A fish called ... Ignaas

This week, I'm having a special seminar on Autonomy, heteronomy and inequality at the Annual ESPMH Conference, this time in Zagreb.  Abstract of the seminar:  For years now, research on inequalities in health demonstrates the importance of social determinants in health outcomes. Contrary to that, public debates on health offer us a picture as if the only problem left in healthcare is how to empower individual patients so they would be able to make the right and autonomous choices and lead a healthy lifestyle. Next to that, in many countries the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle has or is expected to become a criterion in the allocation of healthcare services. One of the crucial questions is what could be the consequences of this evolution for health care policy for individuals and for society in general? If we consider individuals as autonomous and regard the way they live as largely a matter of their own free choice, would it then not be “logical” to hold patients perso...

4 years after his massacre, we are still puzzled why Anders Breivik did what he did. In an attempt to understand his actions, a couple of years ago, I wrote a paper on his manifesto. Finally, this paper has been published now. You can read it here . ABSTRACT : More than four years ago, Anders Breivik launched his apocalyptic raid in Norway. His killing raid was not an action standing on its own but a statement to invite people to read his manifesto called 2083. A European Declaration of Independence. The highly despicable and disgusting mission of Anders Breivik addresses us whether we like it or not. Maybe there are good reasons to read and analyze Breivik’s ‘oration?’ He confronts us with many questions we cannot simply run away from: What about the Islamization?  How could this happen in secular Norway? What about the role of religion in European societies? In this article, I will argue that Breivik’s plea can only happen from within a secular society in which the homogenei...