Lennart Nordenfelt – författare

Rationality and Compulsion presents a unique examination of mental illness - derived from philosophical action theory. Delusion is common to many mental disorders, resulting in actions that, though perhaps rational to the individual, might seem entirely inappropriate or harmful to others. So what is it that causes these actions, and why do they continue? The theory expounded in this book shows how the key to this problem might be compulsion. This book presents a new analysis of the notion of compulsion - developed from action theory. The books starts with an introduction to action theory (for the benefit of non-philosophers). It then shows how insights from action theory can help us better understand mental illness, before developing an analysis of compulsion that emphasizes the element of unavoidability. The book argues that what is fundamentally disturbing to the person suffering from delusion is not so much the fact that the disorder tends to lead to irrational actions but rather the fact that he or she is unable to avoid performing these actions. The individual is or feels compelled to act in the way he or she does. The book contains some concrete illustrations of this idea as applied to several psychiatric diagnoses, such as paranoia, phobia, and psychopathy.Rationality and Compulsion is a highly original new work from a leading figure in the philosophy and psychiatry movement. It will advance our understanding of mental illness, and be valuable for psychiatrists, psychologists, as well as philosophers.

The notion of quality of life has for several decades been well-established in ethical debate about health care and the care of older people.  Dignity in Care for Older People highlights the notion of dignity within the care of the elderly, focusing on the importance of theoretical concepts. Primarily based on a Research Project, Dignity and Older Europeans, funded by the European Commission, this book provides a thorough investigation of the concept of dignity and related concepts such as quality of life and autonomy. It includes a chapter devoted to the dignity of human embodiment, emphasizing the importance of the notion of the lived body in the context of elderly care. As a result of the conceptual study a model of dignity emerges in which four variants of dignity stand out: dignity of merit, dignity as moral status, dignity of identity and Menschenwürde (the specifically human value). From this follows a discussion of how these variants of dignity can be used in characterizing the care of the elderly. The notions of dignity and dignified care are discussed particularly in relation to demented persons and dying persons. The book also contains a chapter on the dignity of the dead person. International in focus, Dignity in Care for Older People provides a contemporary discussion of the care of older people, and will be of use to qualified nurses and social care practitioners working with older people, as well as those on ethics and gerontology courses.

Scientists within human and animal science have extensively discussed the philosophy of medicine, but never have both sides communicated on their concepts of health, quality of life and welfare, with each other. This book aims to help clarify the difficult but central notions of health and welfare by comparing the human and animal variants of these concepts. Split into three parts this book starts by presenting a background of some of the major theories of human health and welfare, followed by a detailed discussion of theories on animal welfare and health. While the final part of the book tests a comprehensive conceptual framework of a holistic kind, which focuses on the individual's ability to achieve its vital goals.

This book contains scholarly contributions to several current debates in the philosophy of medicine and health care regarding the nature of health and health promotion, concepts and measurements of mental illness, phenomenological conceptions of health and illness, allocation of health care resources, criteria for proper medical science, the clinical meeting, and ethical constraints in such a meeting.With one exception, the authors in this book are or have been teachers or graduate students at the interdisciplinary Department of Health and Society (Tema H) at Linköping University, Sweden. While all the texts have a philosophical focus, many other disciplines have influenced the choice of specific perspectives. The university backgrounds of the authors range from medicine, psychology, sociology, and religion to philosophy. What binds the authors together is their deep interest in the theory of medicine and in the pursuit of a philosophy of humanistic medicine and health care.

I denna bok tecknar Lennart Nordenfelt en bild av professor Carl Yngve Sahlins (1824–1917) liv och filosofiska författarskap. Sahlin levde i en intellektuell atmosfär som präglades starkt av idealistisk filosofi, inte minst som den företräddes av den mycket framstående filosofen Christopher Jacob Boström. Sahlin blev Boströms kanske främste elev, i varje fall den mest inflytelserike. Sahlin var också under inte mindre än 13 år, 1876 till 1889, rector magnificus vid Uppsala universitet och kunde därmed starkt påverka det akademiska livet i Uppsala. Sahlin var en mycket flitig författare i Boströms anda. Hans böcker utgör i själva verket en betydelsefull ingång till Boströms filosofi. Men han behandlade också flera filosofiska ämnesområden som Boström aldrig på allvar gav sig in på. Och han gjorde inträngande analyser av ämnen som Boström bara flyktigt behandlade. Nordenfelt beskriver i denna bok också andra aspekter av Sahlins gärning som professor och universitetsrektor men också av hans liv utanför akademin. Som rektor kom Sahlin i kontakt med andra högre ämbetsmän i det svenska samhället. Han spelade en viktig roll i Uppsala stad genom uppdrag på flera skolor och i Akademiska sjukhusets direktion. Sahlin var också, framför allt under senare delen av livet, engagerad i pedagogiska frågor. Sahlin pläderade starkt för att den klassiska bildningens ställning skulle bevaras i det svenska skolsystemet. I anslutning till detta arbete tog Sahlin initiativet till att starta Svenska Humanistiska Förbundet 1896, i vilket han blev dess första ordförande.

En rikt fasetterad skildring av ett märkligt intellektuellt livsöde. Marc-Wogau tillhörde en tysk affärssläkt som fram till ryska revolutionen verkade i Ryssland. Efter revolutionen flydde han med sin familj till Sverige och blev med tiden filosofiprofessor i Uppsala. Marc-Wogaus egna minnesanteckningar från uppväxten och studenttiden utgör en viktig del av boken, som dessutom innehåller biografiska texter av Lennart Nordenfelt.

En tankeväckande religionshistorisk essä om definitionen av Gudsbegreppet, Guds existens och Guds väsen. Fokus ligger på teorier som avviker från de konventionella religionernas. Hur kan en person med ateistisk eller agnostisk uppfattning förhålla sig till dessa? Lennart Nordenfelt är professor i hälso- och sjukvårdens teori och etik.