This thesis examines Epictetus' view on Cynic philosophy, as it is being expressed in chapter 22 of the third book of Diatribai ("The Discourses"). The chapter has traditionally been seen as an idealized and deceitful portrait of the Cynic, and has been questioned as an intended justification of stoics and Cynics in the overall view on the history of philosophy. This thesis, however, attempts a different approach on the matter, based upon a thorough discussion regarding the field of research, as well as on different ways to read and understand the text at hand, in order to seek out a view that goes beyond the traditional distinction between practice and theory. The thesis thus challenges the view where the philosophy of Epictetus is seen as an instrumental practice of stoic theory, isolated to the field of ethics.   The reading of the chapter focuses mainly on the philosophical purpose of the text and its intended practice, and finds that much of the stoic ascetic practice is not only taught through instructions, but also performed in the lecture and Epictetus' way of speaking. Epictetus' portrait of the philosophical Cynic is thus understood, not only as an extreme end that serves as an ascetic role-model, but also as a basic archetype of what it actually means to practice a philosophical way of thinking, that is of central importance to Epictetus philosophy. This sheds a new light on both the traditional distinction between stoic theory and practice, and on much of the research performed on the field of stoicism this far, as well as on that of Cynicism.

The theme of this work is the phenomenon of trustworthiness. With reference to the approach of the European Values Survey, the trustworthiness is mapped by attitudes justification of behaviours called as the every day crime (avoiding a fare on public transport, cheating on taxes, etc.) and other phenomena, that might be questionable or dilemmatic from an ethical perspective (adultery, abortion, etc. ). Through cluster analysis are defined four groups of people, different in trustworthy level and the importance they attach to the problems under consideration. The aim of the following analysis is to discover whether and to what extent, from each of these groups differ in terms of trust and socio-demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The results show, that interpersonal and institutional trust is not the same in the groups, but this diference, with the exception of trust in the Church, is not great. The analysis also suggests a connection between untrustworthiness and younger age and dissatisfaction with a life. The phenomenon of trust is examined using data from the European Values Study, specifically the wave realized in 2008. The work relates to the situation in the Czech Republic Key words: trustworthiness, interpersonal trust, institutional trust, every day crime, legal cynicism, social...

Detta kandidatarbete i psykologi undersöker motstånd mot förändringar på arbetsplatsen med fokus på cynism gentemot förändringar genom en jämförande studie mellan svenska offentliga organisationer och en tidigare genomförd australiensisk studie. Studien använder begreppet cynism för att analysera medarbetarnas attityder gentemot förändringar och utforskar dess två underdimensioner: pessimism och dispositionell tillskrivning. Studien visar på att det finns en skillnad mellan det svenska och det australienska urvalet, där det svenska urvalet är mer cyniskt inställt gentemot förändringar än det australiensiska. Däremot identifierar studien inte att det finns en skillnad mellan personer med högre utbildningsnivå jämfört med lägre utbildningsnivå eller med personer med mer arbetlivserfarenhet jämfört med lägre arbetslivserfarenhet rörande hur cyniska de är gentemot förändringar på arbetsplatsen. / This undergraduate thesis in psychology explores resistance to changes in the workplace, focusing on cynicism towards changes through a comparative study between Swedish public organisations and a previously conducted Australian study. The study utilises the concept of cynicism to analyse employees' attitudes towards changes and explores its two sub-dimensions: pessimism and dispositional attribution. The study indicates that there is a difference between the Swedish and Australian samples, where the Swedish sample is more cynical towards changes than the Australian one. However, the study does not identify a difference between individuals with higher levels of education compared to those with lower levels of education, or among individuals with more working life experience compared to those with less working life experience in terms of how cynical they are towards workplace changes. Keywords:

Biståndshandläggare inom äldreområdet är en profession med hög arbetsbelastning och ett komplext uppdrag att verka i skärningspunkten mellan intentionerna i en målrationell lagstiftning, kommunal budget och den enskildes behov. Genom att låta handläggare besvara en vinjettstudie, där de presenterats för Esther, undersöktes biståndshandläggare som profession utifrån ett cyniskt perspektiv, hur biståndshandläggare hanterar sin arbetssituation utifrån diskretionsteori och om egenskaper hos biståndshandläggaren påverkar utfall i handläggningsprocessen. Studien visar att Esthers ärende handläggs på olika sätt, att handläggare fokuserar på olika behov och gör olika bedömningar av hennes rätt till bistånd i form av särskilt boende enligt 4 kap. 1 § SoL. Vidare undersökning av samband mellan egenskaper hos handläggare och utfall i handläggningsprocessen påvisar inga signifikanta samband som kan förklara utfallet. Resultatet pekar på att egenskaper som ålder, erfarenhet av biståndshandläggning eller annan myndighetsutövning och socionomutbildning inte skapar en mer rättssäker handläggning. Skillnader i biståndshandläggningen tycks i stället orsakas av de strategier som biståndshandläggare använder för att klara sin vardag. / Decision makers in the field of eldercare is a profession with a high workload and a complex assignment while navigating in the intersection between the intentions of a goal-oriented legislation, a municipal budget, and the needs of the individual. By asking decision makers to answer a vignette study, where they were presented to Esther, decision makers as a profession were examined from a cynical perspective. Examining the use of strategies to handle their workload, based on theories of discretion and if characteristics of the decision maker affect outcomes in the needs assessment process. The study shows that Esther’s case was handled in different ways, that decision makers focused on different needs and made different assessment regarding her right to accommodation at a retirement home according to chapter 4 § 1 in the Social Services Act. Further examination of the relationship between characteristics of decision makers and outcomes in the needs assessment process shows no significant relationships that explains the outcome. The results indicate that characteristics such as age, experience in needs assessment and other experience of authority or a degree from higher education in social work does not create a more legally secure process. Instead, the differences in the needs assessment seems to be caused by the strategies that decision makers use to cope with their working situation.