Nina Karin Monsen is a Norwegian moral philosopher and author.

She was appointed a government scholarship awardee (Norwegian: statsstipendiat) in 2004. She has written several books, both non-fiction and fiction works, and has been active in Norwegian public debate since the early 1970s.

Monsen is Magister

Magister (degree)

Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...

 of Philosophy (1969) and was one of the founders of the Norwegian new feminist movement in 1970. Her early work was on the logician Quine

Willard Van Orman Quine

Willard Van Orman Quine was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition...

 and later feminist philosophy

Feminist philosophy

Feminist philosophy refers to philosophy approached from a feminist perspective. Feminist philosophy involves both attempts to use the methods of philosophy to further the cause of the feminist movements, and attempts to criticise or re-evaluate the ideas of traditional philosophy from within a...

; she since became the most visible proponent of Personalism

Personalism

Personalism is a philosophical school of thought searching to describe the uniqueness of a human person in the world of nature, specifically in relation to animals...

 in Norway, with Det elskende menneske (The loving human being, 1987) as the most central work.

Monsen grew up in a humanist

Humanism

Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

 family, but later convert to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 through philosophic thinking. Recently, Monsen has been a strong opponent of the introduction of same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

 in Norway.

In 2009, she was awarded the Fritt Ord Award

Fritt Ord Award

The organization Fritt Ord awards two prizes to support freedom of speech; the Fritt Ord Award and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award .-Fritt Ord Award:These are the laureates of the Fritt Ord Award:*1976 : Johan Vogt*1977 : Henrik Groth...

.

She was married to legal scholar Helge Johan Thue until he died in 2010.

Non-fiction

• Det kvinnelige menneske. Aschehoug, 1975
• Jomfru, mor eller menneske Universitetsforlaget, 1984
• Det elskende menneske, person og etikk (1987)
• Det Kjempende menneske, person og etikk (1990)
• Velferd uten ansikt, en filosofisk analyse av velferdsstaten (1998)
• Kunsten å tenke, en filosofisk metode til et bedre liv (2001)
• Den gode sirkel, en filosofi om helse og kjærlighet (2002)
• Det sårbare menneske, en filosofi om skam, skyld og synd (2004)
• Livstro, lesetykker (2005)
• Det innerste valget (2007)
• Kampen om ekteskapet og barnet (2009)

Fiction

• Under Godhetens synsvinkel, essays, 1992
• Kvinnepakten, novel, 1977
• Jammersminne, novel, 1980
• Dødt liv, short stories, 1987
• Inntrengere, novel, 1989
• Tvillingsjeler, novel, 1993