Fågel, fisk eller förundran? : En studie av förhållningssätt i existentiella frågor, baserad på uppsatser skrivna på ett mångkulturellt vuxengymnasium

Sammanfattning: Fågel, fisk eller förundran? A study of existential attitudes based on essays written in a multicultural upper secondary school for adultsThe aim of this study is to survey and interpret outlooks on life as expressed in 175 essays written (1999-2001) in a multicultural Swedish suburb by adult students learning Swedish, Swedish as a Foreign Language, and Philosophy. What are the recurring themes in these essays? How do they reflect the fundamental existential problems of their authors?The theoretical background rests on existential hermeneutics with Sartre (1943, 1946, 1984) as the most important philosophical source. Other sources are Ödman (1994) and Hellesnes (1989, 2000).All-pervading themes are: God, Meaning of Life, Death, and The Soul. The various ways in which students describe their reflections are gathered in 11 categories on the subject of God, 13 on The Meaning of Life, and 9 on Death.I examine expressions which come across as "extreme" ("existentialism", "determinism", "reason", and "emotion"). Most students, however, express contradictory views. I am, therefore, mainly concerned with contradiction, searching and testing different ideas. Active and passive strategies come to the fore in conflicts between experienced or imagined obstacles and the urge to develop.I also seek to view the essays from a stricter Sartrian perspective, as opposed to the Sartrian-flavoured one in the earlier parts of the study. For this purpose, I rely on Sartre´s phenomenological ontology (1943), his thoughts on freedom and facticity, and other concepts, e.g. anguish.The ontological conflict is examined from a broader perspective, viewing the texts in a socio-cultural context in which identity, religion, and language play important parts.Finally, I discuss my results and try to state the ways in which my former understanding has changed and the surprises I have had.