Online research in philosophy

Patients who are incompetent need a surrogate decision maker to make treatment decisons on their behalf. One of the main ethical questions that arise in this context is what standard ought to govern such decision making. According to the Substituted Judgment Standard (SJS), a surrogate ought to make the decision that the patient would have made, had he or she been competent. Although this standard has sometimes been criticized on the grounds of being difficult to apply, it has found wide (...) appeal, since it it is alleged to protect incompetent patients? right to autonomy. The main purpose of the thesis is to evaluate SJS, from a conceptual and ethical perspective. It argues that the traditional formulation of SJS is seriously incomplete, and discusses alternative ways of completing it. Moreover, it questions the received view on how SJS should be morally justified, by offering arguments against the view that decision making in accordance with this standard extends the patient's opportunities for self-determination. Instead it suggests a virtue-ethical approach according to which the moral point of SJS-based decision making is not to protect the patient's interests (in welfare or autonomy), but to express respect for person. The thesis also critically assesses empirical studies according to which surrogates often fail to correctly predict patients? actual treatment preferences. It is shown that such results cannot, for a number of reasons, support the conclusion drawn that surrogates are ill-equipped to make decisions that comply with SJS. (shrink)

The aim was to describe the neonatal end-of-life practice and illuminate Swedish women's lived experiences of the threat and the reality of their neonate's dying and death as well as the care received. A further aim was to explore Muslim women's view of current Swedish neonatal-end-of-life care. In a questionnaire with close-ended questions 144 registered nurses described their experiences, behavior and attitudes in Swedish NICUs towards parents who are reluctant to see, touch, and hold the dying or dead neonate. The (...) neonatal end-of-life practice from 32 Swedish neonatal clinics/wards was described in a questionnaire with close-ended questions. Sixteen women who had lost their neonate about two years earlier were interviewed concerning their lived experiences of losing a neonate and the care they received. Eleven Muslim women, living in Sweden, gave in interviews with open-ended questions their views of current Swedish neonatal-end-of-life care. The results of the studies indicate that most of the registered nurses tried to influence the parents to see, touch and hold the dying and dead neonate. The Swedish neonatal end-of-life practice was largely, similar in all of the clinics/wards. The attitude was respectful towards both the infant and the parents. Most differences were found in the care before birth. The main theme among the women when losing their neonate was an ambivalent transition into motherhood interpreted as broken expectations, total confusion, reality awareness, consciously leave-taking and elusive grief. The women’s lived experiences of the care received were interpreted as feeling both empowered and powerless. Empowered when experiencing benevolence and respect to their individual desires, but powerless when experiencing competent care without humane treatment. The Muslim women's hypothetical view of current Swedish neonatal end-of-life care was that most of them did not want information about foetal impairment during pregnancy, withdrawal of treatment was difficult to accept and mementoes were believed to aggravate the grief. Their trust in God involved forgetting the dead neonate and looking forward. In conclusion the clinical implications are that the caregivers have to be empathetic in treating the person receiving care as a person with individual wishes, spoken and unspoken. In this context principles only state a frame in which to act, not how to act. The caregiver has to subject herself to surprises and perplexity and change the treatment based on subtle directions from the women. (shrink)

Great efforts have been made to find solutions to the shortage of organs, such as extending the donor pool by accepting so-called marginal donors and development of transplantation of organs from animals (xenotransplantation, xt). Due to the scarcity of organs, there is a long tradition of prioritizing among patients on the waiting list for transplantation. Rules for allocation of organs have been developed within organ exchange organizations, such as Scandiatransplant, the forum for exchange of organs within the Nordic countries. The (...) overall aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze some of the medical and ethical aspects of utilization and allocation of organs and tissue for transplantation. The ethical considerations are discussed in relation to the studies reported in this thesis, using the four principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice as points of departure. The result of a study performed among (151/175) Baltic physicians with varying experience of organ donation and transplantation, indicated that they had generally similar attitudes toward organ donation and transplantation, though there were also some differences within the groups. However, the significance of these differences is difficult to estimate. This study seems to have promoted discussion of ethical aspects of transplantation in these countries, and paved the way for collaboration between the Nordic and Baltic countries. A study was performed among (53/61) patients awaiting kidney transplantation in the southern part of Sweden, on their views on informed consent on marginal donors. The result of this study indicates that patients accept information on donor-related risk factors and most patients want to be involved in the decision-making process concerning transplantation with a kidney from a marginal donor for themselves. The attitude to xt was surveyed among a random sample of the general public (596/1000) and all patients between the ages of 18 and 75 years who were awaiting kidney transplantation (398/460). The majority of patients and the general public would accept an animal graft provided that the outcome was the same as with a human graft. A life-threatening situation marginally increased the positive proportions. The overall impression is that the attitude to xt seems to be most influenced by whether the xenotransplant would involve whole organs or cells, and whether there would be uncertainty regarding the outcome. Questionnaires were used in all of these studies. Rules for allocation of kidneys from all 10 transplant units within Scandiatransplant were collected and interpreted. The allocation of kidneys seems to be a process of thoughtful weighing up of the factors: HLA-matching, children, waiting time, age-matching, and PRA-patients, although this is done somewhat differently at each unit. (shrink)

The main purpose was to investigate children's participation in the decision-making processes in health care. Twenty-four children (0-18 år)admitted to hospital, their parents, and the staff present were observed during totally 135 hours in order to (i) identify the children's needs, (ii) their participation in the decision-making processes, and (iii) their parents' participation. Twenty-six children (6-17 years) and 21 parents were interviewed about their experiences of hospital stay, and finally 92 health care professionals described situations containing different degrees of children's (...) participation. The result showed that children had different needs in non threatening and threatening situations. The need for information and participation was most obvious in non threatening situations. By using an instrument, "The scale if participation in decision-making" it was possible to assess the degree of participation in decision-making. It was considered that children were not allways allowed to participate to the extent that was judged optimal. Factors influencing the degree of participation were the age of the child, the child's protest, parents' role, staff's attitude, the time factor, and alternative solutions to the problems. Parents participated to different degrees, depending on how explicit they explained their needs and how sensitive staff were to the parents' sometime vagely expressed needs. Staff have to be aware of the individual child's needs in different situations and facilitate for optimal participation. The instrument used could be helpful in claryfying the discussion concerning participation. Every person is called upon to assess the child's competence, investigate the opinions, wishes, and valuations of the child, and decide how to respect them. (shrink)

The brain is not silent. Even in the absence of stimuli are the neurons activated every now and then in what is called "spontaneous" or "background activity" which provides a noisy background to the operation of the brain. This work shows how this noise can be utilized in the cognitive process. That is, rather than being treated as a nuisance, noise is given a functional role in the brain´s activity. More than this, the role noise is given is a very (...) essential one. In fact, the models presented in this work would not function without it. The utilization of spontaneous activity is demonstrated in two ways. First, it is shown how this activity can enable new knowledge to be assimilated by the system. This ability is described using a framework of generalised evolution that permits cognition to be considered as an evolutionary process occurring within the life-time of the individual. In this evolutionary view of cognition, the spontaneous activity provides the mechanism of variation. This mechanism of variation is very simple in its nature. Yet, its effects are able to follow the growth of an ever more complex cognitive apparatus as it evolves in the individual mind. The second demonstration of the utilization of noise is a novel model of how the brain is able to detect visual motion. The utilization of spontaneous activity significantly reduces the complexity of the model compared to traditional approaches. The model presented here makes the basic assumption that motion that are present in the current scene was already detected in the previous scene. That is, all that the model needs to do is to update the previous detection to fit the current scene. To account for the initial detection of a movement, spontaneous activity is utilized. Any motion in the visual scene is assimilated by the process if it harmonises with this background activity. Thus, the operation of the system is dependent on the presence of noise. Just like the case of knowledge acquisition mentioned above, noise is used to assimilate new structures into the system. (shrink)

This work presents an account of social power based on recent advances in social ontology. It is argued that a conceptual analysis of social power can be informed by developments in social ontology, but also that this field can be enriched, and in fact requires, an analysis of this central social concept. Social power is dependent on the existence of various kinds of social phenomena, such as institutions and social structures, in order to exist. Consequently, a precise analysis of these (...) social phenomena improves our understanding of social power, and the different forms it takes. The proposed taxonomy of social power is based on this insight since the various types of social power is explained in terms of the different social phenomena on which it depends. These forms of social power share a common feature; they are dependent on collective intentionality to exist, which makes the analysis of this notion an important part of the book. The following definition of social power is proposed: An agent A has social power if and only if A has an ability, which is existentially dependent on collective intentionality, to effect a specific outcome. Due to presupposing a cooperative and consensus-oriented view of social phenomena, other works in this field offer too narrow analyses, if any, of social power. For instance, the type of power - deontic power - previously discussed is necessarily visible or transparent. But there are other forms of power in social reality, such as opaque kinds of social power, telic power, and power as the imposition of internal constraints. In order to account for these forms of social power the investigation is extended to areas which have been neglected so far: second-order social phenomena such as social structures, opaque kinds of social facts, and different types of normativity. A definition of "social structure" is offered, and the tools of social ontology are applied to a new area, meta-ethics, in arguing for the thesis that moral facts are social facts. The book also offers a critical discussion of central theories in this field, such as John Searle's construction of social reality, Raimo Tuomela's collective acceptance account of sociality and Margaret Gilbert's plural subject theory. This critical discussion aims at improving our understanding of the nature of social phenomena. (shrink)

It is a contested question in contemporary theories of religion whether the concept of religion can be defined in a sound way or not. Many theorists maintain that a universal but delimiting definition is impossible. In this study, by contrast, it is argued that a conceptual analysis of religion that holds universally is perfectly possible because the following thesis can be seen as a necessary and sufficient conceptual condition of what religion is: (R) X is a religion if and only (...) if X is a collection of artifacts which has the proper function of representing a supraphysical world. On this thesis, it is argued that artifacts such as pictorial and verbal representations, rituals, symbols, and various tools constitute religion as a cultural object, which, as a collection of artifacts, has the proper function of representing a conceived world that is not entirely physical, and which, allegedly, is a prerequisite for existential welfare in relation to observance. It is here important to understand what is constitutive for these kinds of conceived worlds. Supraphysical world is defined as follows. Given that the actual world is a physical world, a conception S is a construction of a supraphysical world if and only if both of the following conditions apply to S: (1) Metaphysical component: S is a duplicate of the actual world with the addition of an anti-physical substance. (2) Existential-normative component: S is an alleged prerequisite for existential welfare in relation to observance. The core argument of the study is that (R) holds a priori for the concept of religion and as an a posteriori necessity for every instance of a religion. Apart from discussing the methodological problems of defining religion, the study introduces a new theory of religion in terms of (R). It addresses issues in the theory of artifacts; in the theory of representations; and in the theory of conceptual analysis. (shrink)

I undertake a metaphysical investigation of Saul Kripke's modern classic, Naming and Necessity (1980). The general problem of my study may be expressed as follows: What is the metaphysical justification of the validity and existence of the pertinent classes of truths, the necessary a posteriori and the contingent a priori, according to the Kripke Paradigm? My approach is meant to disclose the logical and ontological principles underlying Kripke's arguments for the necessary a posteriori and the contingent a priori respectively. The (...) results of my study are to a certain extent negative: They attempt to show that the classes of the necessary a posteriori and the contingent a priori statements cannot possibly be valid. If the general argument of this thesis is sound, then, on this ground, the realist conception of metaphysical essentialism is rejected. The positive thesis of this study is the articulation of certain ways to frame the necessary a posteriori and the contingent a priori which avoid the problems of realistic essentialism and which suggest a certain transcendental reading of modality. According to the Kripke Paradigm, any de dicto modal status (of a statement) derives ultimately from the de re modality inherent in the object designated, as the object is characterised by contingent and necessary properties on the ontological level. Thus, the Kripke Paradigm is primarily a thesis in de re realist essentialism. The final verdict in this study is that the Kripke Paradigm cannot sustain the realistic conception of de re metaphysical essentialism. If we should adopt a transcendental reading of modality, then certain portions of the Kripke Paradigm are valid. I do not delineate or possess the details of a comprehensive doctrine of transcendental metaphysic. Nevertheless, the observations I make should suffice to bring about the rough orientation of how I conceive the notion of transcendental modality. (shrink)

What does a politics after the international mean? Many strands of contemporary scholarship converge on the image of the international as obsolete, but strongly diverge on the contours of the kinds of politics that are superseding it. The modern state has been pivotal to the meaning of security, territory and authority?concepts central to the idea of the international?but they do not necessarily have to be tied to the state. Johannes Stripple offers a critique of International Relations theory combined with a (...) study of climate change. A departure in 'process philosophy' facilitate a rethinking of security, territory and authority as activities rather than things, as verbs rather than nouns. The author shows that a multiplicity of practices of securitization, territorialization, and authorization are visible in the climate issue. The book goes beyond, and reflects upon, the traditional study of 'International Environmental Politics' as a particular subfield of International Relations. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to relate sociobiological theories of altruism to theories within the Christian tradition of agape. Firstly, it discusses the relation between scientific, ethical and theological understandings of altruism, and argues that it is possible to compare discussions of benevolent acts towards others or other-directedness. Such acts are determined in content by the extent and recipients, and the content make recognisable patterns. A care-pattern is defined as the giver of the benevolent act having a relation to (...) the receiver. A cost-pattern is defined as the giver receiving reciprocation of the benevolent act. Two other issues affecting the content, value and origin of altruism in the theories are identified. Firstly, whether a qualitative or quantitative difference can be found between humans and animals and secondly, the relation between natural and cultural factors shaping human altruism. Standpoints among authors within sociobiology (Alexander, de Waal and Sober and Wilson) and the Christian tradition (Grant, Post, Pope, Hallett and Outka) are analysed. The analysis results in adaptive and agapeistic understandings of other-directedness. Sociobiology, although finding a large extent of altruism possible, arrives at a border between in-group and out-group recipients of other-directed acts. Both care-patterns and cost-patterns are found. Agapeistic patterns are care-patterns, characterised by viewing even out-groupers as neighbours entitled to care. Secondly, the study discusses contemporary attempts to relate sociobiology and the tradition of agape. Conflict models discuss care-patterns from either an adaptive or an agapeistic perspective. Both view altruism towards out-groupers as rare. Adaptive models leave altruism inexplicable, agapeistic models describe a paradox only solvable through religion. Independence models invoke a borderline between non-human and human organisms, exclude altruism from nature, and argue that it is culture or religion that makes humans altruistic. Adaptive independence models have to resort to transcendent sources of altruism, without accounting for them. Agapeistic independence models are found suffering from being at odds with science and having poor support from Biblical Studies, something they have in common with agapeistic conflict models. The study argues that accepting both explanatory theories might increase our understanding of altruism. Integration models admit that not only humans are capable of altruism, even if the larger complexity both in the human brain and in our cultural patterns affects the quantity and the quality of altruism. The quantity of altruism can be affected through expansion models, and the quality enhanced through transformation models. One such quality could be the moral or religious value of altruism, without denying the survival and reproductive enhancing value of care. A proposed suggestion of an integrative model aims to respect the distinctive character of agape as out-group love and describes agape as liberating, without denying the content, origin and value of our biological heritage. Natural and cultural streams of information form a symbiosis within humans and agape love “builds into” the preferential care sociobiology describes. The answer to the question of whether conflict is the only possible relation between a scientific and theological understanding of issues connected to altruism is negative. (shrink)

The treatise attempts to approach and deal with some of the most fundamental problems facing anyone who wishes to uphold some version of the so-called theory of tropes. Three assumptions serve as a basis for the investigation: (i) tropes (i.e. particular properties) exist, (ii) only tropes exist (that is, tropes are the only basic or fundamental kinds of entities), and (iii) a one-category trope-theory along these lines should be developed so that the tropes it postulates are able to serve as (...) truth-makers for all kinds of atomic propositions. Provided that these assumptions are accepted, it is found that the trope-theorist will have to deal with two important problems. First, some atomic propositions seem to require universal truth-makers. Second, some atomic propositions seem to require concrete truth-makers. As tropes are abstract particulars, it follows that the trope-theorist, in order to fulfil assumption (iii), must provide an account of exactly how he or she could construct universality and concreteness from his or her basic stock of tropes. In the treatise such constructions are attempted and some basic problems with such constructions are revealed (mainly problems having to do with the threat of regress). Although these problems are serious enough it is argued that it is nevertheless possible to deal with these basic issues while staying squarely within the boundaries of a one-category trope-ontology. (shrink)

The amygdala is a small subcortical structure that has long been implicated in the conditioning of fear and other emotions. It is heavily interconnected to a number of both cortical and subcortical structures and is thus well placed to integrate sensory inputs from multiple areas to produce emotional reactions directly as well as influence learning and attention systems. Data suggests that the amygdala works in close cooperation with the orbitofrontal cortex; the amygdala learns emotional reactions to stimuli, while the orbitofrontal (...) cortex learns to inhibit the reactions from the amygdala in a context-sensitive manner. The hippocampus is encoding the contextual representations that are used by the orbitofrontal cortex. Being responsible for the conditioning of emotional reactions, the amygdala forms a part of a conceptual system integrating emotions, motivation and actions. The thesis briefly discusses this system, and also reviews the neurophysiological and neuroanatomical features of the amygdala, the orbitofrontal cortex and related areas. As a learning system, data suggests the amygdala is working as a classical conditioning system. This system is used both to elicit autonomous reactions to emotional stimuli directly through the central amygdala, and as an evaluative part of an instrumental conditioning system through the basolateral amygdala. Through this mechanism, the structure is also involved in selective memory consolidation and in selective priming of stimuli in the sensory cortices. Classical and instrumental conditioning is discussed, and a number of computational models of classical conditioning are presented and compared. The second half of the thesis presents a computational model of the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. The model has a very simple design for each component; much of the abilities of the model instead comes from the neuroanatomically guided interconnections between these components. The model is tested with only the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, and then extended with a simple hippocampal model able to generate contextual signals from an externally imposed attentional sequence. The model is compared to the previously tested conditioning models and its benefits and drawbacks - especially its current inability to handle time-dependent effects - are discussed. (shrink)

This work seeks to develop a Kantian ethical theory in terms of a general ontology of values and norms together with a metaphysics of the person that makes sense of this ontology. It takes as its starting point Kant’s assertion that a good will is the only thing that has an unconditioned value and his accompanying view that the highest good consists in virtue and happiness in proportion to virtue. The soundness of Kant’s position on the value of the good (...) will is defended against criticisms directed against it by G. E. Moore and it is argued that there is an ambiguity in Moore’s notion of ‘intrinsic value’ that makes him unable to fully understand and appreciate the Kantian view. It is also argued that the special value of moral goodness has been unduly neglected in modern moral philosophy, even by those working in the Kantian tradition, and it is suggested that the possibility of a Kantian ethical theory centred on the notion of the highest good remains to be explored. In order to lay the ground for such a theory a Kantian approach to reasons for action and the metaphysics of the person is developed and defended, albeit in a way that, in contrast to Kant himself, emphasizes the social dimension inherent in being a person and acting on reasons. It is also argued that there exists what Henry Sidgwick has called a dualism of practical reason, which means that there are two systematic modes, the self-interested and the moral, of approaching action. These two modes correspond to the two components of the highest good as understood by Kant and it is argued that the highest good represents a reasonable way of unifying them. These two parts of the highest good are then considered, each in turn, and Kantian models for understanding them are elaborated and defended against main rivals. On the matter of happiness, it is argued that standard philosophical theories fail to properly account for the way in which a subject’s own opinions about what constitutes her happiness are important in determining where her happiness actually lies. On the matter of morality, Kantianism is contrasted with consequentialism, the other leading theory that understands morality in terms of an ideal of impartiality and it is argued that the Kantian ideal, which can be called ‘impartiality as universalizability’ is superior to the consequentialist one, which can be called ‘impartiality as impersonality’. A version of Kantian ethics that places its emphasis on the Formula of Universal Law is then elaborated and it is argued that it is reasonable to understand maxims, or at least those maxims eligible for the universalizability test, as having to do with the basic general principles according to which we live. This kind of interpretation creates a large room for the exercise of judgment on the part of the agent and it is suggested that the standards according to which such judgment is exercised are largely determined through our actual moral practices and discourses. (shrink)

This book offers a theological study of an expression unique in biblical literature concerning the purpose of life: “that you might become sharers in divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Following an analysis of the text-immanent features in 2 Peter 1:1—11, the study delineates comparable notions of “sharers in divine nature” in selected writings that were current in the first century and contrasts these with 2 Peter. The comparative material includes the writings of the Old Testament, Josephus, Philo, Plutarch, Stoicism, Pauline (...) Christianity, and other New Testament letters. A constellation of ideas is identified in 2 Peter 1:1—11 that informs the meaning of “sharers in divine nature.” By faith a person gains knowledge of Christ, which grants to the Christ believer two distinct but inseparable divine attributes: the moral excellence of Christ, exhibited with progressive clarity by the Christian, and, attendant upon the first, the immortality of Christ, with an escape from the decay caused by desire. The parousia consummates the Christ believer’s share in both aspects of divine nature. This idea cluster—knowledge of the divine enabling acquisition of divine virtue ensued by divine incorruption—is found to pervade the Jewish and non-Jewish writings here considered. Similarities of structure are observed particularly in Philo and Plutarch. Structural resemblances are detected again in Paul along with the additional presence of several formal parallels. These observations allow the conclusions that 2 Peter 1:4 alludes to a widely-held nexus of ideas, that Middle Platonic thought exerts some influence on 2 Peter 1:4, but that a more direct and tangible affinity exists with Paul. (shrink)

Abstract This thesis identifies two different kinds of knowledge in Thomas Hardy's novels: the everyday, passed on from generation to generation, which is non-academic and closely bound to the local environment and its traditions; and the specialised, recorded in the printed word, which is the product of formal education and independent of the local community and its traditions. These two kinds of epistemological competence determine one's ability to adapt and survive in a changing society. It is argued that everyday knowledge (...) does not promote analytical thinking and the ability to predict; specialised knowledge, on the other hand, is closely related to scientific analytical thinking and is thus more in tune with the scientific world view which developed in the second half of the nineteenth century. The two forms of knowledge are discussed in relation to three groups of characters: the rustics, the lower/middle class and the upper-middle/upper class. Selected concepts taken from the work of Pierre Bourdieu have been used to identify the source, nature and scope of the various characters' knowledge within the three groups. With the aid of Basil Bernstein's concepts of the ‘restricted' and ‘elaborated' codes, dialogues are seen to constitute a useful indication of the type of knowledge which an individual character possesses. Throughout the study reference is made to historical factors, local as well as national, in the belief that what the reader brings to the text constitutes a third, and vital, form of knowledge. While today's reader has the benefit of hindsight, s/he lacks intimate knowledge of nineteenth-century social/working conditions. All fourteen published novels have been analysed to show that, while Hardy's sympathies lay with the rustics, he was keenly aware that the lower/middle class had the greatest potential for survival in the transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society. It is the purpose of this study to demonstrate that historical research and sociological/sociolinguistic theory provide valuable insights into Hardy's prose by illuminating salient features of his texts and in outlining a pattern of thought in his writing. The introduction presents the assumptions on which the study is based and defines the tools which have been used. Chapter One discusses national developments in education, concentrating on those which are most pertinent to Hardy's novels. The chapter which follows looks at educational developments in Dorset and concludes with a review of Hardy's own education. Chapter Three considers Hardy's early novels, from Desperate Remedies to A Laodicean. The latter represents a turning-point in Hardy's literary career, as it is the first work in which he openly focuses on the juxtaposition of the traditional and the modern. Chapter Four discusses Hardy's later novels, from Two on a Tower to Jude the Obscure. The later novels are more obviously concerned with science and its significance for future developments. The study closes with a short summary and some suggestions for future research. (shrink)

The book has two interrelated objectives. One objective is meta-theoretical and concerns the exploration of theoretical debates connected to issues of studying society and environmental problems; another objective is empirical/analytical, referring to the analysis of "green" public participation in the electricity and waste sectors in Sweden, and partly in the Netherlands as well as the UK. The metatheoretical part draws the conclusion that the ontology of critical realism, combined with a problem-subjectivist tenet, is a particularly fruitful basis for the social (...) sciences in order to provide an understanding environmental conflicts. The empirical questions refer to preconditions and obstacles to public participations in the "greening" of the domestic practices related to electricity and waste. Methodologically, the empirical part is based on a combination of statistical data and comparative case study research, conducted through semi-structured interviews with local authorities, housing organizations, energy companies, a windpower cooperative, and households. The challenges of providers are divided into making visible, making acceptable, and making doable, based on both material and socio-political characteristics of the sectors. Households, in turn, face the challenges of constructing combinations of green identity as a foundation of their motivation: ecological, environmental, economic, and social green identities. The study shows how differences in identity-combinations across cases-although materially influenced-are rarely materially determined in any irrevocable way. Instead, policy reform may substantially strengthen the social support of action-motivating combinations of green identities. (shrink)

Abstract The dissertation presents a phenomenological view on the interaction between science knowledge and prescientific knowledge. Drawing on Husserl, Merleau-Ponty and Lévinas the human bodily grounded existence is described, the central feature of this existence being its responsivity to the Other. This responsivity is presented as the starting point for the production of science knowledge, thus making science knowledge always situated as knowledge-put-to-use. The presentation is using the metaphor of a "stage of events", which presents events as if staged on (...) a "theatrical stage". To exemplify the production of science knowledge against the background of human bodily existence the discovery of the aetiology of puerperal fever by Semmelweis, and the attempt to construct a "musical model" of the universe by Johannes Kepler, are used. The two examples are presented as following a pattern of circularity: a "circuit of responsivity" is set off by viewing of a situation as presenting a difficulty, something to be amended. This ensues the translation to the "stage of events" of science knowledge, where problems can be formulated in a strict way, ideally already implying solutions. These latter must then be translated back onto the "stage of events" of the non-scientific everyday life, in order to evaluate their relevance for the originary situation, where amendment is sought. Some difference is seen between the two examples. Subsequently, two examples from school biology teaching (in a Swedish comprehensive school) are analysed (using a phenomenological approach, based on Husserl's transcendental phenomenology), interpreted, and discussed, using the metaphor of the "(theatrical) stages of events". The interaction between the "stages of events" of science (biology) and "everyday, non-scientific life" results in the construction of a "stage of school science (biology)". This leads to a specific construction of the human body in biology education, leading to a specific way of constructing human responsibility towards other life-forms, the environment etc - human beings are by biology education entitled to help themselves to the environment without limitations. There are certain gender aspects discernible in classroom interactions in one of the examples. The two historical examples serve as a part of the background of the discussion. The current debate on school science curriculum is providing further ingredients of that background. (shrink)