The Role of the Emotions in the Moral Life According to Immanuel Kant

Against common misconceptions of Kant as a philosopher who neglects the emotional aspects of moral life, I show that he actually considers our emotional dispositions to be valuable tools for perfecting ourselves morally. I show not only that it is incumbent on us to cultivate morally beneficial emotions, but also how we can do it. Building on Kant\u27s vague hints about what the process involves, I argue that cultivating a given feeling requires, above all, sharpening one\u27s judgment about it, one\u27s sensitivity to its nature and to the shape it takes in one\u27s own character in order to make responsible decisions about whether to act on the feeling and when one does choose to act on it, to express it in a way which harmonizes with one\u27s sense of moral integrity. I begin with an argument showing that on Kant\u27s mature moral theory, it is our duty to cultivate feelings which help us form a virtuous disposition. I then discuss particular feelings which are especially important in this regard. I begin with the feeling of respect for the moral law and show that it constitutes the motive of duty. Kant\u27s pure moral motive--the motive of duty--is thus actually a feeling which is grounded in a rational grasp of the moral law. I then consider feelings associated with our duties toward ourselves (e.g., pride and courage) and with our duties toward others (e.g., love and respect) and raise the question of how cultivated feelings figure in the virtuous character and also in relation to good willing and to morally worthy action. I show that certain moral feelings (feelings with a rational basis, e.g., proper pride and love of man) can become part of the motive of duty itself and so can serve as motives to morally worthy action

Under radarn : En diskursanalys av makt, motstånd och identiteter i serier om migration

Syftet med denna uppsats är att med hjälp av diskursanalys granska hur makt, motstånd och identiteter skildras i de seriösa serieböckerna Persepolis av Marjane Satrapi, An Arab in America av Toufic El Rassi samt Maus av Art Spiegelman, som alla på ett eller annat sätt handlar om migration. Jag använder teorier som Michel Foucault och Chandra Talpade Mohanty har lagt fram och också litteratur om diskursanalys. Syftet är även att studera synen på serier som berättandeform. Jag diskuterar målgrupper för serieberättelser och huruvida serier håller på att ta sig in i "finkulturen". Där använder jag bland annat Ernesto Laclau och Chantal Mouffes teorier om diskursers kamp med varandra om makt och hegemoni. Med deras begrepp kan serier sägas befinna sig i ett "diskursivt fält" i förhållande till andra mer hegemoniska diskurser. Min slutsats är att seriösa serier håller på att bli en mer etablerad genre med egna uttrycksmedel men samtidigt fungerar som en form av motstånd mot finkulturen och mot hur och vem som tillåts berätta

Gender asymmetries in professionals' views on adolescent sex and drug use

The overarching aim of this study was to examine female social workers’ (ie. drug counselors’ and members of treatment staff’s) perception of the sexuality of girls and boys. The results indicate that the IPs define female high risk sexual behavior differently than male high-risk sexual behavior. For females, the mere act of having sex with multiple men in combination with drug use was considered problematic, while for males, the question was whether he was having protected sex. A history of CSA was considered to affect the sexuality of both the female and male vignette characters, but in different ways: the male character was seen to punish himself through multiple sexual partners while the female was seen to be unable to make informed sexual decisions or even to enjoy sex. Finally, the concept of sexual exploitation was analyzed and found to be inconsistently used not only by the IPs, but also in the research literature. In the discussion, it is stressed that social services and treatment personnel need to be clear about what they mean by sexual exploitation of girls. Paying undue attention to a girl’s sex life will not help her in any significant way. Instead, social workers should help girls use their gifts and strengths to express their innermost being, helping them find their voice.Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att undersöka kvinnliga socialarbetares (det vill säga drogbehandlares och behandlingspersonals) uppfattning om tonårsflickors och tonårspojkars sexualitet. Resultaten indikerar att intervjupersonerna definierar sexuellt högriskbeteende annorlunda hos flickor och pojkar. För flickor uppfattades det som problematiskt att ha sex med flera män i kombination med narkotikabruk, medan det för pojkar handlade om huruvida de hade skyddat sex. En historia av sexuella övergrepp i barndomen ansågs kunna påverka sexualiteten hos både kvinnliga och manliga vinjettkaraktärer men på olika sätt: den manliga karaktären ansågs bestraffa sig själv genom många sexuella partners medan den kvinnliga upplevdes oförmögen att fatta informerade sexuella beslut eller ens njuta av sex. Slutligen analyserades begreppet sexuellt utnyttjande och visade sig användas inkonsekvent inte bara av intervjupersonerna, men också i forskningslitteraturen. I diskussionen betonas att socialtjänst och behandlingspersonal måste klargöra vad de menar med sexuellt utnyttjande av flickor. Att ge otillbörlig uppmärksamhet åt en tonårsflickas sexliv hjälper henne inte på något väsentligt sätt. Istället bör socialarbetare hjälpa flickor att använda sina talanger och styrkor för att uttrycka sitt innersta väsen och därmed hjälpa dem finna sin röst

Älska din nästa om du vågar! De homosexuellas syn på den heterosexuella normen

Abstract Homosexuality is surely accepted in today´s society - or isn´t it? Many things have changed, for instance laws, which are in favour for homosexuals, have been introduced, in Sweden that is. As we although know, many things are not only dependent on what laws tell us to do. The society also contains values and norms and they furthermore exist in individuals. Regarding sexuality, the norm is heterosexuality. How much does the norm affect our way of living? In what way is it encouraged? What happens to people who don´t live up to the norm? How is it to be homosexual in today´s society? These are some of the questions that we look upon in this paper. The overall purpose therefore is to see how it is to deviate from the established heteronormativity. To reach this answer, we have carried out interviews with five lesbian women, and presented complementing literature and theories to the subject. Sexuality and what is "normal" is something that we have constructed our selves; something that is done through interaction with other people. We have become aware of that if opposing from the norm, consequences follow and also expectations from people and society