The purpose of this study is to map the ethical arguments presented in the Church of Sweden Bishops’ letter of "The Beginning and End of Life: Tools for Orientation in Ethical Choices", and to analyse and discuss these in relation to Sören Kierkegaard's philosophical concepts of choice, freedom and anxiety. The research questions focus on understanding Kierkegaard's view of choice, identifying the ethical arguments in the Bishops’ letter and investigating how Kierkegaard's concepts can contribute to a deeper understanding of the ethical arguments therein. The method includes conceptual analysis to clarify Kierkegaard's ideas and argumentation analysis to discuss the ethical arguments that appeared in the bishops’ letter. The study's questions are answered through the essay's two methods of a analysis, followed by a summary and conclusions. The study has shown that there are arguments in Sören Kierkegaard that contribute to deepening the Bishops’ letter. In particular, a) potential risks of allowing communities to participate in decision-making, b) the anxiety as an opportunity in decision-making and c) call to see ethically difficult choices as the possibility of the meeting with God. The result shows that Kierkegaard's philosophy of choice, freedom and anxiety offers a deeper perspective to the ethical reasoning behind the Bishops’ letter, based on Lutheran theology and a Christian view of humanity Keywords: Søren Kierkegaard, choice, freedom, anxiety, Bishops' letter, Church of Sweden,ethics, ethical arguments, ethical principles, Christian view of humanity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:ths-2479 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Blank, Maria |
| Publisher | Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm, Avdelningen för religionsvetenskap och teologi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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