimed to describe the humanistic physician education in Western history; to address the importance of ethical-humanistic reflections in healthcare; and to discuss how Schweitzer’s philosophy may facilitate the critical analysis of principlism. Ethical and humanistic training is necessary in the Brazilian healthcare education. Albert Schweitzer's philosophy can be an educational tool for healthcare students to understand the application of bioethical principles in multiple perspectives.