| 1. |
- Fyrlund, Björn
(author)
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Tro och helgelse. En analys av Johan Olof Wallins moraluppfattning.
- 1999
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This study focusses on the question of the moral status of actions, a question subdivided into two further questions: 'What is held to characterize morally right action?' and 'What is a morally good life?' Texts by Johan Olof Wallin (1779-1839)-pastor, Archbishop in the Church of Sweden, hymn writer and poet-are analyzed in detail. The scope of the study is theological/ethical and its method is descriptive and analytical. It deals primarily with the history of ideas from a theological perspective, and does not offer suggestions as to how a present-day ethic might be constructed. Three main questions are examined when analyzing the texts: (a) what presuppositions are assumed in the texts as the basis for a person's ethical action? (b) what guidelines are given for ethical action? (c) how is morality realized-by what means can it be achieved? The study analyzes sermons, hymns, some poems, Wallin's translation of the Johannine Gospel and Letters, his revision of Catechisms, and some notes made in the so-called "Konceptboken", the Book of Drafts. In addition, the text that Wallin defended when obtaining his MA in 1803-a text that discusses the relation of Natural Rights (Jure Naturæ) and ethics-is analyzed and a translation of the Latin original presented (probably for the first time in a major study of Wallin's writings). The study claims that Wallin's "Concept of Morality" is based on an ethics of disposition, where what is morally right action is seen as not deriving from the act itself but from the disposition of the person acting, and where norms of behaviour are derived both from Biblically grounded general rules and from what promotes the greater good of one's neighbour and the welfare of society.
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| 2. |
- Ahlgren, Jennie
(author)
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Personaliserad nutrition och etik : en empirisk studie av svenska konsumenters inställning till gentester för hälsans skull
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Abstract In this thesis I address some of the ethical issues that arise in relation to consumers and personalised dietary advice made on the basis of genetic information. By carrying out two empirical studies, I wanted to find out what Swedish consumers think about personalised nutrition, and how they reason regarding risks, possible value conflicts, and benefits that may arise from implementing the concept. The results of the empirical studies showed that implementation of personalised nutrition was perceived as involving both benefits and a variety of risks and difficulties, which raises a range of issues, including ethical ones. A majority of the respondents and informants nonetheless had a positive attitude towards personalised nutrition and would also be willing to undergo genetic testing for personalised dietary advice. The perceived risks did not appear to have an important impact on the willingness to undergo testing, as these risks were often seen as manageable. The results suggest that respondents and informants were motivated predominantly by the value they placed on good health. Furthermore, the informants’ understanding of health included not only the health of the physical body, but also psychological well-being and quality of life. This understanding of the concept of health is thus largely congruent with that of subjective theories of health, which have been criticised for overemphasising individuals’ responsibility for their own health and for contributing to a wider medicalisation of everyday life.
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| 3. |
- Aldén, Mats
(author)
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Samvete och samvetsfrihet : en analys av samvetskonflikter i det svenska samhället och av begreppen samvete och samvetsfrihet.
- 2002
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this study is to describe and analyse four conflicts and two concepts. Four conflicts of conscience found in Swedish society are studied in the second chapter. 2.2 - the state’s requirement that all male citizens do military service and the citizen’s right to refuse to do military service. 2.3 - obligatory course requirements and the college student’s right to refuse participation in certain practical studies for reasons of conscience. 2.4 - the minister’s right to refuse to marry a couple based on matters of conscience vs the vows a minister has taken to perform such ceremonies. And 2.5 -the conflict which arises when a minister who is opposed to the ordination of women as ministers, is expected to cooperate with women ministers although he has conscience-based reasons for not doing so. In the third chapter I discuss six different theories of conscience and a suggested definition is presented. In the fourth chapter I present five arguments for freedom of conscience and a typology is provided and applied to the conflicts of conscience studied in order to answer the question of whether or not there is ample freedom to follow one’s conscience.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Dan-Erik
(author)
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En moral för hela världen? : en analys av Hans Küngs Projekt Weltethos
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation analyzes the work on universal morality by the Swiss theologian Hans Küng. According to Küng, a universal morality can be formed out of the world's religions that can reconcile ideological, cultural and religious differences. This morality can then form the basis for international policy and politics and guarantee that relations among states are peaceful. Küng's project focuses on three relations: the relation between religions, the relation between religion and ethics and the relation between religion and politics. Out of these three relations the three theses to be analyzed are formulated. The theses are my interpretations of the relations between religion, ethics and politics in Küng's work on universal morality. The relation between religions is analyzed through the thesis: - There are fundamental similarities between the religions and those similarities become visible when the religions self-critically relate themselves to the general ethical criteria humanum. The relation between religion and ethics is analyzed through the thesis: - Morality has its origin in religion and also its foundation in religion. Religion is also a necessary link between the theory and practice of morality. The relation between religion and politics is analyzed through the thesis: - Politics and international relations can rest on a universal morality that can guarantee world peace. This universal morality has its origin and foundation in the world's religions. Therefore, the world's religions can solve the security dilemma that arises since there is no recognized superior power in world politics. In addition to the analysis of the three relations and the three theses, I also focus on Küng's relation to plurality. Küng's ambition to form a unified universal morality forces him to handle plurality in such a way that it does not create problems for the unity he is forming. My conclusion is that Küng's efforts to reconcile unity and plurality leads to an emphasis on unity that does not recognize the plurality within and between religions in our postmodern societies.
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| 5. |
- Arlebrink, Jan
(author)
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Det moraliska ifrågasättandet : alkoholmissbrukares upplevelser av och reaktioner på tvångsvård
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate how compulsary treatment of alcohol abuse is experienced by persons forced to submit to it, the majority of whom are negative in their attitude toward treatment of this sort. The importance of considering the resluts obtained not in isolation but within a larger context is emphasized. Among the elements of this context examined are alcohol abuse generally, why those involved drink excessively, and how they experience their situation. Interpreting the experience these persons have of their situation involves taking account of the ethical and existential world in which they live and their philosophy of life. The legal status that apply and the implications these can have are discussed. Important concepts considered are those of autonomy and integrity. The results of the investigation indicate that a person forced to submit to compulsory treatment for his alcohol abuse often ends up in a traumatic crisis with little chance of working through it satisfacorily. A variety of reasons for this are pointed out. One is the person´s failing to understand why he has been forced to receive treatment. Another is the person´s lacking an adequate language to deal with the existential questions his situation gives rise to. Having lived as an alcohol abuser for many years also results in the person´s sense of selfrespect being very low. In addition, the institution providing treatment generally has no adequate possibility of helping the person to work through his crisis. As a conclusion one can ask on the background of the empirical, legal, psychological, existential and ethical aspects whether it is morally right to force someone to a treatment that person himself does not want.
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| 6. |
- Carlberg, Axel
(author)
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The Moral Rubicon. A Study of the Principles of Sanctity of Life and Quality of Life in Bioethics.
- 1998
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The principles of sanctity of life and quality of life are often appealed to in medical decisions at the "edges of life." Notwithstanding their importance in bioethics, these principles are still badly understood. This study is an attempt to clarify their normative significance and content. Because these principles pertain to the more general question of the value of life, the study begins by exploring the possibility of formulating such a value in today's secular pluralistic health-care. This context is often marked by intractable moral disagreement on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. Despite this disagreement, it is argued that human life might, after all, be considered as an "ultimate" value. The author interprets the sanctity-of-life principle as affirming that human life is not self-possessed and is inviolable from the moment of conception. The quality-of-life principle, on the other hand, is interpreted as insisting that life is valuable only if it can serve the person whose life it is to acquire other values. The last chapter explores the relationship between the principles. It is argued that, despite their differences, they can be considered as compatible and that sanctity of life should receive priority in the formulation of any theory of respect for human life.
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| 7. |
- Cedersjö, Björn
(author)
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Bortom syndakatalogen : en studie av svensk frikyrklig etik från 1930-talet till 1990-talet
- 2001
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The dissertation describes and characterises ethical reflection in the Swedish Free Churches during the period from the 1930s to the 1990s. It is built primarily on two sources of material. The first one is a summary of discussions and statements on marriage, divorce and remarriage from books, journals and papers, mainly from two denominations: the Swedish Covenant Church and the Örebromission. The second source consists of views on matters related to Christian life style from forty-four interviews with active Free Church members divided into three age groups. A brief introduction to the Free Church movement in Sweden is given providing a picture of the context. After a structured presentation of the source material in the second part of the disseration, a theological-ethical analysis is carried out in part three. This is the central section of the study. The chapters deal with the relation between the believer and “the world”, what values and virtues that are accepted and promoted, the relation between the individual and his/her group, and the use of authoritative sources in ethical reflection. Each chapter is concluded by a discussion in light of the presentation. In three final chapters some additional issues are treated. First a comparison is made with the ethical values in some other contemporary movements in Sweden. Secondly some possible causes for change are mentioned. Finally it is argued that the ethical reflections of the Free Churches are homogenious enough to be viewed as one tradition, with tensions, continuity and changes.
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| 8. |
- Eriksson, Inger
(author)
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Poesiläsning som meningsskapare : en studie om poesigrupper på sjukhem och hospice
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This is a study of poetry reading in groups at nursing homes and hospices, offering opportunities for conversation. The purpose of the investigation is to understand whether and how poetry reading can help patients cope with their situation in life. The first part of the study is based on three projects, including a large number of documented poetry reading groups as well as interviews with patients. Reading and listening to poetry and participation in a poetry reading group with conversation gave the participants fellowship, a sense of well-being, relief, comfort, joy, inner peace and an opportunity to express personal hope, longing and concern about important issues in life. Urgent themes include major concerns such as love, death and despair, but also topics that may first appear to be only minor ones. Poems with an atmosphere in tune with the mood of the reader, as well as those in a different mood, can mentally help the participants. Poems, where participants recognize themselves and are offered words and images that express their own experiences, touch deeply. Through the ambiguity of a poem and its use of metaphors, participants are given the opportunity to indirectly express their own experiences. Thus, poetry reading can create meaning. The study also introduces an aesthetic perspective, built particularly on the poetic theories of Hans Ruin and Pia Tafdrup. This perspective aims at understanding the function of poetry reading and its influence on the participants. Reading and listening to poetry exerts influence at psychological, physical, spiritual and social levels. The aesthetic perspective is based on values in line with the hospice-inspired care-perspective that may be realized in poetry reading groups. Based upon the results of this study, a proposal is made for running poetry groups in palliative care, including opportunities to talk about life issues and to express and share feelings, thoughts and experiences.
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| 9. |
- Grantén, Eva-Lotta
(author)
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Patterns of Care : Relating Altruism in Sociobiology and the Christian Tradition of Agape
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this study is to relate sociobiological theories of altruism to theories within the Christian tradition of agape. Firstly, it discusses the relation between scientific, ethical and theological understandings of altruism, and argues that it is possible to compare discussions of benevolent acts towards others or other-directedness. Such acts are determined in content by the extent and recipients, and the content make recognisable patterns. A care-pattern is defined as the giver of the benevolent act having a relation to the receiver. A cost-pattern is defined as the giver receiving reciprocation of the benevolent act. Two other issues affecting the content, value and origin of altruism in the theories are identified. Firstly, whether a qualitative or quantitative difference can be found between humans and animals and secondly, the relation between natural and cultural factors shaping human altruism. Standpoints among authors within sociobiology (Alexander, de Waal and Sober and Wilson) and the Christian tradition (Grant, Post, Pope, Hallett and Outka) are analysed. The analysis results in adaptive and agapeistic understandings of other-directedness. Sociobiology, although finding a large extent of altruism possible, arrives at a border between in-group and out-group recipients of other-directed acts. Both care-patterns and cost-patterns are found. Agapeistic patterns are care-patterns, characterised by viewing even out-groupers as neighbours entitled to care. Secondly, the study discusses contemporary attempts to relate sociobiology and the tradition of agape. Conflict models discuss care-patterns from either an adaptive or an agapeistic perspective. Both view altruism towards out-groupers as rare. Adaptive models leave altruism inexplicable, agapeistic models describe a paradox only solvable through religion. Independence models invoke a borderline between non-human and human organisms, exclude altruism from nature, and argue that it is culture or religion that makes humans altruistic. Adaptive independence models have to resort to transcendent sources of altruism, without accounting for them. Agapeistic independence models are found suffering from being at odds with science and having poor support from Biblical Studies, something they have in common with agapeistic conflict models. The study argues that accepting both explanatory theories might increase our understanding of altruism. Integration models admit that not only humans are capable of altruism, even if the larger complexity both in the human brain and in our cultural patterns affects the quantity and the quality of altruism. The quantity of altruism can be affected through expansion models, and the quality enhanced through transformation models. One such quality could be the moral or religious value of altruism, without denying the survival and reproductive enhancing value of care. A proposed suggestion of an integrative model aims to respect the distinctive character of agape as out-group love and describes agape as liberating, without denying the content, origin and value of our biological heritage. Natural and cultural streams of information form a symbiosis within humans and agape love “builds into” the preferential care sociobiology describes. The answer to the question of whether conflict is the only possible relation between a scientific and theological understanding of issues connected to altruism is negative.
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| 10. |
- Lindström, Niclas
(author)
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Förhållandet mellan praxis och teori inom etiken
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The main question of this thesis is if a practice is right because it is prescribed by an ethical theory, or if an ethical theory is right because it follows from certain practices? I propose the following definitions to illustrate the main alternatives: (1) if a practice is determined by an ethical theory and the ethical theory is not determined by practice, it is possible to speak of a top-down model of ethical thinking. (2) If a theory, conversely, is determined by a practice and the practice is not determined by theory, it can be described as a bottom-up model. (3) If a practice is used in order to determine an ethical theory, which in turn can be used to assess new practical situations in a constantly evolving process, it can be labelled an interaction model. (4) Finally, it is possible that certain practices are the basis of morality, and do not need to be systemized in any ethical theory. The focus of this study is on alternatives (2), (3) and (4) where practice is given due weight and is characterized by a rejection of a strictly theoretical approach to ethics. I address representatives from some of the most influential alternatives such as: (2) Albert R Jonsen & Stephen Toulmin (casuistry), (3) Jürgen Habermas (discourse ethics), Alasdair MacIntyre (virtue ethics), Jonathan Haidt (experimental ethics) and (4) John Dewey, Hilary Putnam and Richard Rorty (pragmatism). I also discuss how some prominent theologians, such as Stanley Hauerwas (Christian virtue ethics) and James Gustafson (theocentric ethics), deal with similar questions. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify various positions represented in the debate, and to examine which consequences they have for how decisions are made and justified within an ethical framework. I argue that the strength of models that include practical concerns in ethical thinking is that they can contribute to our understanding of why ideals, norms and values differ between various social spheres, and how they change over time. Instead of taking the traditional position, where a basic assumption about the nature of moral questions is crucial to identify a reliable approach, it is possible to assess which approaches give reliable results and use these to identify the factors relevant to answer moral questions. I identify two main alternatives: a paradigmatic and a discursive way of treating moral issues. They address various aspects of human life and action, which means that they do not exclude, but rather enrich each other in the context of an overall debate. It seems possible that both types of studies can provide reasons for performing an action or accepting a theory, which can then be revised and give rise to new positions. From such a perspective, neither the image of man and the world, nor our standards, ideals and values are necessarily static, but can be revised and reconsidered within the context of a changing social, cultural and historical context.
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