Hans Herlof Grelland

Affiliated with UiA Department of Engineering Sciences

Email: hans.grelland@uia.no
Phone: +47 37 23 30 26
Mobile phone: +47 93 20 13 94
Office: A3121 (Jon Lilletuns vei 9, 4879 Grimstad, Norway)

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Areas of responsibility

Professor emeritus in Quantum Chemistry (Physics) and Philosophy. Main interests: Quantum Physics and Relativity, in particular philosophical aspects and interpretation. Existential philosophy and philosophy of language. Søren Kierkegaard, princess Elisabeth of Bohemia, Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Paul A. M. Dirac.

Research

1. The philosophy of emotions, based on phenomenology and existential philodsophy.

2. Edvard Munch's relation to Søren Kierkegaard, and the philosophy of art.

3. Mathematics as a language in physics and questions regarding time, space, and space-time, with reference to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity.

4. Mathematics as a language of physics and the interpretation of quantum mechanics.

5. Human subjectivity, with reference to the philosophy of Edith Stein, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre. Humans vs. artificially intelligent maschines.

Research groups

Grelland, Hans Herlof (2025). Heidegger und Kierkegaard über das Man, Verzweiflung und Angst. In Bicevskis, Raivis & Neugenbauer, Klaus (Ed.), Die Dinge sein lassen: Husserl und Heidegger. Verlag Karl Alber. ISSN 9783495991237. p. 209–216. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Om forholdet mellom hund og menneske: litt filosofi, Hverdagsliv med Hund - betydningsfulle relasjoner. Kolofon Forlag AS. ISSN 9788230026410. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Eksistentiel sårbarhed, Til den andres bedste. Om vejledningens etik. 2.udgave. Dansk Psykologisk Forlag. ISSN 9788771581492. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2020). Phenomenology and Physics. Hermann Weyl (1885-1955). In Czakon, Dominika; Michna, Natalia Anna & Sosnowski, Leszek (Ed.), Roman Ingarden and his Times. Ksiegarnia akademicka. ISSN 9788381381031. p. 127–142. doi: 10.12797/9788381382106.08. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2020). Eksistensiell skjørhet i et veiledningsperspektiv, Til den andres beste. En bok om veiledningens etikk. 2. utgave. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205533950. p. 139–153. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2020). Kultur, kulturbrudd og identitet. In Lysaker, Odin & Fredwall, Terje Emil (Ed.), Verdier i konflikt: Etikk i et mangfoldig samfunn. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202675295. p. 159–178. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Vi lever i et mangfoldig samfunn preget av forskjellige og til dels motstridende verdier. Noen ganger skaper de fellesskap. Andre ganger fører de til verdikonflikter. I denne boken skriver tolv norske forskere om slike verdikonflikter og måten de utspiller seg på i arbeidsliv og i det offentlige rom. Felles for mange av bidragene i boken er forsøket på å kaste lys over et såkalt verdimessig uenighetsfellesskap. Dette innebærer at vi er enige om å være uenige. Som samfunn kan innbyggerne forsøke å samles om noen felles, grunnleggende verdier. Fellesskapstanken kan likevel ikke forutsette at alle samfunnsmedlemmer blir enige om sine personlige verdisyn.
Assuad, Carla Susana Aqudelo & Grelland, Hans (2018). Coping with Decisions First I imagine, then I know. In Johnsen, Hans Christian Garman; Holtskog, Halvor & Ennals, Richard (Ed.), Coping with the Future: Rethinking Assumptions for Society, Business and Work. Routledge. ISSN 9781138559325. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Møtet mellom dyr og mennesker – en filosofisk studie. In Berget, Bente; Krøger, Elsebeth & Thorød, Anne Brita (Ed.), Antrozoologi. Samspill mellom dyr og menneske. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215028538. p. 21–28. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Martin Heideggers begrep om omsorg som eksistensform og dets betydning for forståelsen av begrepet omsorg i omsorgsfag. Tidsskrift for omsorgsforskning. ISSN 2387-5976. 4(03), p. 269–275. doi: 10.18261/issn.2387-5984-2018-03-09. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Vi gir i denne artikkelen en skisse av Martin Heideggers filosofi om omsorg som et grunntrekk ved menneskets måte å være til på i verden. Mennesket kan etter denne filosofien ikke reduseres til en passiv betrakter av verden eller organisme som utnytter omgivelsene til bestemte formål, men vi er i utgangspunktet en eksistensform som forholder seg omsorgsfullt til verden. Siden dette er vår grunnleggende væremåte, skyldes mangel på omsorg en form for fremmedgjøring overfor oss selv og verden som Heidegger kaller forfall til «man». Vi er her ikke lenger genuint og ekte oss selv, men gjør det «man» gjør. Denne fremmedgjøringen vil vi sammenlikne med Søren Kierkegaards begrep om fortvilelse. Denne filosofiske tilnærmingen til omsorgsfenomenet sammenholdes så med ideen om omsorg slik det utøves i et omsorgsyrke. Dette leder til følgende konklusjon: Siden vår eksistensform er omsorg, kan ikke profesjonen sette grenser for vårt allmenne omsorgsansvar. Og videre: Utøvelsen av profesjonell omsorg er forankret i vår eksistensform som omsorg. På slutten av kapitlet viser vi til nyere empirisk forskning som underbygger Heideggers filosofi om omsorg som menneskelig eksistensform.
Landmark, Karen; Grelland, Hans & Johnsen, Hans Christian Garman (2018). Coping with sustainability: The need for non-instrumental thinking. In Johnsen, Hans Christian Garman; Holtskog, Halvor & Ennals, Richard (Ed.), Coping with the Future: Rethinking Assumptions for Society, Business and Work. Routledge. ISSN 9781138559325. p. 114–125. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Quantum Mechanics as a Semantic Problem. In Wuppuluri, Shyam & Doria, Francisco Antonio (Ed.), The Map and the Territory: Exploring the Foundations of Science, Thought and Reality. Springer. ISSN 9783319724775. p. 307–324. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-72478-2_16. Full text in Research Archive

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Eide, Solveig Botnen; Grelland, Hans; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Sævareid, Hans Inge & Aasland, Dag Gjerløw (2022). Til den andres bedste. Om vejledningens etik. 2.udgave. Dansk Psykologisk Forlag. ISBN 9788771581492. Full text in Research Archive
Eide, Solveig Botnen; Grelland, Hans; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Sævareid, Hans Inge & Aasland, Dag Gjerløw (2020). Til den andres beste. En bok om veiledningens etikk. 2. utgave. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISBN 9788205533950. 181 p. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2020). Om følelsene. Fagbokforlaget. ISBN 9788245023237. 200 p. Full text in Research Archive

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Grelland, Hans Herlof (2025). Blikket - eksistensialisme i 2025. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2025). Kvanterevolusjonen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2025). Sign, Symbol, and Image in Sartre and in Quantum THeory. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
We live in a quantum world, and U.N. has declared 2025 to be The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. After 100 years, the interpretation of the theory is still heatedly discussed. In quantum mechanics, physicists have created a picture of reality based on mathematics alone, in an abstract symbolic language which cannot be transcibed into images in space and time. One of the creators of the theory, Paul A. M. Dirac stated that the theory provides pictures of the physical reality, but pictures of a new kind, which are not like the images similar to perceptually given objects. I investigate this notion of a picture by applying Jean-Paul Sartre’s concepts of the sign, the symbol, the image and the mental image in The Imaginary. It becomes clear that Sartre`s carefully outlined concepts are indeed clarifying when we try to understand the relation between abstract and concrete images in physics. The basic idea is that the symbols have the function of making present the physical object. In the case of quantum theory we have the analogon, but not any corresponding perceptual impression, but nevertheless the analogon makes present to the mind the object, which is real, although not perceptually given. The traditional interpretations of quantum theory have suffered from the lack of a concept of intentionality, which is critically important for the understanding of how mental images get their meaning, according to Sartre. Also mathematical expressions can be said to be animated by the intentionality of the physicist, turning mathematics into physics, describing, or making present, real physical objects.
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2025). Eksistensialismen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Et samfunn i endring. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). The Concept of Nothingness in Daoism and in Heidegger. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Heidegger’s interest in Chinese and Japanese philosophy is well known (Parkes 1987, May 1996, Denker 2013), and it has also been suggested that he has been influenced by eastern thinking (May 1996). A comparison may throw some light on Heidegger’s thinking and may also be a fruitful case for bringing to cultural traditions together and stimulate the development of new philosophical perspectives. I want to explain the concept of Wu or nothingness as it can be found in classical Daoist sources, in particular in the Dao De Jing or Lao Zi (Moss 2001) and compare it to Heidegger’s concept of das Nichts and related notions in Being and Time (Heidegger 1998) and What is Metaphysics (Heidegger 2010). This is related to the concept of being in Chinese tradition, which can be compared to notions of being in Greek tradition and in Heidegger. My lecture will include a critical re-evaluation of May’s (1996, pp. 21-34) treatment of this question. I will also consider the role of the phenomenological approach in such a study, including Jean-Paul Sartre’s (Sartre 2018, pp. 50-57) criticism of Heidegger on the concept of nothingness. REFERENCES Moss, R.: Dao De Jing. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Denker, A. et al (eds.): Heidegger und das ostasiatischen Denken, Heidegger-Jahrbuch 7. Freiburg: Verlag Karl Alber, 2013. Heidegger, M.: Being and Time. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. Heidegger, M.: “What is Metaphysics” in: Basic Writings: Martin Heidegger, Routledge Classics. London: Routledge, 2010. May, R.: Heidegger’s Hidden Sources. London: Routledge, 1996. Parkes, G. (ed.): Heidegger and Asian Thought. University of Hawaii Press, 1987) Sartre, J.-P.: Being and Nothingness. London: Routledge, 2018, pp
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Følelsenes mening. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Søren Kierkegaard og Zen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Hannah Arendt og det faktum at vi mennesker ved vår blotte væren kan begynne på nytt, og skape noe nytt. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Jean-Paul Sartre og eksistensialismen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2024). Om kjærligheten. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans Herlof (2023). Om krig, ondskap, godhet og ansvar. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Men kan vi likevel eller mer enn noen gang tro på mennesket? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Romanens filosofi. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Angsten og kunsten. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Nazistenes ideologi. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Om å være menneske/om å være kvinne: Simone De Beauvoir. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). "Gudspartikkelen" samtale med Svein Tindberg og Hans Herlof Grelland. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Portrettets filosofi. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Om frykt og angst. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Kan vi fortsatt tro på mennesket? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Kurs: En ny begynnelse. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Lederrolle og person. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Boksamtale med Benedicte Kroneberg og Hans Herlof Grelland. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). The Idealist Concept of Time in General Relativity as Proposed by Kurt Gödel and Hermann Weyl, Adapting Husserl's Phenomenology. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Hva som skjer og hvem vi er i møtet med andre mennesker. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2022). Søren Kierkegaard (Tre filosofer om frihet). Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). The Concept of Nothingness in Daoism and in Heidegger. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Heidegger's interest in Chinese and Japanese philosophy is well known, and it has also been suggested that hw has been influenced by eastern thinking. A comparison may thorw some light on Heidegger's thinking and may also be a fruitful case for bringing cultural traditions together and stimulate the development of new philosophy. I discuss the Chinese concept of Wu (non-being or nothingness) as it can be fod in classical Daoist sources, in particular in the "Dao De Jing" of Lao Zi, and compare it to Heidegger's concept of das Nichs and relaated notions in "Being and Time" and "What is Metaphysics". This is related to the concept of Being in Chinese tradition, which can be compared to the notions of being in th Greek tradition and in Heidegger. My lecture includes a critical re-evaluation of Reinhard May's treatment of this question. I will also consider the role of the phenomenological approach in such a study, including Jean-Paul Sartre's criticism of Heidegger's concept of Nothingness. REFERENCE containing further references: Czakon & Michna (eds.): Book of Abstracts, Roman Ingarden and our Times, an International Philosophical Congress. Cracow: Ksiegarnia Akademicka Press 2021.
Grelland, Hans (2021). Tidens gåte. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans; Søelund, Lise & Lossius-Skeie, Ingelinn (2021). Samtale: La oss bli kjent med Søren Kierkegaard. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). Om følelsene. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). Tidens gåte: Einstein, Heidegger, Schrødinger. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). Livet på spill. Kan vi forstå Hedda Gabler? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). Jean-Paul Sartre I. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans & Vaags, Ralph Henk (2021). Fransk filosofi: samtale. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2021). Jean-Paul Sartre II. Full text in Research Archive
Iveland, Kari & Grelland, Hans (2019). Albert Einstein og Rabindranath Tagore. Et møte mellom østlig og vestlig filosofi. Full text in Research Archive
Goodwin, Morten; Grelland, Hans & Bruteig, Inga Elise (2019). Tenker dyr på døden? Kan datamaskin gjøre det? Hva er en tanke? [Radio]. NRK Abels tårn. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Weak dualism and the mind-body relation in Descartes, the phenomenologists of the 20th century, and contemporary brain research. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). A Case for Heideggerian Phenomenology: Edvard Munch's "The Sick Child". Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Filosofiseminar på Lesvos. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Om å ha et navn. "Vårvisen" av Tove Jansson. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Abels tårn. [Radio]. Abels tårn, NRK P2. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Tid og tidsopplevelse i Edvard Munchs kunst. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Kan vi tro på mennesket (II)? "De elendige" av Victor Hugo. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Mønster og frihet. Filosofiske temaer i Ellen Maria Grellands kunst. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Om å være til og menneskets måte å være til på: I-verden, til-døden, som omsorg, kastet. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Angstens poesi, billedkunst og filosofi fra Kierkegaard og Munch til nye poeter. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Væren, intet, lys. Filosofiske temaer i Mirjam Raen Thomassens kunst. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Angsten som livsstemning - angst og fryd. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). "Hjernen er alene". Om sinn og hjerne, spesielt om følelser, og om at hjernen ikke er alene. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Kan vi tro på mennesket (I)? "To byer" av Charles Dickens. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Fra Kierkegaard til Ibsen: Ibsens "Brand". Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Hva er et menneske? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Kjærlighetens kår i vår tid. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). N.F.S.Grundtvig og grundtvigianismen på Sørlandet. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Einstein og Tagore. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Intetheten og dens angst. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Hva er følelser? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Etikk, kultur og samarbeid. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Kan vi tro på mennesket? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2019). Profesjonell og privat i en småby. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Hva er medfølelse? Har noen mer medfølelse enn andre? Hva er det som gjør at noen kan være uten medfølelse? Kan etikken baseres på medfølelse? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Jean-Paul Sartre: Blikket. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Thomas Piketty, Naomi Klein, Attac: Den nye kapitalisme-kritikken. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Fenomenologi. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Kinesisk filosofi og kultur. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Anti-semittismens historie. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Kinesisk filosofi og kultur II. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Sosial og emosjonell kompetanse. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Hermann Weyl: Phenomenology and Physics. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Mystikk i kristendom, islam og hinduisme. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Jen-Paul Sartre om anti-semittisme og annen rasisme. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Lederskap i Søren Kirkegårds verden. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Etikk. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Gestalt feltteori. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Religion, identitet og likeverd. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Ayn Rand og den økonomiske liberalismen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Karl Marx. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Ideene i hjerneforskning og hos Platon og Aristoteles. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Hinduisme og islam i europeisk filosofi. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Er religiøs tro mulig i vår vitenskapelige tid? Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans & Frivik, Karen (2018). Om møtet mellom dyr og mennesker. [Radio]. Verdibørsen. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Abels tårn. Opptak på Realfagsbiblioteket ved UiO. [Radio]. NRK P2: Ekko. Full text in Research Archive
Grelland, Hans (2018). Abels tårn. Opptak under åpent møte i Arendalsuke 2018. [Radio]. NRK P2: Ekko. Full text in Research Archive
Imenes, Anne Gerd; Aasland, Dag Gjerløw; Bjørnestøl, Katharina Reionn; Grelland, Hans Herlof & Steen-Johnsen, Tale (2023). Bærekraftanalyse for Metochi. Universitetet i Agder. Full text in Research Archive

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Published Apr. 16, 2024 11:06 AM