Theses and Dissertations (Philosophy)

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Complacency : an action theoretical approach via Paul Ricoeur and Anthony Giddens
(University of Pretoria, 2019-05) Wolff, Ernst; alvaraschellingerhout@gmail.com; Carstens, Jana Alvara
In this work I make sense of complacency through an action theoretical perspective based on the action theories of Paul Ricoeur and Anthony Giddens. Even though complacency is a prevalent phenomenon, there is hardly any philosophical, sociological, and anthropological research on complacency. Through my research on complacency, I thus start to fill this research-lacuna. Moreover, by describing complacency as action, I do not take the conventional approaches of assuming that complacency is a vice or a purely psychological phenomenon. In order to describe complacency as action, I first clarify what complacency is by disambiguating ‘complacency’ through an analytic approach. In doing so, I arrive at a working analytical definition of complacency. I call this a ‘working’ definition, since this definition provides semantic stability while I discuss complacency as action. A working definition further provides analytical guidance as I navigate the action theories of Ricoeur and Giddens, and extract from their action theories the necessary action theoretical elements that are specific to complacent action. Through the above analysis-action theory dialectic, I am able to determine that complacent action – as a continuous flow of action – is characterised by the (conceptual) action-components of (i) awareness and (ii) care about matter x, (iii) in conjunction with acts that contradict the agent’s acts of care about matter x, (iv) where both the acts of care and the acts that contradict these acts of care (about matter x) are wrongly evaluated by the agent as being congruous or in line with the agent’s care about matter x. These incorrect evaluative acts are due to the fault of the agent. The final action-constituent of complacent action is (iv) the act of self-satisfaction, where self-satisfaction ‘causes’ or maintains the other action-components of complacency.
The role of the board in governance of artificial intelligence ethics – a case for JSE listed companies
(University of Pretoria, 2024-02-15) Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; rmulamula@gmail.com; Mulamula, Xitshembhiso Russel
This interdisciplinary study enriches academic discourse by merging corporate governance and AI ethics insights, offering a comprehensive perspective on the ethical issues surrounding AI development, deployment, and implementation. This study aims to investigate how corporate boards can lead and set a tone for ethically managing AI technologies, ensuring that these technologies align with ethically sound strategic objectives. It contributes uniquely to scholarly dialogue by examining the board's role in AI ethics and governance through the lens of both AI ethics literature, corporate governance principles and AI technology’s impact on society. To date, the existing literature on AI ethics has largely centred on software developers’ tasks or the broader regulatory aspects of AI technologies, paying minimal attention to the board's influence or their oversight responsibilities within private sector companies. Boards play a pivotal role in fostering an ethical AI culture, managing AI opportunities and the potential societal risks AI poses, including ethical dilemmas, biases, and reputational threats. A qualitative phenomenological method was employed to understand and interpret board members' experiences, with the aim of uncovering the meanings within their lived experiences. The findings of the empirical study highlight the board's crucial role in establishing ethical guidelines for AI governance and were corroborated by the literature review. For responsible AI ethics governance, it is imperative for boards to establish robust structures, processes, and rational mechanisms for responsible AI ethics governance to mitigate the significant risks associated with AI technologies, such as bias, discrimination, and privacy violations. The study adopted a stakeholder-inclusive approach, which guided the recommendations, which includes setting up an AI Centre of Excellence in private sector corporations, enhancing the Social and Ethics Committee for AI oversight, establishing a board technology committee and AI governance framework principles and having AI expert(s) at the board level.
Robots and dignity from an Afro-communitarian perspective
(University of Pretoria, 2024-04) Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; Metz, Thaddeus; samuelmaiyane@gmail.com; Maiyane, Karabo Samuel
One of the criticisms raised against using technologies powered with artificial intelligence (AI) is that some of their uses would undermine human dignity. This argument is prevalent in healthcare and military robotics, where it is argued that the use of these AI technologies in various domains undermines or violates the dignity of those human beings who are in contact with them. In this thesis, I look to investigate Under which conditions various AI technologies would undermine human dignity. To answer this question, I first develop an African communitarian conception of dignity, which I will then use to evaluate the impact of AI technologies on dignity in the domains of healthcare and warfare. What is different about communitarian conceptions proposed here is that they prize different normative values, such as community over individual interest and duties over rights. In my conception, I argue that one has dignity when they have the capacity for communal relationships as subjects or objects. To honour this dignity, this dignity is respecting other agents’ capacity. Based on this evaluation, I argue that there are clear cases where AI technologies would undermine dignity, just as there are also clear cases where their use would enhance it. This thesis contributes to the philosophical discourse in two main ways. First, it advances an African Communitarian conception of dignity as a plausible conception to evaluate the impact of AI technologies on human dignity. Secondly, it evaluates the impact of dignity using the proposed conception formulated, bringing out relational considerations that have not been salient in debates up to now.
Martin Heidegger’s conception of being-in-the-world : a philosophical critique of gaming and being
(University of Pretoria, 2024-03) Sanni, John; u23910853; Roets, Albertus Adriaan
Martin Heidegger's philosophy provides insight into how technological advancements impact human experiences and existence by highlighting the relationship between humans and their surroundings. He posits that technology leads to widespread objectification of the world, causing a lack of authentic connection and a sense of detachment and alienation. His term "enframing" illustrates how technology shapes our perception of reality, potentially diminishing our appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the world. Heidegger calls for a complete reorientation in our approach to technology beyond mastery, and he recognises the link between technology and the essence of being itself. Augmented Reality (AR) technology in games like Pokémon GO offers a unique opportunity to merge virtual and real-world elements, creating a hybrid reality for users closely tied to their immediate environment. Unlike traditional video games, AR games have no spatial boundaries and can be played anywhere, blurring the line between reality and the game world. Pokémon GO encourages players to explore their physical surroundings, interact with landmarks, and participate in cooperative social events, where players physically engage with their surroundings. Integrating digital objects into the environment can influence everyday life and offer a distinct view on being-in-the-world and authenticity in players' lives. Engaging Heidegger's phenomenology within the gaming framework, specifically Pokémon GO, allows us to explore the connection between being-in-the-world and the gaming experience. This comparison helps us understand the connections between phenomenology and gaming. It examines whether gaming experiences offer modes of being that intersect with fundamental human concerns to recognise authentic being within their everyday use.
Investigating the role of philosophy of mathematics as the bridge to meaningful mathematics teaching in the classroom
(University of Pretoria, 2023-09-01) Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; oortjies.piexie@gmail.com; Schreiber, Isabel Maria
This dissertation investigates the intricate relationship between the philosophy of mathematics and mathematics education, particularly within the South African context. The comprehensive exploration comprises five chapters, each with a distinct focus. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction and contextualization of the study. In Chapter 2, there is an in-depth review of the philosophy of mathematics, exploring various schools of thought, their influence on mathematical knowledge, and their compatibility with teaching practices. This chapter also includes an examination of the landscape of mathematics education in South Africa. Chapter 3 delves into the research methodology, utilizing analytical autoethnography and a variant of grounded theory to collect insights from personal experiences and mathematics educators. Chapter 4 unveils compelling findings, revealing how integrating philosophical perspectives into the classroom enhances curiosity, problem-solving skills, and interdisciplinary connections. Moreover, it investigates the infusion of philosophy into South African mathematics education, elucidating both challenges and opportunities. In the concluding Chapter 5, the study draws from these insights to formulate actionable recommendations. These recommendations offer a roadmap for elevating mathematics education by merging philosophical concepts and pedagogical strategies, ultimately enriching the learning experience for South African learners.
Food oppression : a critical analysis of the relation between food, race, and dignity
(University of Pretoria, 2023-09-27) Tshivhase, Mpho; thatomaja123@gmail.com; Maja, Thato
Food is not just a source of sustenance; it holds immense social and political value. However, like any valuable resource, there is a risk of its exploitation, leading to harm inflicted upon those who once held food in high esteem. Food oppression is a concept that elucidates how food has been and continues to be used as a tool of oppression, inhibiting access to nutrient-rich food or even destroying such access altogether. This systemic injustice profoundly impacts the dignity of individuals. By examining the history, dangers, and consequences of food oppression, it becomes evident that it perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty, marginalisation, and discrimination. Disproportionately affecting marginalised communities such as low-income individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, and indigenous populations worldwide, the impact of food oppression is particularly pronounced in South Africa, where the legacy of its tumultuous past contributes structurally and systematically to the oppression of people in low-income communities. Limited access to affordable, fresh, and culturally appropriate food options leads to poor nutrition, resulting in a higher prevalence of diet-related diseases and health disparities. These negative health outcomes exacerbate the existing social and economic inequities experienced by affected communities. However, the consequences of food oppression extend beyond physical health. Inadequate access to nutrient-rich food undermines individuals' autonomy, self-worth, and overall quality of life, eroding their dignity by denying them the fundamental right to food security and well-being. Upholding the dignity of individuals necessitates a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of food oppression. This approach involves recognizing the societal value of food, understanding its history as an oppressive tool, examining its effects on human dignity, and implementing measures to potentially alleviate the detrimental impacts of food oppression. By prioritising food justice, society can take significant steps toward eliminating food oppression, fostering dignity, and creating a more just and inclusive future for all.
Recognizing and defending the moral value of blackwomxn : a critical feminist analysis of normative African conceptions of personhood
(University of Pretoria, 2023-10-23) Tshivhase, Mpho; lindobg424@gmail.com; Gama, Lindokuhle Bagezile
Blackwomxn exist in an unbearable social condition. They are more vulnerable to sexual and physical violence, femicide and child marriages. In many nations, they are not equal under the law evinced by differential property and association rights, mobility and religious liberty as compared to men. In the academy, they are perceived as knowledge consumers, and are subject to sexual harassment as well as economic exploitation. This social condition reveals a social order as racial heteropatriarchy which has severe limitations on Blackwomxn’s personhood. It limits Blackwomxn because it disempowers them on the basis of their racialized gender. Heeding to Kwame Gyekye’s assertion that normative theories should practically intervene in social ills, I turned to Afro-personhood conceptions to motivate for a direct intervention in this social condition because the theories claim to defend the normative value of all persons owing to their gender-neutral nature. On closer inspection, I find that normative African conceptions of personhood are “gendered in pernicious ways that make the theory ineffective social tools for defending Blackwomxn’s personhood” (Gama 2023: 389). Motivated by this contradiction, I contend that we need a non-gendered theory of personhood as an Afroversal Selfhood theory. Ultimately, my aim is to advocate for guiding norms and principles that do not give moral value to persons according to their gender. Rather, an Afroversal Selfhood theory is truly gender-neutral aiming at defending the moral value of all persons.
An African ethics of migration : Ubuntu applied to the Zimbabwe - South Africa border
(University of Pretoria, 2023-08-30) Metz, Thaddeus; Sanni, John S.; u22886712@tuks.co.za; Nyamudo, Rudolph
The key question in this philosophical research is, “What does Ubuntu entail for the way an African state such as South Africa as well as other major institutions, media houses, banks, etc., should respond to foreigners seeking to escape poverty by entering its borders and for the way the immigrants, but also others, including everyday South African citizens, may best act as a consequence of South Africa’s response?” In this study, “ubuntu” is understood as a moral theory that is grounded on certain kinds of relationships within a political state, a notion that draws attention to how such interaction should aim to promote the livelihood of all with human dignity. Owing to my interest in the innate worth of persons as foundational to morality, I compare the ubuntu ethos against Kantian ethics, an ethos with a firm account of dignity. In my answer to the above research question, I justify substantial migration of poverty-stricken Zimbabweans, my chief example. Moreover, I suggest that the South African government ought to discharge a duty of honouring the right to thriving or development towards the needy Zimbabwean migrants, individuals with a dignity, while also naming them in respectful ways. Further, I defend the plausibility of humility as the foundation of migrants’ duties to the South African government and its citizens. The originality of the project emanates in part from the topics it addresses in normative ethics, particularly, regarding the duties of migrants to their host country and the challenge of naming/identifying the migrants. Additionally, the novelty of the project is in its method of applying extant principles of an ubuntu ethos to a topic they have not been applied to systematically before.
Tripe and recognition : the pursuit of cultural justice for misrecognized African cuisine
(University of Pretoria, 2023-11-03) Mbebe, Keolebogile; u18025103@tuks.co.za; Mkrola, Bongekile
The food discourse is shaped by cultural norms and standards that dictate what foods are deemed valuable and acceptable. However, these standards are predominantly rooted in Eurocentric food culture making it the standard against which all other cuisines are measured. This Eurocentric dominance in the culinary world leads to a perpetuation of marginalization of cuisines. When Eurocentric food culture is considered the standard, it creates a bias that marginalizes and overlooks the richness and uniqueness of other culinary traditions such as African cuisines. As a result, African cuisines, are exposed to cultural imperialism which is a dimension of cultural injustice. Cultural injustice is rooted in how social structures represent, interpret, and communicate certain ideas, as demonstrated through cultural domination, which entails encountering foreign and hostile cultural interpretations; non-recognition, which entails being rendered invisible by dominant cultural practices; and disrespect, which entails being stereotyped and disrespected regularly in public and daily interactions (Fraser 1997: 14). In this study I investigates the food epistemology necessary to ensure that African cultural foods are valued, accepted and granted recognition for their cultural significance. This is accomplished by analyzing Charles Taylor's (1994) and Axel Honneth's (1995) theories of recognition along with Nancy Fraser's (1997) theory, and her proposed transformative remedies to address misrecognition. Through this analysis, I demonstrate how a reconceptualization of what acceptable food is defined as, as a whole can grant African cuisine a respectable status as that of Eurocentric food cuisines.
African relational metaphysics as foundation for robust, deep ecological ethics
(University of Pretoria, 2023-08) Okeke, Jonathan Chimakonam; juanandrew.oeschger@gmail.com; Oeschger, Juan-Andrew
In this study, I begin to articulate an ecosophy from Africa south of the Sahara by using culturally embedded epistemic resources. An ecosophy is a personal code of ethics or set of norms informed by an eco-philosophy or, environmental philosophy based on a relational field metaphysic as described by the deep ecology of Arne Naess. As a basis for Ecosophy A, I embark on a review of Chimakonam’s Conversational Thinking as a novel system of metaphysics, ontology, logic, ethics and method, from Africa. I employ the Conversational Method, subsequently reviewing the deep ecology of Arne Naess according to the three dimensions of a philosophical system identified by Chimakonam: The foundational dimension, the architectural dimension, and the doctrinal dimension. I introduce Ecosophy A as a new African ecosophy informed by Conversational Philosophy. In Chapter 4, Ecosophy A starts taking form as I engage with the deep ecology platform showing a compatibility between the basic assumptions of Ecosophy A informed by Conversational Thinking and the deep ecology platform. Finally, I begin to develop a new heuristic device called Conscious Prioritisation of Relationship (CPR-A). Ecosophy A accepts the basic assumption of African ethics that action is motivated by a drive for self-preservation and self-sufficiency and that the realisation that an individual cannot attain either whilst being an isolated entity results in an emphasis on relationship as fundamental to the constitution of reality. I argue that heuristic devices like CPR-A promise to deliver a benefit for action in the environment as it may facilitate the active learning and practice of relationship-centred decision-making across borders.
Coloniality of youth : the slavery-migration nexus in contemporary Africa
(University of Pretoria, 2023-08-28) Okeke, Jonathan Chimakonam; paul.michael@uniben.edu; Michael, Paul Kehinde
This thesis investigates how coloniality of youth, especially in contemporary Africa, implicates and is implicated by the slavery-migration nexus. While coloniality of youth is used to analyze a form of Euro-North American or global-North’s hegemony involving the unjust exploitation of the youth population of a territory deemed weak, inferior, and formerly colonized, the slavery-migration nexus is migration of especially young vulnerable people from mostly Africa to the global-North for exploitative labor. The problem is that the youth-related exploitation that manifested explicitly in the African slave trade, implicitly in colonialism, and continues to manifest variously in modern/colonial world; including in the current racialized migration age requirement of some countries of the global-North, is yet to be conceptualized at once as coloniality of youth. The guiding questions are: How does the Euro-North-American hegemony constitute coloniality of youth? How does coloniality of youth implicate and is implicated by the slavery-migration nexus? To justify the coloniality of youth thesis, I adopt the method of conversational thinking to identify lop-sidedness in human relationships leading to racialized conditions, and advocate equitable complementary intercultural engagements between regions to promote global justice. I conclude that promoting the well-being of young Africans is a desirable good towards the achievement of global peace and security. I recommend: equitable global power relations between Africa and the global-North, ‘conversation’ rather than the ‘might is right’ syndrome in global power relations, socio-economic self-reliance for Africa and, philosophical exercise in practically relevant issues in Africa.
The moral implications of Odera Oruka’s ‘human minimum’ for Africa’s fight against extreme poverty
(University of Pretoria, 2023) Okeke, Jonathan Chimakonam; patrickbenblag@gmail.com; Ben, Patrick Effiong
In this dissertation, I consider a hitherto underexplored concept of ‘human minimum’ as proposed by H. Odera Oruka to obligate responsibility as an approach to tackling extreme poverty in Africa and beyond. I aim to establish, among other things, why it is morally problematic and economically counterproductive to demand equal moral responsibility from all moral agents irrespective of their economic differences to ensure the implementation of the human minimum or the elimination of extreme poverty. To achieve the aforementioned, I attempt to answer two significant questions, to wit: What are some of the moral implications of ensuring that a society attains the human minimum as an approach to fighting extreme poverty? Who has a greater moral responsibility for ensuring the attainment of the human minimum between the government, non-governmental/nonprofit organisations, and individual members of society? In Oruka’s philosophy, enforcement of a global human minimum is the equal moral obligation of all moral agents—all those situated above the poverty line. I will demonstrate why ignoring the economic differences – and inequalities – of those who qualify as moral agents in Oruka’s conceptualisation of extreme poverty, particularly in continental Africa, risks plunging more of those who live a little above the human minimum threshold into poverty. I then argue that a disproportionate distribution of responsibility that is sensitive to the economic disparities that exist among the non-poor population holds a better promise for success in the fight against extreme poverty in Africa.
Mobile terms in the conceptual architecture of Michel Foucault's 'Productive Power'
(University of Pretoria, 2023-05) Kistner, Ulrike; Van Zyl, Susan; sarelmetalz@gmail.com; Marais, Sarel
This thesis analyses the conceptual architecture in Michel Foucault’s work on Productive Power. I identify five mobile terms in Foucault’s work, which move between different power-knowledge configurations. The chosen mobile terms are ‘production’, ‘population’, ‘prediction’, ‘the subject’, and ‘the norm’. The conceptual content of each term changes between different power-knowledge configurations. Prototypical conceptualisations of the mobile terms can be extracted from Foucault’s work on Pastoral Power, indicating that Pastoral Power can be described as ‘proto-productive power’. Changes in the mobile terms in the move from Pastoral to Disciplinary Power indicate an emerging concern with the generation of productive subjects. Disciplinary Power can be considered the first system of ‘productive power proper’. Foucault’s archaeological work on the clinic serves as preparation for his genealogy of Biopower, which entails shifts in the mobile terms as the analysis of power-knowledge configurations turns from Discipline to Biopower. Foucault’s work on Biopower and Biopolitics, his integration of Discipline into the framework of Biopower, and the changes in the mobile terms accompanying the emergence of Biopower, are explored as the first changes in Foucault’s conceptual architecture within ‘productive power proper’. In a final step that conjoins Biopolitics and ‘Governmentality’, a more specific conceptualisation of ‘population’ comes into the picture. To account for the complexities of ‘Governmentality’ in Foucault’s analysis, this thesis concludes with a three-dimensional model of Governmentality consisting of a ‘general’ dimension referring to the ‘conduct of conduct’, a ‘specific’ dimension referring to governance focused on ‘population’, and a third dimension (in the form of Neoliberal Governmentality) ushering in new transformations in the mobile terms.
The complementary relation between the right and the good in justice as fairness : implications for liberal democracies
(University of Pretoria, 2023) Lotter, H.P.P. (Hendrik Petrus Pienaar); Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; paigebenton22@gmail.com; Benton, Paige
I claim that the revisions John Rawls made to his theory of justice—as seen in his political conception of justice as fairness in the revised edition of Political Liberalism and Justice as Fairness: A Restatement—result in him being able to secure justice for all persons even in their private lives. Thus, I defend his theory against common communitarian and feminist criticisms, viz the lack of moral community and inability to secure justice for individuals in the private domain. I demonstrate that justice is secured from the categorical requirement that all associational life and moral doctrines must adhere to the constraints of justice, by (what Rawls terms) the indirect application of the first principle of justice. The implications of and necessity for this indirect application are precisely what I interrogate in this thesis. I suggest that this indirect application requires unconditional acknowledgement and internalisation of the values of liberty and equality (political values of the first principle) into all aspects of civil society. I claim that Rawls realised this necessity for the congruence between the moral powers of persons, the spheres of society, and the right and the good and, as such, developed a complementary relation between these three features. Coherence between these three aspects is essential; without coherence, citizens would have a split moral personality, the public and the non-public spheres would be in conflict, and the political values and the moral doctrines of individuals would undermine one another. The significance of this strict coherence is that it can ensure the adequate development of individuals’ capacity for citizenship during the three stages of moral development. This results in citizens being able to form bonds of civic friendship necessary for justice as reciprocity to be realised. Thus, in this thesis, I position my argument against theorists such as Nancy Rosenblum, who argue for a more relaxed congruence between political institutions and civil society, as according to her illiberal forms of associational life can help form the necessary bonds of love and care needed for mutual cooperation in a liberal society. In opposition to this, I claim that strict congruence is necessary; without it, a stable liberal society is not possible as the citizens would not be able to able to respect one another on free, equal, and mutually beneficial terms. I rely on Hochschild’s sociological evidence to demonstrate that civic friendship has not been developed, due to a lack of reciprocity, impacting the negative development of one’s sense of justice. I then illustrate how this lack of reciprocity is amplified by digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The significance of this thesis is that I claim, firstly, Rawls’s last revisions and works before his death demonstrate that justice is a collective non-comprehensive good that results by constraining individuals’ associational life and their partial comprehensive doctrines to Rawlsian demands of justice. Thus, Rawls takes seriously the feminist and communitarian critiques he received. Secondly, I claim that this interpretation of Rawls’s theory of justice cannot be conceptualised in terms of a binary presentation of the priority of the right versus the good debate and, instead, I argue for a reconceptualisation of the priority of the right versus the good as ranges on a continuum of structural relations between the right and the good.
Managing AI ethics tensions : a case study at Multichoice
(University of Pretoria, 2023-03-30) Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; Robertson, Helen; mergan.velayudan@gmail.com; Velayudan, Mergandran
Interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has never been greater – while we’re at a likely tipping point in the adoption of AI into mainstream industry, we’re still grappling with effective ways to manage the ethical concerns that AI surfaces on a regular basis. The purpose of this study is to shed some light into the types of AI applications being developed in the media industry in South Africa, investigate how AI ethics tensions surface and are managed when building these AI applications and provide recommendations for the management of AI ethics tensions in media organisations. Data was collected from respondents on the types of AI applications being developed, as well as the nature and characteristics of these projects including roles required to staff the projects, project duration, focus and business objectives, project outcomes, technologies used, and source of technologies used. The study reviewed recent literature on AI ethics, and specifically research into the roles played by both individuals as well as the organisations they work for, in managing AI ethics considerations. Using the insights from the literature, as well as data collected during the study via a cross-sectional survey implementation, analysis was performed to determine associations between actions in the management of AI ethics tensions and the perceived outcomes and effectiveness. Several statistically significant associations, with both weak and medium effect size, were noted between the way AI ethics tensions were discovered and managed during projects, and the perceived outcomes and effectiveness of these actions. The associations noted potentially have implications for media organisations that are implementing AI solutions and are seeking to effectively manage AI ethics tensions. Based on these analyses performed, recommendations are provided to inform the creation of effective frameworks to manage AI ethics tensions at media organisations developing AI solutions. Limitations of the study and further areas of research required are also discussed.
An evaluation of biotechnological enhancement in the light of an African perspective of personhood : the metaphysical aspects of botho and human nature
(University of Pretoria, 2023) Metz, Thaddeus; sesirodo@gmail.com; Sesiro, Doreen
Transhumanism is the view that human evolution should be actively enhanced by the human race through science and technology. Bio-technological enhancements are interventions designed to transform individual human capabilities to levels which surpass the current ones. However, the main objection is that transformations proposed by transhumanism would supposedly either result in a new species or otherwise degrade human nature, regardless of the degree to which they have been enhanced. Scholars who critique transhumanism, for example, Leon Kass, Jeremy Rifkin, Francis Fukuyama, and Bill McKibben insist that there are certain fundamental elements of personhood or humanity that should not be tampered with. This research evaluates biotechnological enhancement in the light of the Botho philosophy in general, but it focuses largely on the metaphysical aspects of Botho, particularly personhood and human nature. Botho is an indigenous philosophy prominent in Botswana that expresses the essence of being a person. A human person from the Setswana metaphysical point of view, namely Botho, includes the material and the immaterial aspects. After providing reasons to use Botho as a philosophical framework to evaluate transhumanism, the thesis explores both the radical and modest forms of enhancements in order to identify those that are consistent with the metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective and those that are not. The study mainly applies the metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective to the hypothetically enhanced human beings to show that transhumanism need not impair freewill, human nature, personhood, and personal identity. The study further shows where transhumanism and the metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective converge and diverge. For example, in the case of freewill, some forms of biotechnological enhancement could in fact improve freewill, while other forms could limit it but not eliminate it. Another example is the case of mind uploads, where, from the metaphysical aspect of the Botho perspective, minds could still exist as persons or selves, even if not as humans, which would be analogous to the way ancestors are often conceptualised. This thesis adds new knowledge to the literature in that it is the first systematic application of the metaphysical dimensions of Botho, and more generally Afro-communitarian worldviews, to transhumanism.
Ainigma : Plato’s esotericism in context
(University of Pretoria, 2022) Finamore, John F.; Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; wehancoombs@gmail.com; Coombs, Wehan Murray
Based primarily on Aristotle’s testimony of the existence of ‘unwritten doctrines’ of Plato, alongside Plato’s comments on the issue in the Seventh Epistle and the critique of writing in the Phaedrus, the question of Plato’s esotericism, that is, whether he engaged in the conscious concealment of aspects of his philosophy, has been an enduring topic of Platonic exegesis. In modern times, the controversy has reached something of a stalemate between the esotericist versus anti-esotericist camps, being limited to, broadly, a widespread acceptance of Vlastos’ arguments against the existence of unwritten doctrines on the one hand, and the Tübingen-Milan school’s focus on oral, Pythagorean doctrines on the other. This thesis suggests a way out of this stalemate on several fronts. Firstly, by integrating the insights of the burgeoning field of Western Esotericism, so that Platonic exegesis may be brought up to speed with the latest developments in the field of esoteric studies. Secondly, by taking a contextual approach that seeks to identify esotericism in thinkers and traditions that had a clear influence on Plato on the one hand (such as the allegorical tradition of interpreting Greek mythic poetry, the ancient Greek Mystery traditions and the Presocratics), and esotericism in thinkers and traditions that were influenced by Plato on the other (such as the middle and late Platonists). Finally, with these tools in hand, I engage in a meta-textual analysis of the markers of esotericism in the Platonic dialogues in general and the Phaedrus in particular. In the process, I identify a particular kind of philosophical esotericism in the Platonic context that I term ‘dual esotericism’, the confluence of textual and extra-textual esotericism in a mutually supportive and recursive way.
Attachment and its relevance to the ANC's attainment of hegemony by 1999
(University of Pretoria, 2022) Wolmarans, Frederik Gerhardus; Nicholls, Nicky; drisi.stewart@gmail.com; Stewart, Dylan Steven Risi
The period of 1990 - 1999 saw a major turn in the fortune of the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa. While the seeds for the ANC’s political ascent to the seat of government were sown during the 1980s, it was during the following decade that the party became a hegemonic political actor in South Africa. The ANC’s success was in no way guaranteed at the beginning of the decade. In a country where political power was highly contested (often violently) and in a global context of American triumphalism, the party’s achievement of hegemony required specific action that mitigated these challenges. One of the means of mitigating resistance from other groups was to cultivate a stake for these groups in the ANC. This dissertation argues that a set of actions which fall under the de novo typology of attachment were key to the hegemony achieved by the ANC by 1999. Attachment is defined as the nonviolent act of one group aligning its interests with those of another, with either the purpose or effect of gaining power. Four kinds of attachment are conceptualised: consensus, negotiation, cooptation, and coercion. The question pursued in this dissertation is the degree to which ANC hegemony by 1999 was characterised by attachment. The theorisation of the ANC’s actions through the lens of attachment identifies a trend, across different spheres in South Africa, which significantly and crucially contributed to ANC hegemony. It is hoped that through this historical analysis, this dissertation can contribute to the understanding of the ANC’s longevity and the concurrent contradictions the party endures today.
Utilitarian and retributive arguments for the death penalty under the Nigerian criminal justice system : towards the justification and desirability of the death penalty in a relational society
(University of Pretoria, 2022) Chimakonam, Jonathan Okeke; u21843092@tuks.co.za; Bambale, Zubairu Lawal
While so much has been said about the moral justification of the death penalty in Western literature, the African perspectives in that regard are still emerging. As a practical endeavor, the death penalty is necessarily applied under the respective criminal justice systems around the world. Here, also, discourses on the Western and American experiences dominate the literature. In Nigeria, scholars proffer what might be Igbo and Yoruba thoughts on the moral justification of the death penalty. This is not the case with Hausa, one of the largest cultural groups in Nigeria. This thesis examines the utilitarian and retributive theories and arguments on the one hand, and the African thought with its communitarian outlook, on the other. It interrogates the Hausa world-view/cultural practices and proposes a Hausa perspective on the moral justification of the death penalty. One important aspect that discourses on punishment neglect is the question of the desirability of the death penalty under specific societal conditions. As a further consideration, thus, the thesis considers the question of the desirability of the death penalty in a relational society. The thesis shows that the death penalty in Nigeria is generally morally indefensible (in utilitarian and deontological terms) because the criminal justice system is necessarily incapable of doing away with arbitrariness, punishing the innocent and due process violations. It is also morally wrong from the perspective of the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa because it contradicts the sacredness of life and the relational principle they uphold. The thesis argues that the death penalty is not desirable in the well-ordered society that Rawls projects. Among others, because of the issue of practical application that Rawls’ idea of a well-ordered society faces, the thesis further shows the undesirability of the death penalty using the African relationality as an alternative framework. Keywords: Death Penalty, Moral Justification, Utilitarianism, Retributivism, Nigerian Criminal Justice System, African World-view, Relationality, Hausa Moral Thought, Desirability and Well-ordered Society
A Critical Enquiry into the Metaphysics for Mind Uploading
(University of Pretoria, 2021) Ruttkamp-Bloem, Emma; warbypaul1@gmail.com; Warby, Paul
Mind uploading is a fascinating possibility that asks us to imagine a person being instantiated in a substrate other than their biological body, such as a person continuing in a robot/computer. The current thesis takes a philosophical stance and enquires as to what the nature of minds and persons would need to be in order for such a scenario to be feasible and presented multiple realizable physicalism and psychological continuity as the two primary categories of necessary and sufficient metaphysical conditions. The thesis explores the mind within the context of the mind-body problem and presents a novel version of physicalism (multiple realizable physicalism) as the central concept amongst disparate philosophy of mind stances that would allow for the mind upload. The current thesis also introduces various concepts (e.g., nomological boundaries) and emphasised others (e.g., category mistakes) to demonstrate the feasibility of mind uploading through the argument that the mind is likely multiple realizable and of a physical substrate (multiple realizable physicalism). The current thesis then, in relation to persons, explores the persistence problem and determines that a psychological (as opposed to biological) solution is the preferred stance that would allow for mind uploading. In essence, if a person is a mind (psychology) and this mind is said to continue, then it should not matter whether the mind continues in biological body or in an alternative substrate (such as a computer). What matters is the continuity of the mind (the psychological solution). The thesis integrates multiple philosophical stances using these two primary categories of multiple realizable physicalism and psychological continuity and presents various constraints that may emerge in relation to various preferences within these two primary categories. Furthermore, the current thesis argues that a possible solution to the mind–body problem and the persistence problem may be found in identifying both the mind and the person with the processes of the substrate. In this sense, both minds and persons are not the physical substrate that instantiates these phenomena (i.e., minds and persons are not the body) but rather these phenomena (minds and persons) are the processes instantiated. A person/mind is what the body does and not the body that performs these processes. This identification of processes could in principle allow for all forms of mind uploading. In addition the current thesis presents a novel view of the self (here meaning both the mind and the person) as relating to specific types of processes (efferent processes).

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