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Fokus för avhandlingen, Att uttrycka det mänskliga: narrativ etik i Nuruddin Farah’s trilogier, är de nio romaner publicerade mellan 1979 och 2011 som tillsammans utgör Nuruddin Farah’s tre trilogier: ”Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship,” bestående av Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Sardines (1981), Close Sesame (1983); “Blood in the Sun,” bestående av Maps (1986), Gifts (1993), Secrets (1998); samt “Past Imperfect,” bestående av Links (2003), Knots (2007), Crossbones (2011). Tematiska och stilistiska skillnader till trots så är dessa trilogier och romaner märkbart sammanhängande i sitt fokus. De är inte bara tydligt förankrade i en somalisk verklighet som spänner över mer än tre decennier – en resa som inbegriper landets skifte från kommunisitstyre, via diktatur, till inbördeskrig, och 2010-talets version med islamistiskt styre och pirater som härjar kustregionen – men dessa romaner pekar genomgående bortom sin tydliga socio-politiska kontext mot djupt etiska, tid- och rumsoberoende frågeställningar: Hur förhåller sig individen till kollektivet? Vilket etiskt ansvar har jaget för den andre? Vad utgör grunden för människans gemensamma varande? Hur bevara sin mänsklighet under omänskliga levnadsförhållanden? Hur göra motstånd i en diktatur utan att bli en del i det maskineri av våld och tyranni man söker bekämpa? Trots det tydligt etiska anslaget så har dessa trilogier nästan uteslutande lästs utifrån sina politiska implikationer. Utan att undervärdera decennier av rikt och varierande kritiskt mottagande så har denna tendens till politiska läsningar ofta genererat förvånansvärt entydiga läsningar av verk kända för sin mångtydighet och komplexitet. Avhandlingen avser därför att påvisa djupet och bredden i Farah’s gestaltningar genom att tydligt belysa hur det etiska gestaltar sig på flera nivåer – tematiskt, berättartekniskt, i mötet mellan läsare och text, samt i föreställningar om författarens moraliska ansvar. Därutöver diskuteras även de etiska dimensionerna av litteraturkritik: vad innebär en etiskt hållen läsemetodik? Arbetets unika bidrag kan formuleras i fyra steg. För det första utgör avhandlingen det ända kända arbete – utöver Fiona F. Moola’s Reading Nuruddin Farah: The Individual, the Novel, and the Idea of Home (2014) – som inbegriper Farah’s alla trilogier, vilket möjliggör mer långtgående och genomgripande analyser än vad som hittills publicerats. Avhandlingens fokus på den senaste trilogin fyller dessutom en viktig lucka i det kritiska mottagandet av Farah’s romaner eftersom väldigt lite publicerats utöver recensioner. Förutom nya läsningar av Farah så utgör min emfas på det etiska i Farah’s etisk-politiska skrivande ett viktigt bidrag till det vidare fält av (afrikansk) (postkolonial) litteraturkritik där man ofta betonat det politiska över det etiska, snarare än att läst dessa två som oskiljaktiga entiteter. Trots att anledningarna till politiska läsningar av Farah’s trilogier kan härledas såväl till verkens starkt politiska nerv som författarens egna uttalanden i intervjuer och artiklar, så pekar privilegieringen av det politiska framför det etiska på en mer generell tendens inom postkolonial kritik att inrymma det etiska under det politiska. Trots att kopplingen mellan fiktion, politik och författaransvar inte kan avfärdas, hävdar jag i denna avhandling att ett ensidigt politisk angreppssätt hotar att såväl underskatta komplexiteten i romanernas gestaltningar, som att reducera konceptuellt vad författare som Farah faktiskt åstadkommer. För det andra så vidgar avhandlingen befintlig forskning kring det etiska i Farah’s romaner genom att inte endast fokusera på tematik och berättartekniska grepp, men också diskutera läsandet och skrivandet – det som i avhandlingen beskrivs som fyra sammanlänkande ”ethical moments of the told, the telling, the act of writing, the act of reading.” Utan att undervärdera tidgare kritiska läsningar så tycks många diskussioner kring Farah’s trilogier fokusera författarens centralitet på ett vis som emellanåt tar fokus från i övrigt tankeväckande läsningar av tematik och narrativa strategier. Min högst textcentrerade utgångspunkt visar som kontrast att läsningen av Farah’s trilogier genererar spörsmål som kräver ett mer holistiskt perspektiv, inte minst tydliga diskussioner kring den etiska dialog som uppstår i mötet mellan läsare och text. Förutom att bidra till befintlig forskning på Farah’s författarskap, så bidrar avhandlingens holistiska inställning till narrativ etik med fem sammanlänkade perspektiv till det vidare fältet av etisk litteraturkritik. Dels beror detta på det faktum att en sådan modell förutsätter användandet av multipla tolkningsmodeller; i mitt fall kontinental filosofi, postkolonial teori, samt narratologiska teorier kring läsande och mottagande. Denna interdisciplinära modell för narrativ etik är dock inte begränsad till min specifika sammansättning utan kan fungera som modell även för andra litteraturforskare, med alternativa kombinationer av tänkare och teoretiker. Till sist; trots att det inte varit ett uttalat mål från projektets början så har arbetet med det etiska i Farah’s trilogier generarat många funderingar kring den egna läsningen som efterhand lett till formulering av nya narratologiska perspektiv. Här utgör mötet mellan text och läsare en central del i avhandlingen. Genom att betona de etiska elementen i mötet mellan text och läsare närmar jag mig spörsmål som i förlängningen kan ses som byggstenar i en mera etiskt hållen läsemetodik. I stället för att tolka ”störande” element som exempel på estetiska brister, alternativt brister i författarens moraliska ansvarstagande (!) så menar jag att de aspekter som irriterar läsaren, försvårar eller rent av omöjliggör förståelse mycket väl kan vara de ting i texten som tvingar läsaren till en mera engagerad och därmed etiskt mer välgrundad läsning. Att läsa textens ”krux” i termer av ”ethical resource” utgör ett viktigt bidrag till såväl litteratur-filosofisk som narratologisk litteraturforskning, eftersom man ofta hamnat i endera värderande samtal kring ”god litteratur” eller i resonemang kring vilka narrativa element/strategier som väcker läsarens engagemang, empati, etc – och vilka som inte gör det. / This study explores the multiple ethical dimensions of the nine novels published between 1979 and 2011 that together constitute Nuruddin Farah’s three trilogies Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship, including Sweet and Sour Milk (1979), Sardines (1981), and Close Sesame (1983); Blood in the Sun, including Maps (1986), Gifts (1993), and Secrets (1998); and Past Imperfect, including Links (2003), Knots (2007), and Crossbones (2011). For all that separate these trilogies and novels thematically and stylistically, they are remarkably consistent in their enquiry. While firmly rooted in the geo-political particulars of Somalia, these novels stage human experience in ways that cut across time and place, inviting the reader to ponder a plethora of questions of profoundly ethical import: How can one remain human in the face of extreme adversities? How can one resist oppression in all its forms without becoming a perpetrator of that which one seeks to resist? What role may violence or non-violence have in seeking to see justice done? How far does responsibility for the other reach? How may dehumanizing forces be resisted in ways that preserve and even restore human dignity? By privileging the ethical in Farah’s ethico-political writing, the study draws attention to voices and perspectives that have gone unnoticed in previous readings, where political perspectives have dominated. Not only does a sustained analytical focus on how human dignity is valued, protected, preserved and even restored call for re-assessments of concepts such as ‘freedom,’ ‘resistance,’ and ‘moral responsibility.’ but the thesis’ highly text-centered approach has in the process of writing proved that Farah’s trilogies generate questions that demand a fuller exploration than what has hitherto been possible with a more limited emphasis on themes and narrative strategies. The use of a model in which five ‘ethical moments’ are explored thus allows for more extensive conclusions to be drawn, both regarding the ethics emerging in the trilogies themselves (‘ethics of the told,’ ‘ethics of telling’ and ‘ethics of writing’), in reading practices and critical reception (‘ethics of reading’), and my own research practice (‘ethics of method’). Ultimately, the study’s explorations of themes, narrative strategies, author’s responsibilities and critical response elucidate how Farah’s trilogies escape any narrow definition of what (African) (postcolonial) literature is or should be. By privileging the ethical trajectory – without losing sight of the strong political impetus of Farah’s writing – significant stories and perspectives surface that are no less political in their outlook than more conventional readings of “resistance writing.” By drawing on continental philosophy (Lévinas, Cavarero and Butler), narrative theory and postcolonial studies, this study brings fresh perspectives to bear on both familiar and less well-known material, while also contributing to new methodological frameworks within narrative ethics and new theoretical perspectives within narrative theory, not least as reflected in the final chapter’s discussion of imaginative challenges.

La tesi indaga la specificità dell’approccio narrativo all’etica tramite l’analisi e il confronto delle proposte teoriche di A. MacIntyre, I. Murdoch, Ch. Taylor, P. Ricoeur e D. Carr, individuate come imprescindibili per le elaborazioni successive sul tema dell’etica narrativa, sia in ambito strettamente filosofico, sia nel più vasto scenario delle humanities. L’indagine descrittiva è finalizzata a una caratterizzazione quanto più possibile puntuale del profilo teorico dell’etica narrativa in quanto figura speculativa e alla messa a fuoco del suo apporto specifico alla riflessione etica. La duplice focalizzazione, storica e critica, della ricerca si riflette nelle modalità di interrogazione delle fonti. Nel caso di Alasdair MacIntyre e Iris Murdoch (ai quali sono dedicati rispettivamente il capitolo I e II) viene sviluppato un percorso selettivo di analisi testuale che, soffermandosi sui luoghi salienti della produzione di ciascun autore, evidenzia il ruolo della narrazione come paradigma per comprendere la prassi morale e formulare una teoria che ne rispetti la specificità. Al vaglio teoretico, piuttosto che all’analisi ricostruttiva, è invece più direttamente finalizzato il capitolo ‘sinottico’ dedicato a Taylor, Ricoeur e Carr (capitolo III). Prendendo spunto dalla tavola rotonda che li ha visti protagonisti nel 1983, all’indomani della pubblicazione del primo volume di Tempo e racconto di Ricoeur, il capitolo sviluppa infatti un esame dell’opera dei tre autori che punta a chiarire l’apporto specifico della componente fenomenologica, di quella critico-trascendentale e di quella ermeneutica alla loro riflessione sul nesso tra etica e narrazione. Le Considerazioni conclusive recuperano le osservazioni di carattere teoretico-valutativo raccolte al termine di ciascuno dei capitoli monografici e le indicazioni di carattere fondativo emerse all’interno del capitolo sinottico, pervenendo a un’ipotesi di definizione dell’etica narrativa, della sua fondazione antropologica e della specifica idea del bene che essa veicola. / The thesis deals with the narrative approach to ethics, whose peculiarity is analyzed with reference to the works of A. MacIntyre, I. Murdoch, Ch. Taylor, P. Ricoeur and D. Carr; their theories, in fact, are recognized as the starting points for the subsequent elaborations about narrative ethics, in philosophy as well as in the larger field of the humanities. The analyses of the works and the comparisons among the authors aim at an exact characterization of the speculative profile of narrative ethics and are directed to specify its contribution to ethics. This double focus, historical and theoretical, of the thesis is reflected in the way the sources are examined. As concerns A. MacIntyre and I. Murdoch (confronted respectively in chapter I and chapter II), a selective textual analysis is put forward, whose purpose is to point out the role of narrative as a paradigm both to comprehend the moral conduct and to formulate a theory able to do justice to its peculiarity. To theoretical confrontation more than to historical reconstruction is devoted the ‘synoptical’ chapter concerning Taylor, Ricoeur, and Carr (chapter III). Taking as a starting point the round table of 1983, when they met soon after Time and Narrative I by Ricoeur was published, the chapter works out a comparative analysis of the works of the authors in order to clarify the contribution of the phenomenological, Kantian and hermeneutical legacy to their justification of the link between narrative and ethics. The “Final remarks” collect the critical considerations introduced at the end of the first two chapters and the hints about the possible foundations of narrative ethics drawn in chapter III, coming to a hypothesis about the definition of the narrative approach to ethics, its anthropological foundation and the idea of the Good it points to.

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La nature éthique intrinsèque de la pratique médicale procure à l’éthique clinique une place essentielle dans le cursus des étudiants au doctorat en médecine. La faculté de médecine de l’Université de Montréal a donc récemment introduit des ateliers de discussion et d’écriture sur des situations complexes vécues pendant les premiers stages d’externat. Ce projet de maîtrise consiste en une analyse thématique des textes rédigés par les étudiants. Nous avons ainsi répertorié les principaux enjeux éthiques rapportés, en avons fait un portrait quantitatif et nous avons analysé ce que provoquait le vécu de ces situations complexes chez les étudiants grâce à l’interrogation des passages narratifs de leurs récits. Les étudiants sont confrontés à des situations complexes liées à la communication, au consentement et à l’autonomie des patients, à la justice ou encore à la déontologie. Une proportion significative des enjeux décrits sont spécifiques à leur statut d’étudiant, c’est-à-dire ceux liés à l’apprentissage et à l’autorité. Nous avons également documenté que leur vécu des situations se traduit par des sentiments et de l’émotivité, par l’adoption d’une posture critique sur les événements, des descriptions du rôle qu’ils ont joué, des propositions et solutions ainsi que des réflexions sur l’impact qu’on eues sur eux ces situations. Nos résultats démontrent que le rôle de l’externe dans le milieu hospitalier demeure très hiérarchique, ce qui est à la source de plusieurs situations complexes et influence leur vécu et leur façon de réagir à celles-ci. Nos constats suggèrent que les thèmes répertoriés ainsi que la façon dont les étudiants en discutent sont en partie le reflet de la formation reçue, qui contribue notamment à l’omniprésence du souci pour le meilleur intérêt du patient retrouvé dans les vignettes. Finalement, l’introspection générée par la rédaction de tels travaux est d’une grande richesse pour la formation éthique, professionnelle et personnelle des étudiants. Il est essentiel de continuer à s’intéresser aux enjeux éthiques spécifiques aux étudiants, d’être sensibles à la détresse qu’ils peuvent engendrer et de provoquer davantage de situations de discussions de nature éthique pendant et après la formation. / The intrinsic ethical nature of medical practice makes clinical ethics an essential part of the medical school curriculum. The Faculty of medicine of the University of Montréal has recently introduced discussion and writing workshops on complex situations experienced by students during their first clinical rotations. This project is a qualitative thematic analysis of the students’ writings. We have listed the main ethical issues retrieved, have reported them quantitatively and have analyzed what was experienced by students while going through these complex situations by focusing on narrative passages of their stories. Students face ethical dilemmas related to communication, consent and autonomy of patients, justice or deontology. A significant proportion of the issues are specific to their student status, namely issues related to learning and authority. We have also documented that their personal experiences with complex situations are conveyed by discussion about feelings and emotions, by adopting a critical stance on events, by naming the role they have played in the case, by putting forth solutions, and by reflecting on the impact that these situations have had on them. Our results show that the students’ status in hospitals remains very hierarchical, which entails several complex situations and influences their experience and how they react to them. Our findings suggest that the themes identified and the way in which the students discuss them partly reflect their medical education, which among others stands for the universal concern for patients’ best interest observed through their works. Finally, the introspection generated by such narratives is of great interest for students’ ethical, professional and personal growth. It is important that students’ specific ethical dilemmas and the distress they can engender remain an ongoing concern, and we need to make even more room for ethical discussions and writings during and after medical training.

The present study has a threefold aim: First, the theoretical aim is to give a contribution to refinement of the theory of dialogue based feminist ethics, concerning the understanding of judgment and narration within such an ethics.  The study also has an empirical aim, defined as to clarify what kind of knowledge, relevant to the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor, can be received from dialogical interpretation and analysis of a limited selection of critically reflecting life stories. Third, a methodological aim is defined as to develop an approach to interpretation and analysis of reflecting life stories, which renders the storyteller visible as a reflecting moral subject, and makes the story accessible as a source of knowledge for the moral judgment of an engaged outsider actor. The thesis combines philosophical reflection and argumentation, with a narrative-hermeneutic method for interpretation of life stories, relating the two to each other in a hermeneutic process.  The theoretical reflection draws on Seyla Benhabibs theory of communicative ethics. A dialogue based model for moral justification and a likewise dialogue based model for political legitimacy are at the heart of this universalistic theory, although in combination with a conception of a narratively and hermeneutically constituted context sensitive moral judgment, based on Hannah Arendt’s concept “enlarged thought”. In the reflection, this model is related to other feminist theorizing within the tradition of dialogue based feminist ethics, as found in the works of Iris M. Young, Georgia Warnke and Shari Stone-Mediatore. The empirical study draws on three critically reflecting life stories from Israeli-Palestinian women activists for a just peace. The methodology for interpretation and analysis that is worked out combines dialogical interpretation as presented in Arthur W. Frank’s socio-narratology with a method for structural analysis derived from Shari Stone-Mediatores theory of storytelling as an expression of political resistance struggle. The results show that some stories drawing on marginalized experiences have a potential­ to stimulate further public debate through their capacity to enable a stereoscopic seeing, elucidating a tension between ideologically structured discourse and non-linguistic experience; implying that narrative-hermeneutic competence should be considered crucial for public debate.

Science fiction is particularly apt as bioethical thought experiment. In considering the theories of James R. Brown, John D. Norton and Marco Buzzoni, I suggest that mental-modeling theories afford the best explanation for what thought experiments can do. I propose a version of mental modeling that has the flexible modalities of experience found in Nancy J. Nersessian's account, combined with Nenad Miš?evi?'s compelling vision of how existing knowledge is used to create mental models, and Tamar Gendler's use of schemas to understand ethical thought experiments. Bioethics makes use of thought experiments' capacity to move from abstraction to discrete instances. Sometimes thought experiments will be better, and sometimes real cases will be unavailable. Given the cognitive advantages that access to mental models provides, thought experiments will be of use in the field of bioethics. To identify literature that is thought-experimental I look to Geordie McComb's family resemblance theory, and consider accounts of literary thought experiments by Noel Carroll and Edward Davenport. Extended narratives will in some cases be more useful for ethical understanding than philosophical thought experiments. Science fiction has this same advantage: as ethical narrative it is detailed and humanized. In addition the specula-tive nature of science fiction lends itself to the exploration of new and emerging sciences and technologies including those in the field of bioethics.

This work describes a special kind of story about the journey there and back again or journey to gain experience. The nature of this narrative is given by the presence of several key points: the existence of primary and secondary world, wandering throughout secondary world, the transformation of a hero and a reader, homecoming. Presented definition of the story is the starting point from which are being searched connections with the professional disciplines of social work and ethics. In social work the diagram of these trips back and forth presents acquiring an expertise in various scientific fields. For plane of ethics it is particularly significant credibility of the moment from this journey back and forth when the story of the hero and the reader becomes a good (or bad) story positive or negative.