This thesis engages with the later writings of Paul Ricoeur in order to understand his philosophy as a whole. A reconstruction of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of ethical life presents his significant contribution to contemporary philosophy of religion. This hermeneutics aims to elucidate a moral religion that binds humans together universally on the basis of the life they share as capable beings. To facilitate this hermeneutics, I will demonstrate that a selective reading of Ricoeur’s philosophy brings to light the pivotal role of his ‘little ethics’ in bridging his later and earlier works. The capable human (l’homme capable) in the later Ricoeur must be understood in relation to both the ‘little ethics’ and an architectonic of moral religion. Elucidating the aim (telos) of ethical life and the norm (‘moral law’) of moral religion from the ‘little ethics’ points to the significant roles of Aristotle and Kant in Ricoeur’s architectonic. Ricoeur himself defines ‘architectonic’ in Kantian terms as a critical framework, while appropriating Spinoza’s metaphysical conception of a rational striving (conatus) for life in its fullness. Core concepts taken from Spinoza, Aristotle and Kant are implicit in the present reconstruction of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics. Three dimensions of ethical life emerge in Spinoza’s metaphysics, Aristotle’s anthropology, and Kant’s moral philosophy, giving us Ricoeur’s architectonic. For Ricoeur, the ethical aim is grounded on a metaphysics of human capability, and the demanding nature of ‘the law’ renders religion moral. This religion assumes that the good life is the goal of human striving. But crucially, the thesis will uncover ‘the arrow of the religious’ (la flèche du religieux) as it motivates the capable subject to embrace life with and for others in just institutions. In conclusion, life is revealed as the heart of Ricoeur’s moral religion.

Can contemporary liberalism justify antidiscrimination law? The question seems impertinent until we consider contemporary liberalism’s commitment to limited government. Once we do, we realize that contemporary liberals may not complacently assume that their theories justify antidiscrimination law simply because discrimination based on race or sex is so obviously wrongful. Rather, they must scrutinize antidiscrimination law just as they do other regulation of individual conduct. Providing such scrutiny, this thesis argues that three of the most prominent contemporary liberal doctrines of political legitimacy—John Rawls’s “political liberalism,” an antiperfectionist version of the “harm principle,” and Joseph Raz’s “liberal perfectionism”—all fail to justify core applications of antidiscrimination law, applications that we intuitively consider perfectly legitimate. In light of this failure, contemporary liberalism faces a dilemma: it must jettison either its commitment to comprehensive, uniform antidiscrimination regimes or its antiperfectionism and overriding commitment to personal autonomy. This thesis argues for the latter course by providing an account of the wrongfulness of discrimination based on race or sex that condemns all instances of the conduct. According to this account, discrimination is wrong because acting on discriminatory intentions is wrong. More specifically, by taking another person’s race or sex as a reason to treat her less favorably than one would treat people of other races or the other sex, one fails to respect her as a person, to regard her as a being of ultimate value. Unlike contemporary liberal accounts, this account is fully perfectionist, since it defines discrimination in terms of the intentions of discriminators, and the intentions of discriminators in terms of their attitudes, which partly constitute their moral characters. So long as we remain committed to antidiscrimination law in its current form, we must attend to discriminators’ characters. And to attend to discriminators’ characters, we must be willing to espouse perfectionism.

The central aim of this thesis is to analyse the influence of Kierkegaard on Bonhoeffer. This relationship has been almost universally recognized. And yet this area has received no comprehensive study, limited within the secondary literature to footnotes, digressions, and the occasional paper. Furthermore, what little literature there is has been plagued by several stereotypes. First, discussion is often limited to Discipleship. Second, Kierkegaard has been identified as an individualist and acosmist who rejected the church, leading many to consider Bonhoeffer the ecumenist and ecclesiologist as selectively agreeing with Kierkegaard, but ultimately rejecting his overall stance. This thesis will argue that neither stereotype is true, and suggest (a), that Kierkegaard’s influence can be found throughout Bonhoeffer’s work, and (b) that although a more stereotypical perspective may be present in SC, by the end of his life Bonhoeffer had gained a far deeper understanding across the breadth of Kierkegaard’s work. The importance of this thesis is not simply to ‘plug the gap’ of scholarship in this area, but also to suggest the importance of analysing Kierkegaard and Bonhoeffer together. This will focus on three specific areas. First, alongside the influence of Kierkegaard on Bonhoeffer, it will argue for the importance of using Bonhoeffer as an interpretive tool for understanding Kierkegaard. This thesis will show how Bonhoeffer adopted and adapted Kierkegaard’s work to his own situation, forcing Kierkegaard to answer questions that were not present during his own life. In this way, we are led to compare Kierkegaard and Bonhoeffer as individuals, and not simply their static declarations. Secondly, against the tendency to consider Kierkegaard and Bonhoeffer’s final attacks on Christendom as unfortunate endings to otherwise profound careers, it will be suggested that these attacks stand as the fulfilment of their earlier thought. It will be argued that despite their different contexts, both Kierkegaard and Bonhoeffer were led to the same conclusions concerning Christendom. Thirdly, given Kierkegaard’s submission to indirect communication and his somewhat 'prophetic' proclamations concerning one who will come after him and reform, this thesis will ask whether Bonhoeffer stands as something of a fulfilment to Kierkegaard’s thought in the guise of a Kierkegaardian ‘reformer’.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how God-talk can be used to say something reality depicting and potentially true, and at the same time contribute to a feminist aim where women and men are equally qualified in their talk about God. A pure shift from male to female metaphors and properties applied to God is rejected. Religious language that is used from a radical semantic realistic or radical semantic anti-realistic point of view is also rejected since those positions are not in line with the feminist aims. Metaphors are of value when examining how to speak about God. It is examined if, and in that case how, metaphors can express truths and say something reality depicting. It is argued that a theory of metaphors based on semantic modest anti-realism contributes with something more distinct than a theory of metaphors based on realism does. This distinction highlights the different uses in language between an analogical way and a modest anti-realistic use of metaphors. The three classical “ways” in religious language – univocal, analogical, and equivocal language – are possible to use from a feminist perspective of religious language. It is argued, however, that religious language that is supposed to be in line both with a feminist agenda and be able to contribute to our understanding of God, ourselves, and express truths must be based on a semantic modest realism or semantic modest anti-realism. Analogical language is the one and only religious “way” that is compatible with both semantic modest realism and semantic modest anti-realism. For that reason, it is argued, the analogical language has an advantage over univocal and equivocal language. Finally, four criteria are set up that a good feministic metaphor must achieve, and some remarks about the research of feminism and religious language still to examine is made. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur vi kan tala om Gud på ett sätt som kan vara verklighetsbeskrivande samtidigt som det gynnar feminismen och kvinnors och mäns lika rätt att tala om Gud. Ett rent skifte från manliga till kvinnliga metaforer om Gud avvisas. Religiöst språk som används ur en radikalt semantiskt realistiskt eller ett radikalt semantiskt anti-realistiskt utgångspunkt avvisas då dessa inte går i linje med en feministisk agenda. Metaforer är viktiga i undersökningen av hur vi kan tala om Gud. Det undersöks om, och i så fall hur, metaforer kan uttrycka något sant och verklighetsbeskrivande. Det argumenteras för att en metaforteori som utgår från semantisk modest anti-realism kan bidra med något mer distinkt och kreativt än en metaforteori som utgår från semantisk kritisk realism. Denna distinktion tyddliggör skillnaden mellan ett analogt religiöst språk och en semantisk modest anti-realistisk användning av metaforer. Både univokt, analogt och ekvivokt språkbruk kan användas ur ett feministiskt perspektiv. Analysen visar emellertid att ett religiöst språkbruk som ska gynna feminismen och samtidigt kunna uttrycka någonting sant och verklighetsbeskrivande måste utgå från semantisk kritisk realism eller semantisk modest anti-realism. Det analoga språkbruket är det enda religiöst språkbruk som är kompatibelt med både semantisk kritisk realism och semantisk modest anti-realism, varpå det analoga språkbruket har en fördel över univokt och ekvivokt språk. Tillsist ställs fyra kriterier upp som en bra religiös feministisk metafor måste möta. Uppsatsen avslutas sedan med några kommentarer om hur vidare forskning av religiöst språk med feministiskt språkperspektiv kan se ut.

This essay aims to shed light upon the philosophical dignity of Edith Stein’s critique of the early Heideggerian conception of sociality in her text ”Martin Heideggers Existenzphilosophie”, from 1936. I will argue that Stein’s critique of Heidegger’s concept of sociality comes to be substantiated through her existential-philosophical approach to his understanding of the transcendent character of Dasein. By objecting to Heidegger’s definition of Dasein as ecstatic temporality, Stein points out his inattentiveness to authentic otherness in Being and Time, which reaches out into a problem surrounding Mitsein. I will further demonstrate how Stein, by ascribing to Dasein an enduring and sustaining quality in the midst of ecstasy, uses Heidegger’s concept of Dasein in order to formulate her own social ontology.

This paper aims to present and examine the discourses of religious education in Sweden. Previous studies argue that there is a secularist discourse in Sweden however, one can question whether the secularist discourse is neutral of all religious traditions. The curriculum emphasizes objective and inclusive education based on science and proven experience and a non-confessional education. On the other hand, the paper highlight examples that are contrary to these ideas, which shows that christianity serves the dominant position in the curriculum. By using the method: contextual idea analysis, I have studied the ideas in the Swedish curriculum that determines the conditions and guidelines for teaching in religious education. The conclusion is that the christian tradition and western humanism serves a prominent part in the curriculum and risks making christianity the norm for religious life. The paper shows that the secularist discourse in Sweden has a christian bias which can affect the creation of a neutral religious education that enables respect, objective understanding and tolerance for other religions.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att hitta en förklaring till varför andliga healinginriktningar med tiden upphör att kunna bedömas som andliga. Undersökningen tar avstamp i hypotesen att socialpsykologiska skäl ligger bakom. Den tidigare forskningen, gjord av Roy Wallis, Stefan Thau et al, Małgorzata Kossowska och Maciej Sekerdej, Juliette Schaafsma och Kipling D. Williams, samt en tidigare uppsats skriven av undertecknad, behandlar därför socialpsykologi med koppling till rörelser. Arbetet undersöker healingorganisationen Reconnective Healing som tidigare kategoriserats som andlig men som nyligen genomgått organisatoriska förändringar. Forskningsfrågorna berör vilka förändringar som skett och vart organisationen idag kan placeras begreppsmässigt. Den teoretiska bakgrunden utgörs av Olav Hammer, Roy Wallis, Christopher Partridge samt Anton Geels och Owe Wikström samt deras begreppsdefinitioner av andlighet, sekt, kult, religion och nyreligion. Även teorier kring socialpsykologi, av Lars Svedberg och Björn Nilsson, presenteras. Metoden för arbetet är kvalitativa intervjuer av Reconnective Healingutövare, samt komparativ analys. Resultatet visar att organisationen rört sig från andlighetsbegreppet och närmat sig begreppet nyreligion. De organisatoriska förändringarna tycks bottna i grundaren Eric Pearls vilja att minska pluralistiska synsätt inom organisationen genom att exkludera medlemmar samt strama åt regler och riktlinjer. Vidare tyder resultatet på att organisationer generellt kanske aldrig kan klassificeras som andliga då socialpsykologin inom gruppsammansättningar skapar faktorer som strider mot det mesta som definierar andlighet. / The purpose of this essay is to find a reason to why spiritual healing movements in time tend to fall outside the concept of spirituality. The hypothesis for this work is that it happens due to the social psychology within  group constellations. Therefore the previous research, by Roy Wallis, Stefan Thau et al, Małgorzata Kossowska och Maciej Sekerdej, Juliette Schaafsma och Kipling D. Williams, and an earlier essay written by me, focuses on social psychology with connections to movements of different kinds. The essay investigates the healing organization Reconnective Healing, which has been categorized as spiritual but might not be anymore, due to some recent organizational changes. The research questions focus on what kind of changes has happened and where the organization can be placed in a concept categorisation today. The theoretical background is based on Olav Hammer, Roy Wallis, Christopher Partridge and Anton Geels and Owe Wikström. It consists of the concept definitions of spirituality, cult, sect, religion and new religion. Moreover, theories evolving social psychology, by Lars Svedberg and Björn Nilsson, is presented. The method used is comparative analysis and qualitative interviews of Reconnective Healing Practitioners. The result shows that the organization has moved from the concept of spirituality towards the concept of new religion. The cause of the organizational changes seems to be the founder, Eric Pearls will to decrease pluralistic views within the organisation, by excluding members and tighten the rules and guidelines. Moreover, the result indicates that organisations in general might never be able to be categorised as spiritual since the social psychology within group constellations creates factors that contradict most contents within spirituality.

Self-presentation of a corporation as a citizen committed to sustainable corporate responsibility can, according to scholarly findings, help the organization improve its reputation among key stakeholders. The purpose of this case study was to explore the success of one major airport in aligning communication strategies to improve its reputation. The research question involved how effectively a major German airport communicated its commitment to sustainable corporate responsibility to its key stakeholders during 2005--2009. Of particular interest was how key stakeholders perceived the airport's stance towards the impacts of aircraft noise. Corporate documents, newspaper articles, and semistructured interviews comprised the data. Data analyses of documents and interviews included coding segments of texts on key words related to sustainable corporate responsibility. Pattern matching helped aggregate coded text segments into respective coherent and consistent corporate messages. Randomly selected newspaper articles on the airport under scrutiny were coded on a Likert-type scale on how favorably they covered what types of themes. Subsequent qualitative analyses of hand notes fabricated during the coding process revealed how positively journalists wrote about specific events. Results indicated that the airport officials effectively communicated to the airport's key stakeholders regarding economic contributions to public welfare, engagements in neighborhood projects, environmental protection, and noise abatement. Implications for positive social change include the potential for dialogues between the airport and its critical stakeholders that could, in turn, further the long-term friendly coexistence of the airport, its neighbors, and the community.

Ändamålet med föreliggande rapport har varit att undersöka åtta personliga skildringar för att ta reda på hur deras livsåskådning ser ut efter att ha brukat psykedeliska substanser, samt undersöka huruvida något möte med Gud eller någon annan ”högre makt”, förekom under rusningstiden. För att besvara ändamålet har rapporten brutits ner till två frågeställningar, där den första hanterar vad som händer med livsåskådningen och det andra gudsmötet. För att besvara frågeställningarna har en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med förbestämda kodscheman och analysenheter använts som metod. Undersökningen teoretiseras och stärks dessutom med hjälp av den tidigare forskning som har gjorts på området från John Hopkins universitet, men även med hjälp av teoretiska begrepp som b.la. mysticism, livsåskådning och shamanism. Denna undersökningens resultat stämmer väl överens med tidigare forskning och visar att psykedeliska substanser tenderar att påverka eller förändra en människas livsåskådning till att börja uppskatta andlighet mer än det materiella och att de flesta upplevde någon form av ”högre makt”.

This thesis explores embodied experiences of (physical and social) pain when seeking healthcare for birth injuries. This includes seeking to understand how gender, sexuality and normality can be constructed through health care for birth injuries, as well as how people with birth injuries are oriented by their pain towards getting health care. The theoretical framework is feminist phenomenological, while also incorporating the perspective of phenomenology and medicine, in order to analyze how the embodied experience of pain is conditioned by normative and cultural dimensions that structure different bodies in different ways. Different ways of understanding the emotional and sensory orientations of pain, both social and physical, are also theoretically informing the analysis. Through qualitative interviews with ten people who have been injured while giving birth within the last ten years, results show that the informants become disoriented when hearing from doctors and midwifes that their perineum, despite their experience of pain, is well. They are also disoriented when their injuries are acknowledged, but deemed untreatable. They can find their pain hard to describe, and experiences of feeling diminished difficult to react against. The embodied experience of seeking health care for birth pain can include feeling both confirmed as well as ignored in one’s injury, depending on what health care professional they happen to meet. I conclude that the frustration of seeking but not feeling like they are receiving health care for their birth injuries results in a breaking point where the patients go against feelings of shame, and (re)orient themselves towards health care by transforming into strong-willed, stubborn and un-ashamed subjects that in one way or another demand treatment and respect. / Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Hur är det att drabbas av en förlossningsskada? Vad är det som gör ont, och hur är det att söka vård för smärtan? I denna studie undersöks erfarenheten av att söka och få vård för förlossningsskador. Tio personer delar genom kvalitativ intervju med sig av sina upplevelser av att försöka få hjälp med sina förlossningsskador och den smärta som de åsamkat. I fokus är den kroppsliga erfarenheten. Studien ställer frågor om hur smärta, fysisk men även social i form av känslan skam, förkroppsligas i möten med medicinsk personal. Genom en feministisk fenomenologisk utgångspunkt ämnar uppsatsen både undersöka den roll som normer om kön och sexualitet spelar i möten mellan patienter och vårdgivare, men också belysa hur svårt det är att separera på kroppsliga och sociala erfarenheter. Hur orienteras den förlossningsskadade gentemot vården i sina försök att dämpa smärtan och läka skadan? Genom min tolkande analys av de förlossningsskadades erfarenheter läser jag hur de bär på erfarenheter av att känna sig förvirrade och desorienterade av flera orsaker, dels för att vissa lever med skador för vilka det ännu inte finns hjälp, det vill säga permanenta skador, medan andra förvirras av att höra från vården att deras bäckenbotten ser bra ut, trots att de fortfarande har ont. En del bär på erfarenheter av att uppmanas ha penetrerande sex genom smärtan, andra att leva med smärtan fram tills att de är färdiga med att skaffa barn. Många bär på erfarenheter av att känna sig hämmade från att säga ifrån när de kände sig illa behandlade, eller att våga kräva bättre vård när de känner sig undanskuffade. Förr eller senare tenderar de informanter som känner sig undanskuffade att, med olika strategier, ta plats och kräva vård för sin smärta. Jag tolkar det som att dessa personer når en smärtpunkt där det blir jobbigare att leva sin smärta än att uppleva sig vara till besvär. Den förkroppsligade erfarenheten av smärta, både fysisk och social i form av att känna skam, orienterar dem mot vården med uppsåtlighet. De oroar sig inte längre över att uppfattas som jobbiga. Andra informanter upplever till slut att de träffar läkare eller barnmorskor som ser och bekräftar deras smärta, vilket stärker dem i deras självkänsla och i deras uppfattning att skadan och smärtan är ett problem för vilket de behöver vård. Studien landar därmed i slutsatsen att den förkroppsligade erfarenheten av fysisk och social smärta, samt den förkroppsligade erfarenheten av att känna sig sedd i denna smärta, leder till en brytpunkt som orienterar de förlossningsskadade mot vårdande behandling, och därmed även mot ett stärkt subjektskap.