It is argued that Pryor's criticism of scepticism of perceptual justification misses the point: while Pryor's dogmatism can provide a successful explication of the perceptual justification of first order empirical beliefs (i.e., an explication of propositional justification), it is barren vis à vis second order sceptical criticisms about the epistemic status of beliefs justified via perception (that is, criticisms pointing to the lack of doxastic justification). We argue that the two main motivations that Pryor offers for his dogmatism –to avoid scepticism of perceptual justification and to explicate perceptual justification– fail due to his commitment with some externalist theses, which make it impossible to satisfy the metaepistemic requisites imposed by the sceptic. Hence given the lack of satisfaction of Pryor's own goals, we conclude that Pryor's dogmatism is not an adequate explication of perceptual justification. / Se argumenta que la crítica de Pryor al escepticismo sobre la justificación perceptiva está fuera de foco: mientras que el dogmatismo puede ser una explicación exitosa sobre la justificación perceptiva de las creencias empíricas de primer orden (i.e. de la justificación proposicional), es estéril frente a las críticas escépticas (de segundo orden) sobre el estatus epistémico de las creencias justificadas perceptivamente (es decir, frente a críticas que señalan la ausencia de justificación doxástica). Argumentamos que las dos principales motivaciones que Pryor ofrece a favor de su dogmatismo –evitar el escepticismo respecto de la justificación perceptiva y proporcionar una explicación intuitiva de la misma– fallan, debido, principalmente, a su compromiso con ciertas tesis de corte externista que imposibilitan la satisfacción de los requisitos metaepistémicos impuestos por el escéptico. En vista de este déficit explicativo respecto a sus propias motivaciones, concluimos que el dogmatismo no es una explicación adecuada de la justificación perceptiva en general.

Background: The anti-vaccination movement has gained attention in the media over the last few years, which has revived the debate as to whether parents should vaccinate their children or not. Infections, whose incidence has previously been declining as a result of compliance to national immunization programmes, have made a resurgence and the protection of the society that comes with vaccinations is decreasing. Vaccines are one of the most cost-efficient measures available to health care to prevent spreading of diseases and decrease mortality at the population level. Aim: To study the factors that influence parents’ decisions not to vaccinate their children in accordance with national immunization programmes to increase the understanding of these decisions. Method: A scoping review of articles retrieved from the databases PubMed and CINAHL. A content analysis was used to interpret content and create context. The result was based on 23 articles. Results: Several reasons why parents don't vaccinate their children were uncovered. A fear of adverse effects and a lack of trust in health care, authorities and vaccines were prominent reasons for vaccination refusal. Where parents gathered information, how they defined health and culture or religion where other factors that influenced the decision not to vaccinate. Conclusion: The main findings indicate a lack of trust in authorities, health care or vaccines among parents. Gathering information from the internet and media have contributed to ignorance about and a fear of the effects of vaccines. Health care staff need to improve their person-centered care and adapt information about vaccines to the recipient. / Bakgrund: Antivaccinationsrörelsen har fått medial uppmärksamhet de senaste åren, vilket har aktualiserat debatten huruvida föräldrar ska vaccinera eller inte vaccinera sina barn. Infektioner, vars utbredning tidigare minskat till följd av följsamhet till vaccinationsprogram, har åter fått fäste och det samhällsskydd som följer vaccinationer har minskat. Vaccin är en kostnadseffektiv åtgärd inom hälso- och sjukvården för att förhindra smittspridning och minska mortaliteten på befolkningsnivå. Syfte: Undersöka faktorer som påverkar föräldrars beslut att inte vaccinera sina barn enligt nationella vaccinationsprogram för att öka förståelsen för dessa beslut. Metod: Scoping review baserad på artiklar hämtade ur databaserna PubMed och CINAHL. Innehållsanalys tillämpades för att förstå innehåll och skapa sammanhang. Resultatet baseras på 23 artiklar. Resultat: I resultatet framkom olika skäl till att föräldrar inte vaccinerar sina barn. Rädsla för biverkningar och bristande tillit till sjukvården, myndigheter och vaccin var framträdande orsaker till vaccinvägran. Var föräldrar inhämtade information, hur de definierade hälsa samt kultur och religion var andra faktorer som påverkade beslutet att inte vaccinera. Slutsats: Resultatets primära fynd baseras på någon form av bristande tillit till myndigheter, sjukvården eller vaccin hos föräldrarna. Internet och media som informationskälla har bidragit till felaktiga uppfattningar om och rädsla för vacciners effekt. Sjukvården måste bli bättre på personcentrerad vård och individanpassa information om vaccin.

The historiography of philosophy presents many difficulties to anybody addressing its more general features. How easy it would be if we had only one skeptic philosopher - who calls himself a skeptic or is believed to be one - and just one 'other' philosopher who is not a skeptic or at least does not want be known as such. The third person would be the historian of philosophy who informs us about what befalls the skeptic philosopher and his skepticism. Does be have many followers or many critics or both? Does he stick to his opinions throughout his life or does he change them? ls he ignored by the other philosopher or rather criticized by him? The historian would report all of this to us; we would read his story and be in a position to discuss it, to compare it with the skeptic''s own writings and with those of his opponent, and so on. Unfortunately, this ideal constellation does not exist. History is more complex; the historians of philosophy reporting on skepticism have to deal with several skeptical philosophers - self-declared or suspected - from ancient and modern times, and with various theories of skepticism - apologetic and polemic, prompted by religious, scientific or other considerations. Most importantly, historians of philosophy are not a third party. This can be learned from Stäudlin''s History of Skepticism.

This thesis examines a selection of poems of Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan for stylistic devices, used to express the dynamic of speaking and silence in the poems. The main question of the thesis is how speaking and silencing are represented in the poetry of Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan and which influence has the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Martin Heidegger on this representation. For both poets the problem of speaking and expressing themselves appeared to be an acute question in the post-war time (World War II). The language scepticism led to the reconsideration of the role of language in poetry and the search for the new ways of expression.

Background: Research has shown that the risk of material misstatements increases during exogenous risk shocks. Simultaneously, auditors shall identify and assess the emergent risks. During the GFC, auditors' response was considered satisfactory by some but criticized byothers. Covid-19 presents a new exogenous risk shock which should entail a similar response by auditors. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the effect that exogenous risks during uncertain economic times have on the risk- and materiality assessments of auditors. Further, to determine if auditor independence and trait scepticism affect the relationship between exogenous risk and risk- and materiality assessments. Methodology: This study used a quantitative method by sending out questionnaires to Swedish authorized and approved auditors. The answers were analysed through Spearman correlation matrixes, Paired-samples T-tests, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regressions and a binary logistics regression. This study is based on a positivistic perspective and a deductive approach was used. Conclusion: The findings indicated that auditors did make more conservative risk assessments in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, they did not adjust the materiality assessments nor performance materiality assessments significantly. Moreover, that the individually situated factors of auditors had impact on the assessments during the pandemic.

Titel: Konsumenters uppfattningar som påverkar köpbeslut av lokalproducerad mat Författare: Kim Andersson och Klara Dandic Handledare: Jasenko Flodin Arsenovic Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att analysera de faktorer som styr konsumenternas beslut vid köp av lokalt producerade livsmedel genom att analysera förhållandet mellan konsumenternas uppfattningar om skepticism, kvalitet, välbefinnande i förhållande till betalningsvilja. Metod: Denna studie har en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi tillsammans med en deduktiv ansats. Data samlades in från svenska och kroatiska konsumenter från fyra undersökningar (n = 405 deltagare), där kroatiska och svenska konsumenter slumpmässigt gavs en scenariobaserad undersökning om lokalt eller icke-lokalt producerad mat. Slutsats: De erhållna forskningsresultaten visade att det inte fanns någon förstärkt effekt av demografiska faktorer på förhållandet mellan matens ursprung och betalningsvilja, med undantag för utbildningsnivån, som hade en signifikant men liten effekt. Forskningen visade också att konsumenterna uppfattar lokalt producerade livsmedel som mer högkvalitativa och att de upplever att de ökar det subjektiva välbefinnandet. Det påpekades att kvalitet förmedlar förhållandet mellan matens ursprung och välbefinnande. Skepticism visade sig vara en direkt faktor som påverkar konsumenternas betalningsvilja, och dessutom fastställdes att skepticism bland kroater och svenskar är diametralt olika, där kroater visade sig vara mycket skeptiska och svenskar mindre skeptiska, vilket gav rätt att betrakta skepticism som representativ för geografisk tillhörighet. Mindre skeptiska respondenter upplevde högre kvalitet och välbefinnande jämfört med mer skeptiska respondenter. Både kvalitet och välbefinnande förmedlade sambandet mellan skepticism och betalningsvilja, där mindre skeptiska respondenter var villiga att betala mer än mer skeptiska respondenter. Det är viktigt att påpeka att lokalproducerad mat inte har någon effekt på uppfattningen om skepticism, men att skepticism är en viktig förutsägelse när det gäller viljan att betala för lokalproducerad mat. Nyckelord: Lokalproducerad mat, Skepticism, Kvalitet, Välmående, Betalningsvilja / Title: Consumers' perceptions that influence purchase decisions of locally produced food Authors: Kim Andersson och Klara Dandic Supervisor: Jasenko Flodin Arsenovic Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyse the factors that control consumers' decisions when buying locally produced food by analysing the relationship between consumers' perceptions of scepticism, quality, well-being in relation to willingness to pay. Method: This study has a quantitative research strategy together with a deductive approach. Data were collected from Swedish and Croatian consumers from four surveys (n = 405 participants), where Croatian and Swedish consumers were randomly given a scenario-based survey about locally or non-locally produced food. Conclusion: The obtained research results showed that there was no enhanced effect of demographic factors on the relationship between food origin and willingness to pay, apart from the level of education, which had a significant but small effect. The research also showed that consumers perceive locally produced food as being of higher quality and that they perceive it as increasing subjective well-being. It was noted that quality mediates the relationship between food origin and well-being. Scepticism was found to be a direct factor influencing the consumer's willingness to pay, and furthermore, it was established that scepticism among Croatians and Swedes is diametrically different, with Croatians found to be highly sceptical and Swedes less sceptical, justifying considering scepticism as representative of geographical affiliation. Less sceptical respondents experienced higher quality and well-being compared to more sceptical respondents. Both quality and well-being mediated the relationship between scepticism and willingness to pay, with less sceptical respondents willing to pay more than more sceptical respondents. It is important to note that locally produced food has no effect on perceptions of scepticism, but that scepticism is an important predictor of willingness to pay for locally produced food. Keywords: Local food, Scepticism, Quality, Well-being, Willingness to pay

Literature on climate policy of political parties’ points to an emerging congruence between populist radical right parties and scepticism toward climate change and climate policy. This thesis explores this nexus via a case study of the Sweden Democrats (SD) climate policy over a period of twelve years (2010-2022). It examines if the Sweden Democrats have expressed variations of climate scepticism and whether this has varied over time. Idea analysis and a taxonomy of three categories of climate scepticism are used for analysing official policy material of the Sweden Democrats. This thesis finds that the Sweden Democrats have outcomes on all three categories of climate scepticism: evidence (i.e., whether human caused climate change is happening), process (related to bureaucratic and scientific processes, e.g., scepticism against dominant research paradigms and bureaucratic decision making), and response scepticism (related to policy choices dealing with climate change). Over time there has been a gradual migration of scepticism from evidence and process related scepticism toward more policy-oriented forms of scepticism that concerns type of policy and attitudinal responses to climate change. Sweden Democrats climate scepticism is primarily anchored in arguments related to desired levels of national response and issues of trade/offs, with climate scepticism frequently constructed through frameworks of the potential harm that climate mitigation may do to national sovereignty, national economy, and industries. Another finding is that the Sweden Democrats overall have a lower salience and prioritization of climate issues compared to other parties represented in parliament whose climate policy they criticize, presenting their climate policy as alternative to these parties. This thesis concludes that the Sweden Democrats climate scepticism is closer to an unconvinced stance toward climate change rather than strictly denialistic, with evidentiary sceptic arguments over time becoming less frequent and decreasing in the degree of scepticism.

Text in German / The present thesis undertakes a comprehensive survey and criticak analysis of the concept of duty and its significance in the prose of Siegfried Lenz (born in 1926). It concentrates on those novels and narratives in which duty is the main motif; these are Schwierige Trauer (1960), Das Feuerschiff (1960), Deutschstunde (1968) and Ein Kriegsende (1984). After an introduction which outlines the development and the influence of the concept of duty in Germany, the thesis deals with Lenz's prose in chronological order. Siegfried Lenz's main motif is the significance of the concept of duty within the moral code of the individual, the specific meaning and influence of which has been developed in Germany. Lenz does not deny that duty is a necessary element of the process of socialization. But he rejects the unreflected and uncritical acceptance of a dubious morality based on a sense of duty, at the expense of individuality and responsibility for oneself. It is a deformed understanding of duty which Lenz exposes and criticizes in his work: a characteristic mark of submissiveness and slavish obedience ("Untertanengeist und Kadavergehorsam"). These distortions are determined by political-historical events, theological dogmas, philosophical theses and an authoritarian upbringing. The reasons for the attitudes and behaviour of Lenz's fictitious characters have their roots in those factors. Lenz always insists on reflection. He refuses the uncritical acceptance of a morality based on duty, which allows a person to avoid his or her responsibility. However, Siegfried Lenz neither attempts to construct a social background nor does he offer recipes for a new social order. Rather he restricts himself to the sceptical questioning of norms and values, which are maintained by authority. The author creates a conflict in a hermetic environment, for example a ship or a small village, in which his fictitious characters have to prove themselves. By confronting his readers with such an extreme situation and the protagonists' questionable decisions, Lenz forces his public to reconsider their own position. The author's aim is to make his readers realize that right and wrong cannot always be distinguished in a clear-cut manner / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (German)

There have been recent explosions of interest in two fields: Madhyamaka-Pyrrhonism parallels and Pyrrhonism itself, which seems to have been misunderstood and therefore neglected by the West for the same reasons and in the same ways that Madhyamaka traditionally has often been by the West and the East. Among these recent studies are several demonstrating that grounding in Madhyamaka, for example, reveals and illuminates the import and insights of Pyrrhonean arguments. Furthermore it has been suggested that of all European schools of philosophy Pyrrhonism is the one closest to Buddhism, and especially to Madhyamaka. Indeed Pyrrho is recorded to have studied with philosophers in Taxila, one of the first places where Madhyamaka later flourished, and the place where the founder of Madhyamaka, Nāgārjuna, may have received hitherto concealed texts which became the foundation for his school. In this dissertation I explore just how similar these two philosophical projects were. I systematically treat all the arguments in the Pyrrhonist redactor Sextus Empiricus’ Outlines of Pyrrhonism and Against Dogmatists and compare them to the most similar arguments available in the Madhyamaka treatises and related texts. On this basis, I ask whether the Pyrrhonists and the Buddhists would satisfy each other’s self-identifying criteria, or what characteristics would disqualify either or both in the other’s eyes. I also ask what questions arise from the linguistic and historical evidence for interactions between the Pyrrhonist school and the Madhyamaka school, and how sure we can be of the answers. Did Pyrrho learn Buddhism in Taxila? Was Nāgārjuna a Pyrrhonist? Finally I bring the insights of the living commentarial tradition of Madhyamaka to bear on current scholarly controversies in the field of Sextan Pyrrhonism, and apply the subtleties of interpretation of the latter which have developed in recent scholarship to Madhyamaka and its various difficulties of interpretation, to scrutinize each school under the illumination of the other. With this hopefully illuminated view, I address for example whether Sextus was consistent, whether living Pyrrhonism implies apraxia, whether Pyrrhonism is philosophy at all, and whether Madhyamaka is actually nihilism.

Thèse de doctorat effectuée en cotutelle au Département de philosophie Faculté des arts et des sciences de l’Université de Montréal et au département de philosophie école doctorale V de l’Université de la Sorbonne – Paris IV. Soutenue à Paris le 8 avril 2010. / Cette thèse vise à mettre en lumière, dans les Essais de Montaigne, un aspect peu connu du débat sur la constance à la fin du seizième siècle. Alors que la vertu de constance devient à cette époque un enjeu philosophique et moral de première importance, servant à la fois des idéaux stoïciens, chrétiens et civils, nous constatons une insistance des Essais à souligner le phénomène contraire, l’inconstance. Il s’agit dans un premier temps de montrer le dialogue que construit l’ouvrage de Montaigne face à la vertu de constance, puis d’établir le statut argumentatif de l’inconstance dans les Essais. Afin de mettre en valeur ce dialogue dissimulé sous les bigarrures des Essais, nous nous proposons de combiner lecture internaliste et intertextualité, afin d’évaluer au mieux les actes d’écrire de cet ouvrage. Dans le but de situer ce débat sur la constance et l’inconstance, nous nous rapportons d’abord à certaines écoles de philosophie hellénistique que pillent les Essais. Nous présentons d’une part l’origine, d’autre part et les déplacements de ce débat. Le scepticisme de Montaigne s’en trouve déstabilisé, le stoïcisme à la fois débattu et repoussé, l’épicurisme instrumentalisé. L’inconstance prend un visage universel qui rend présomptueuse, vaine et même dangereuse toute aspiration à la constance. La deuxième section de la thèse montre la prise en charge méthodologique de l’inconstance dans les Essais, notamment à travers le Distingo, et son effet sur la connaissance historique comme sur les activités prudentielles (politique, jurisprudence, action militaire). Après avoir montré que l’ouvrage de Montaigne présente une critique radicale de la méthode et des objectifs des moralistes, nous posons que la nature de l’essai est de corriger cette erreur et de donner sa juste place à l’inconstance humaine. Nous constatons alors que l’inconstance a le statut d’une condition pré éthique poussant les Essais à déconsidérer toute entreprise humaine dans la sphère publique. Mais ce désaveu jeté sur la sphère publique ne conduit pas à renier toute réflexion éthique. Les Essais n’encouragent pas simplement à se laisser porter par la fortune ou la coutume. Dans la sphère privée, le troisième livre des Essais construit plusieurs règles éthiques étonnantes et hétérodoxes : non repentir, diversion, vanité, expérience…qui toutes prennent pour pierre d’assise le possible (selon qu’on peut) et contribuent à redéfinir la grandeur d’âme (magnitudo animi, megalopsychè), en présentant un nouvel ordre ou une nouvelle conformité de l’action. Par delà l’analyse morale et la peinture du moi, se déploient dans les Essais une éthique qui s’approprie le mouvement imparfait de l’existence, qui s’édifie non plus contre l’inconstance, mais avec elle. Cette « éthique de l’inconstance » ou « éthique de l’indirection » se construit en opposition avec les morales doctrinales avec lesquelles elle discute toutefois sans interruption. / This thesis aims to emphasize in Montaigne’s Essays a little known aspect concerning the debate of constancy towards the end of the 16th. Century. While the virtue of constancy becomes a philosophical and moral issue of great importance, favouring at the same time the stoic, Christian and civil ideals, we observe in Montaigne’s Essays, an insistence to underline a contradictory phenomenon; inconstancy. First, it is essential to demonstrate the dialogue that builds Montaigne’s work concerning the virtue of constancy, to finally establish the proper argumentation on inconstancy in his Essays. In order to highlight this dialogue concealed in the patchwork of the Essays, we are proposing to combine internal and external reading, in order to evaluate thoroughly the act of writing they implicitly propose. With the intent to situate this debate concerning the virtue of constancy and the problem of inconstancy, we will refer primarily to the Hellenistic philosophies plundered by the Essays. We will present in the first part the origin and in the second part, the transfer of the debate. Montaigne’s scepticism happens to be destabilized, his stoicism is at the same time debated and rejected, his Epicureanism becoming a tool determining their truth. The inconstancy as mentioned takes a universal appearance making all references to the virtue of constancy as presumptuous, vain and even dangerous. The second section of the thesis demonstrates that methodology of the Essays takes over the notion of inconstancy, notably through the “Distingo”, and its effects on the historical knowledge relating to prudential activities such as: jurisprudence, political and military life. Now that we have demonstrated that the work of Montaigne presents a radical critic of the method and the objectives of the moralists, we claim that the nature of the essay is to correct this error and thus give the right place to human inconstancy. We acknowledge the fact that inconstancy has a status of a pre-ethic condition which pushes the Essays to disrepute any human enterprise in the public sphere. However, this denial cast upon the public sphere does not lead us to reject any kind of ethical reflection. Therefore, the Essays do not exclusively encourage letting faith or fortune carry us. In the private sphere, the third book of the Essays constructs many ethical regulations that are astonishing and heterodox: non repentance, diversion, vanity, experience...These aspects are all grounded in the ethical mode of the possible, (« Selon qu’on peut ») and at the same time contribute in redefining the magnitude of the soul (magntiudo animi, mégalopsychè) by presenting a new order or a new conformity of action. Beyond the moral analysis and the description of oneself, an ethical process seizes the imperfect movement of existence in the Essays, which erects itself not against inconstancy but in harmony with it. This ethic of inconstancy or ethic of indirection is built in opposition with the moral doctrines even though a constant debate seems to unite them.