In this essay I will be examining the protagonist Niels Lyhnes naturalistic ambitions in J.P. Jacobsens novel Niels Lyhne (1880), more accuratley how the novel Niels Lyhne succeedes as a naturalistic novel through the failure of the protagonist Niels Lyhnes own ambition to live by the ideals of naturalism. Niels remains throughout his life a strong atheist because, in his childhood, God did not answer his prayers to save his dying aunts life. His atheism and his naturalistic ambitions turn into, which I will show, a form of idealism. This could be viewed as inevitable. To renounce ones belief in something also means that one embraces a belief in something else, even if this ”something” is the lack of what one used to believe in. Niels Lyhnes failure, however, means that the book Niels Lyhne succedes as a naturalistic novel. What Jacobsen has achieved is to depict man as the incomplete creature that she is.

The aim of this study is to analyze the Swedish writer, translator and debater Tore Zetterholms’ (1915 – 2001) views on the origins and growth of the totalitarian movements in Europe. By examining his work, I seek to provide a more complex understanding of the Swedish debate on the causes of fascism, nazism, and communism that took place in the early post-war era (1945 – 1950). While earlier research has focused almost entirely on the more intellectualistic explanations that were prominent in the liberal daily press, only few studies have been conducted on the views held by a more idealistic school of thought that took part in the deliberations, let alone on other arenas of debate. Consequently, the period has been depicted as governed by an almost hegemonic cultural radicalism. Whilst this faction saw totalitarian regimes as an absolute antithesis to the enlightenment heritage, Zetterholm, however, understood them rather as a fulfillment of modernity than as its antipode. His conception of history was founded on the idea of it as an ongoing and degenerative process of rationalization, a process which he meant had alienated man from his intrinsic moral sentiments, his original spirituality, and his fellow human beings. Therefore, the vitalism and collectivism of the totalitarian movements, as well as its religious cult of one infallible leader, spoke to the deepest psychological and spiritual needs of contemporary society. Ultimately, the study culminates in the statement that the alleged hegemony never existed.

This thesis intended to examine how the actions of Sweden, following the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, fit within the international relations theoretical perspective of pragmatic idealism, focusing on the actions of Sweden's foreign policy that impacted its neutrality policy. This thesis is built upon the pragmatic idealism theoretical perspective of international relations, and attempted to address how this perspective accounted for, or failed to account for the actions of Sweden in the face of the escalating Russian threat. The analysis herein is grounded in case study methodology. First, the thesis examined how Sweden-Russia relations evolved in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Second, the thesis examined how Sweden-NATO relations changed after the 2014-15 annexation of Crimea by Russia. In both cases, the paper analysed how the evolution of these relationships affected Sweden's neutrality, and how the evolution was consistent or not consistent with the “pragmatic” and “idealist” dimensions of the theoretical perspective of pragmatic idealism. The culmination of this paper drew an inference of the applicability of the perspective of pragmatic idealism to Sweden's application of neutrality to international relations. It concluded that Sweden's neutrality both prior to and following the invasion, as well as its subsequent actions, were in line with the theoretical perspective of pragmatic idealism.

This study argues that the dialectic and the metamorphosis of the basso del tema and tema in Beethoven’s Eroica Variations, Op. 35 mirror the stages of the philosophical thought of German Idealism. The philosophical systems of the post-Kantian generation were housed in the values of the Goethezeit, in which the concept of self was regarded as fundamental for the worldview. In Germany these systems generated a new intellectual ethos that merged cultural nationalism with the glorification of the self (Burnham). Beethoven’s music gave reliable expression to the values of the Goethezeit, depicting the self as a spiritual entity with a constitutive autonomy, a possibility for self-transcendence, and a fundamental condition of struggle for freedom. While research has focused on Beethoven’s heroic style (Broyles) and the philosophy of his music (Adorno), there is very little literature on the relationship between Beethoven’s music and the philosophical thought of the time. In 1930 Schenker discussed the use of the Eroica theme in the Eroica Variations (Marston): first, the material is stated in its simple form; then, rhythmic structure, dynamics, tempo, texture, and key transform it. Schenker considers the large-movement form rather than the theme, giving emphasis to the basso del tema. This study proposes an analysis of Op. 35–focusing first on the first fourteen variations and then on the fifteenth variation and on the fugue individually–as the musical statement of the philosophical thought of the Goethezeit and offers a discussion on the historical perspectives in Op. 35. Then, the study applies the proposed philosophical and historical analysis of the Eroica Variations to explain how an interpretation based on critical theory can help concert performers develop a deeper understanding of such a demanding piece of repertoire. Finally, the study examines the Eroica Variations as one of the most substantial concert pieces for piano by Beethoven and of the beginning of the nineteenth century, and offers suggestions on how to meet the musical and technical challenges of the piece. / Music Performance

The thesis considers Joyce's short stories "Araby," "A Painful Case," and the "The Dead," illustrating how these works present three intellectually and emotionally similar protagonists, but at different stages of life, with the final tale "The Dead" suggesting a sort of limited solution to the conflicts that define the earlier works. Taken together, "Araby" and "A Painful Case," represent a sort of life cycle of alienation: the boy of "Araby" is an isolated, deeply introspective youth who lives primarily within his own idealized mental world before discovering, through a failed romantic quest at the story's end, the complete impracticality of his own highly abstracted desires. In contrast, Duffy of "A Painful Case" is an extremely rigid, middle-aged bachelor who lives in a self-imposed exile from Irish society in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to escape the sort of mental and emotional pain that affects the boy, with his final epiphany being that such ideals still exist within him, but he now no longer has any hope of changing his life or taking part in society. The stories suggest that such idealized desires can neither be ignored nor fulfilled, and it is not until the chronologically final story "The Dead" that Joyce suggests any sort of limited solution to the dilemma. Gabriel of "The Dead" again displays the introversion, emotional fragility and extreme idealism of the earlier protagonists, but he, as a young, adult man, presents a break in the cycle and an alternate path. In contrast to the earlier protagonists, Gabriel refuses to exist within his own mental world alone, and instead takes part in and attempts to accommodate the desires of both society as a whole, and of specific individuals close to him, such as his aunts and his wife Gretta. Though Gabriel's attempts are not an unmitigated success, he earns a degree of satisfaction for his efforts, with his final revelation being of his connection to the rest of humanity, in contrast to the self-absorbed and hopeless reflections of the earlier protagonists.

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Erik Olof Burman, som disputerat 1872 på en boströmianskt präglad avhandling, efterträddes 1911 som professor i praktisk filosofi i Uppsala av sin adept Axel Hägerström. Denne kom att utveckla en materialistisk realism som bröt med Burmans och de närmaste föregångarnas subjektivism. Enligt vad han själv omvittnade, hade Hägerström inspirerats till filosofisk forskning genom att läsa Burmans skrift Om Kants kunskapslära (1884; Kk). I föreliggande studie undersöks dels om denna skrift innebär någon förskjutning av Burmans filosofi i realistisk riktning, dels om den påverkat utvecklingen av Hägerströms realism. Resultat: 1) Kk är väsentligen trogen den boströmianska metafysiken men innehåller formuleringar om rummet och tiden som kan tolkas objektivistiskt; 2) ingen specifik tanke i just Kk kan visas ha påverkat Hägerström; 3) Burmans betoning av verkligheten som logiskt bestämd, hans krav på systemisk enhet i kunskaps- och verklighetsteorin, och Kants avståndstagande från metafysisk spekulation påminner om Hägerström. / In 1872, Erik Olof Burman had defended a Boströmian idealistic dissertation in Uppsala. He was succeeded there in 1911 as professor of practical philosophy by his student Axel Hägerström, who was to develop a materialistic realism in contrast to the subjectivism of Burman and his predecessors. According to Hägerström’s own testimony, he had been inspired to take up philosophical research by reading Burman’s essay Om Kants kunskapslära (1884; ”Of Kant’s theory of knowledge”, Kk). In the present paper, an attempt is made at answering whether Burman’s essay on Kant represents any shift of Burman’s philosophy towards realism, and whether it has influenced Hägerström in that direction. Results: 1) Kk remains largely faithful to Boströmian metaphysics but contains expressions about space and time which may be interpreted in a more objectivistic manner; 2) no thought specifically from Kk can be shown to have influenced Hägerström; 3) Burman’s emphasis on reality as logical determination, his demand for systematic unity in the theory of knowledge and reality, and Kant’s rejection of metaphysical speculation are reminiscent of Hägerström.

This thesis tries to give a critically considered view of what New Age thought is about, where it came from, and where it takes education and the scientific quest for truth. The interest of this study lies in exposing the underlying New Age beliefs and premises so that the implications that New Age thought has for truly meaningful human development and the educational and scientific quest for truth can be determined. A historical investigation which proceeds from the assumption that New Age thought is a phenomenon with philosophical underpinnings that lie in Western historical dynamics is utilised in order to extract and give context to the beliefs and premises in which New Age thought is anchored. Firstly, the movements in the West's alternative mystical and magical spiritual tradition from which current New Age spiritual approaches issue are scrutinized. This is followed by an exploration of mainstream Western history. Foundational premises and central ideas concerning New Age anthropology, morality, cosmology, and epistemology which issue forth from theories in Western philosophy, psychology, and science are identified and critically analysed. From these analyses, the meaning and direction that New Age thought circumscribes for human development and learning are fully explored and evaluated. It is found that New Age thought upholds a magical worldview in which the objective existence of truth is denied. Because New Age thought does not create educational space in which the quest for truth as obedience to truth can be learnt and practised, emotional, moral, and cognitive development is arrested and the real, educational value in scientific inquiry is defeated. This study is concluded with suggestions that are personal yet grounded in the findings of this research as to the defense and upholdment of the idea of objective truth in moral and intellectual education. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Philosophy)