Childism, fördomar mot barn, är ett nytt begrepp, som introducerats av den amerikanska psykiatern och filosofen Elisabeth Young-Bruehl 2012 och som jag nu vill föra in i den svenska filosofiska kontexten. Jag undersöker om childism förekommer i Sverige genom att tillämpa Kasper Lippert-Rasmussens definition av gruppdiskriminering på barn, vilket inte gjorts tidigare. Inledningsvis redovisar jag ämnets relevans för att därefter redogöra för Lippert-Rasmussens definition av gruppdiskriminering. Det är av yttersta vikt att förstå hur han menar att hans definition skiljer sig från hur vi traditionellt använder begreppet diskriminering, då han menar att hans definition tar oss ett stycke längre i vår förståelse av vad som är moraliskt fel i diskriminering. Därefter tillämpar jag Lippert-Rasmussens definitionen på tre olika tänkbara fall av diskriminering; det första med en mamma som hånar sin dotter, det andra med en biovakt som hindrar barn från att se barnförbjuden film och det tredje med placering av barn vid ett så kallat barnbord. På detta sätt visar jag att Lippert-Rasmussens definition av gruppdiskriminering går att tillämpa på barn, att childism finns genom att påvisa det i ett av de tre fallen, samt lyfter in det nya begreppet childism i den svenska filosofiska kontexten.

Introduction This study explores the role of religion in Afghan and international news media coverageduring the lead-up to the Taliban's resurgence and takeover of Kabul in August 2021.Through an analysis of approximately one thousand news articles using a grounded theoryapproach, the research seeks to understand how religion was represented, framed, anddiscussed. The findings illuminate the complex interplay between religion, media, andconflict. Additionally, they enrich the wider academic discourse on the topic, offering deeperinsights and expanding the body of knowledge in this area. The research questions focused onthe portrayal of religion in media, the key religious actors and institutions, the religiousideologies and beliefs driving actions, and the consequences of religious divisions andalliances on the conflict. Recognizing the role of media in shaping societal discourse, thisstudy aims to contribute to a more informed public conversation about religion's role inconflict zones like Afghanistan. Literature ReviewThis chapter offers a review of the existing literature pertaining to the subject matter of thestudy, primarily drawing on grounded theory methodology. The first section reviews conflicttheory, detailing its assumptions and key tenets, and providing examples of its practicalapplications like the MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. A critical examination ofthe theory is also provided, highlighting its limitations.The second section explores Conflict and Political Islam theories, discussing the widespectrum of movements, ideologies, and state policies that fall under its purview. The chapterthen explores into media representation in the context of religion, focusing on the changinglandscape of Afghan media since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.The chapter continues to explore the role of media in shaping public opinion, recognizing theadvancements in Afghanistan's media landscape as well as its constraints. Finally, gaps inexisting literature are identified, including inherent limitations and potential biases inanalysing news media coverage. Grounded Theory Methodology This study employed grounded theory for data analysis and theory development based on thefindings. A sampling approach was used initially to gather diverse media articles on religiousdiscourse, particularly Islam and Conflict based research. As themes emerged, theoreticalsampling was applied to select new articles that supported the evolving framework untiltheoretical saturation was reached.The study conducted an analysis similar to grounded theory, involving coding, categorization,and grouping based on research questions. The primary goal was to identify data patterns,contributing to a theoretical framework and providing insights for future research.Dataset and Methodology OverviewThis chapter applies grounded theory to a dataset of Afghanistan media articles tocomprehend complex sociopolitical dynamics. The diverse dataset fills knowledge gaps,allowing for the creation of an evidence-based theory. Findings and Analysis This chapter explores the analysis of over thousand media articles, shedding light on thepatterns and categories within religious discourse. Using the grounded theory approach, thechapter unfolds through initial data familiarization, transcription, and rigorous data coding,including open, axial, and selective coding. The outcome is a comprehensive understandingof the religious discourse and its implications on societal norms and behaviours.The chapter then uncovers and explores patterns in religious discourse, specifically focusingon Afghan and international news media coverage on the role of religion leading up to theTaliban's return to power. Three main categories emerge: the religious identity of the Taliban,the role of religion in peace talks, and the religious conflict and violence in Afghanistan andPakistan. The analysis provides valuable insights into the dynamics of religious communities,the intricacies of peace negotiations, and the influence of religious discourse in shapingsocietal beliefs and values. Conclusion Chapter 7 concludes the study by highlighting the potential of the Religion and ConflictOutcomes Theory as an analytical tool for understanding the role of religion in conflicts,using Afghanistan and the resurgence of the Taliban as a case study. The theory, whiledeveloped specifically for the Afghan context, has broader applicability to other religiouslyinfluenced conflicts, such as those involving ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The chapter emphasizesthe theory's contribution to knowledge, particularly in enabling policymakers, researchers,and practitioners to understand religious influences within conflicts, which can informpeacebuilding and conflict resolution strategies.Furthermore, practical implications of the theory are discussed, stressing the need for amultidimensional approach to crises. The study highlights the importance of early warningsystems, the role of UN and other stakeholders in proactive measures, and the need foremergency assistance in crisis situations. It emphasizes the significance of collaborationamong international organizations, governments, local actors, and civil society in crisisresponse, and the need for continuous monitoring and adaptation to address evolvingchallenges.

The discovery of Philodemus' library was a considerable contribution to our knowledge of the Epicurean philosophy. It was excavated two centuries ago at Herculaneum, where the Epicureans settled their school in the first century B.C. The library contains a large number of papyri, among which are works of Philodemus; these documents on religion, logic, and morality, as expounded by the Epicureans. Until the present, such aspects of that singular philosophy were known only from a few testimonia of ancient critics, namely, Diogenes Laertius, Sextus Empiricus, and Cicero. At present, the discovery of the treatises of Philodemus allows us to comprehend thoroughly not only the Epicurean doctrines, but also their intentions and aims. The works of Philodemus were published for the first time at the beginning of the 20th century. Since that time they have been sadly neglected by scholars, with the exception of some Ph.D. dissertations which treat of some parts of Philodemus' philosophical and poetical works. A large part of his works, however, still remains unknown to most classicists. Recently, a new interest in the Philodemian corpus has arisen among classical philologists. I became acquainted with Philodemus' philosophical treatises during the course which I took last winter with Professor H. Jones, in which we studied the De rerum Natura of Lucretius. An assignment, Philodemus as a philosopher and poet, stimulated me to engage in a study of his moral treatises, and more generally of the Epicurean philosophy. In this thesis I intend to present Philodemus' views on the role of frankness in the life of the Epicurean; his observations concerning the life of practicality, resourcefulness, and prudent household management; and his thoughts on the nature of death. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Socially and politically significant Muslim communities are posing a challenge to the public spheres of Western Europe: can public reason in a liberal democracy be so conceived as to accommodate the religious reasons of Muslims and other religiously motivated citizens? This question, often discussed from the perspective either of political philosophy or of particular religious traditions, is addressed here instead by drawing on the theory and practice of inter-religious dialogue. The dialogue movement known as ‘scriptural reasoning’ is analysed for its potential to provide a way of conceptualising the nature of reasoning in the public sphere. ‘Reasoning with texts’, it is argued, is a way of describing much of the reasoning that takes place within the public sphere and not just religious reasoning. This approach to understanding public reasoning is established through a combination of example and theory. A model of communicative hermeneutics as public reason based on an (inter)textual rationality is proposed. As well as providing space for textually based religious arguments, this (inter)textual imagination can be situated alongside and complement postmodern developments of Jürgen Habermas’s conception of the public sphere. Whilst this approach to reasoning in the public sphere initially appears very different from the classic statement of the idea of public reason in John Rawls’s political liberalism, it is shown to have significant continuity with Rawls’s theory when this is viewed through the lens of the Supreme Court as exemplar of public reason. This highest level of public reason involving legislation is also a form of reasoning with texts. But in order for religious and more popular levels of public discourse and deliberation to impact on the political and legislative processes, these too must be conceived as modes of reasoning having some continuity with higher levels of public reasoning. It is such continuity that this thesis seeks to theorise.

This paper examines the relationship between literature and philosophy, with special regards to how literature can contribute to deepen the understanding in philosophical matters. This is executed by a comparison between how a work of fiction, versus works of philosophy, can tackle the issue of personhood. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is being compared with philosopher Lynne Rudder Baker’s Persons and Bodies and Jacques Maritain’s The Person and the Common Good in order to map out how literature can contribute to the philosophical discourse regarding personhood. The paper finalizes that the main character in Frankenstein, “the monster” displays several issues that may show up when trying to define what it means to be a person, and where the line is to be drawn between a person and a non-person. The paper thus serves a two-folded purpose: to expand and challenge the traditional philosophical methodology, and find new understanding within the subject of personhood.

I hope this scientific essay can shed som light over how guilt kan appear at a school, primarily for those working as fritidslärare. Fritidslärare come often in close contact with special needs children.In the story I shall recount a case where I have taken the roll of carer and helping an extroverted pupil through his schoolday. He spends most of his time outside the classrum and is mostly with a special needs teacher. Generally his day is filled with rewards and punishment; methods that I find myself uncomfortable with. On one of these schooldays I find myself giving up on him. I see myself ignoring him, taking out my cell phone while he watches a film on the computer. In this situation I feel guilt. Do I have a bad moral standard or am I just acting in accordance with the situation? The question of how I deal with this guilt and what shape the guilt takes are two of the questions I pose to myself. I have made use of the Algerian author and philosopher Albert Camus and his theory of the absurd and the lack of freedom in our lives and how the absurd always stands in the way of total freedom. If we are aware of its existence then we can live with it and minimize its effect upon us. I will also refer to his novel The Fall (2007) in which the protagonist has long managed to avoid guilt and judgement. He comes to feel discomfort after an incident that he identifies as feelings of guilt. The guilt can be both collective and individual. In my text I shall concentrate on individual guilt. I, as an individual teacher, have my version of the truth whilst those around me have another. What does this imply? I also treat the mechanisms of control within the school that manifest themselves through reward and punishment.

This thesis relies on the works of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Seyla Benhabib in the field of Postcolonialism. Guided by their theoretical insights it is aiming at providing an understanding of how postcolonial structures within the International Humanitarian Aid discourse takes form and discuss strategies for communication that would be deemed justified in this context. Through a field research in Lebanon, focusing on the Lebanese Red Cross and their methods used for communication, it provides a scrutiny of the theoretical insights of Spivak and Benhabib, in order to see how plausible they are when discussing the way Global Humanitarian Organizations operate in todays’ world. In the conclusive discussion, the study exposes the importance for these organizations to let go of their essentialist way of looking at the subaltern, continuously depriving her of her subject position. In a context of asymmetrical power relations, there is a need for these organizations to ”learn to learn from below”. The people of the Western world need to unlearn Western privilege to enable themselves to relate to people and communities outside of their own paradigm and thus create presuppositions for an ethical communication.

The explosive growth of technology today is causing extensive speculation about the future. These ‘technological futurisms’—especially transhumanism—are often imbued with religious value by their adherents. How should Christians respond to the content of technological futurisms and also the way the future is constructed? In this thesis I argue that Christian eschatology has a more robust understanding of the future than technological futurism, as championed by transhumanism, and can allow for radical hope while also maintaining important humanistic virtues which are ultimately lost in transhumanism. Christian eschatology does not only depend on what is actual to create its future. Rather, it is open to the God of possibility and promise who can bring the radically new in the Kingdom of God. This dissertation is broken into three major sections with an introductory and concluding chapter. The first section provides a history of our technological imagination today by looking at visionary approaches to technology and the future in both technological utopias and science fiction. This history provides the conditions for understanding the proposed future of transhumanism. The second section orients the final response by assessing technology and the future in the eschatologies of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Jacques Ellul. Both Teilhard and Ellul agree that the technological future without appeal to the Christian God is dangerous. The final section looks at the theological and philosophical issues surrounding technology and the future. Heidegger’s works are used to sharpen themes related to technology and the future; in particular, how technology is related to ontology and how the future is related to possibility. The final chapters construct a Christian response to transhumanism around the themes of possibility and promise by utilising the works of Richard Kearney, Eberhard Jüngel and Jürgen Moltmann. A Christian notion of possibility allows for the radically new in a way transhumanism does not and the Christian idea of promise safeguards human virtues by emphasising the interpersonal as ultimate rather than self-transcendence as with transhumanism.

While the United Kingdom has a general commitment to religious freedom, there is currently very little written on what this commitment ought to mean for religious organizations. This thesis contributes to religious freedom literature by considering when United Kingdom law ought to apply to religious organizations. It answers this question by exploring certain potential conflicts between United Kingdom law and religious organizations paying particular attention to those that are under-examined and where the possibility of differential treatment is strongest. The thesis is divided into three parts. Part One consists of Chapter One and sets out the doctrinal and theoretical foundations of religious freedom. Here the thesis accepts that autonomy is the liberal normative justification for religious freedom. Part Two consists of Chapters Two to Chapter Seven and examines the interaction between United Kingdom law and religious organizations in six contexts: employment; the provision of goods and services; membership admission; internal discipline, internal property disputes; and family matters. Each chapter in Part Two is divided into two parts. The first part considers the legal doctrine that applies to religious organizations in that context. It then considers whether that approach can be justified in light of the commitment to religious freedom and autonomy identified in Part One. Part Three consists of the final chapter, Chapter Eight. This chapter uses the conclusions from the preceding doctrinal chapters to suggest a general approach for determining when law should apply to religious organizations. The thesis concludes that a contextual approach, that considers the often competing interests involved, is the best way of determining when law should apply to religious organizations. Such consideration ought to pay special attention to the importance of the particular activity to ensuring that the option of a religious way of life is available.

This essay presents the result of a quantitative study made among contemporary pagans in Sweden. The study, which is based on an Internet survey, examines which types of pagan practices that are most common and what kind of troubles pagan faith could cause in the practitioners daily life. The study also examines whether the historical tradition and the archaeological facts behind a contemporary pagan movement serves as a pattern or an inspiration for the practitioners way of leading their lives or performing rituals. It also examines the correlation between the participants sex and their pagan tradition. The study shows that a vast majority of the 132 participants claimed to belong to an Old Norse tradition, but also believed in different beings of nature and nature religion. A majority of the participants viewed historical and archaeological facts with a connection to their faith more as an inspiration to their religious practices than actual religious rules.