Some of those writings may have been an assignment, such as defend position X (whatever X is). Teachers used to make us write position papers opposing our own viewpoints as a practice to help us think about the other person's world view and that our opinions may not always reflect a larger reality around us. It was useful. Other instructors let us argue our own positions. I look back on things I've written over the decades and see word usage change, the understanding of nuance change, and so on. His thinking from his teen years may not reflect his early-20s as others have mentioned.
He could have had a partial mental breakdown as failures in his young adult life challenged his childhood expectations and definitions. The externalizing of internal pain could be a factor here.
