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Item Open Access African metaphysics: recovery towards an alternative modernity?(University of the Free State, 2021-03) Gobingca, Lindani; Cawood, H. M.In this thesis, it is argued that the age of modernity, which was initially a Western development, has not only found its way to the global stage and reached its climax, but that there now exists a dire need for an alternative conception of being-in-the-world. As such, it is proposed that traditional African thought, particularly as found in pre-colonial metaphysics, can contribute to the contemporary idea of alternative modernities. Other themes discussed include the decline of metaphysics in Western thought, the effects of colonialism on African thought, and the general disenchantment of the world.Item Open Access Family ethics for Africa(University of the Free State, 1998) Mapitse, Andrew Zachariah; Smit, J. H.Abstract not availableItem Open Access Conceptual deep structures and the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer(University of the Free State, 2000-08) Vásquez, Victor Manuel Morales; Visagie, P. J.The purpose of this study is to explain the notion of conceptual deep structures as a philosophical construct and to investigate such structures in the hermeneutics of Hans- Georg Gadamer. Conceptual deep structures involve: key-conceptualizations of a philosophical nature (such as the belief that all knowledge is wholly culturally determined); root metaphors determining the content of a specific philosophical discourse (such as viewing culture as a kind of organism); and determining ideological paradigms (such as positivism or post-modernism). The research will attempt to investigate the role of these factors in the thought of Gadamer - something which has never been attempted in this form before. It is also important to note that a specific analytical methodology is at stake here, which may eventually be implemented to determine the ground structure of other philosophical discourses. Although many studies of Gadarrier's thought (Gadamer is a major hermeneutic theorist of the previous century) have been undertaken, this particular analysis will achieve a unique philosophical perspective on the determining factor of his thought. In the process, important modifications to two other philosophical theories of conceptual deep structures, namely those of Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven, will be motivated. These latter theories are influential in the circles of Christian philosophy across the world. The central hypothesis of the research is that it will be possible to explain the hermeneuties of Gadamer as deriving from certain determining factors which one can assume to be of an a priori nature (e.g. the guiding role that metaphors have been shown to play in concepts and theories). The methodology implemented here has been used successfully to analyse the thought of other philosophers, and it seemed that fruitful results in the case of Gadamer were also possible. The findings of this research may affirm some interpretations of Gadamer's thought, while others may become suspect. More importantly, a new analytical tool in philosophical interpretation (the elucidation of conceptual deep structures) will be tested and in the process further refined.Item Open Access Key structures in philosophical discourse: a universal semantics of kernel phrases(University of the Free State, 2013-02) Van Reenen, Dionne; Visagie, P. J.English: Key theory, or Logosemantics, was formulated by Johann Visagie as part of a larger project known as Discourse Archaeology (DA) which is an interlocking set of sub-theories designed to investigate the structures, systems, patterns and relationships that occur in philosophical discourse. The present study gives a brief overview of the whole of DA so that Key theory can be placed in the context of Visagie’s expansive venture. The historical background from which Key theory emerged is sketched showing where the theory finds points of contact with thinkers in the field of philosophy who previously considered such occurrences in discourse. The systematic context looks to formulate a detailed explanation of Key theory components and their functions, as well as demonstrate its critical, pedagogical and descriptive import in the field of philosophy. A number of different philosophers’ work from varying fields, epochs and traditions is used to illustrate the diverse applications of the theory. In contrast, similarities between key elements are further used to diagnose typologies and trends across different time frames and conventions of thought. Seeing that all of the DA sub-theories operate within a systematic approach, the links to the sub-theories of Figurative Semiotic theory and Epistemic theory will also be explored as they are housed in the same faculty of the broader theory. In order to reach a fully generative analysis, it has proven fruitful to interface various departments with one another in order to form complexes which show the protological diversity required to begin asking the kinds of questions that initiate a detailed analysis. The target area for forming this line of inquiry is chosen as ethics and morality as it is an area which has proven notoriously complicated and often difficult for philosophy to deal with effectively either in explanation or evaluation. The link to Anthropology theory gives a brief outline of the possibility that the hierarchical structure contained in keys is universally representative of human theory-forming capacities. We seem to be constrained in some way to think like this and, consequently, we do not propose a rejection of all keys. We do suggest a deconstruction of keys so that the careful unpacking of concepts contained in, and implied by, key formulations can be evaluated and reconstructed with as much legitimacy as possible. The anticipation is to investigate the validity of acceptable key formulations and look for new conceptual links to replace or rework unacceptable formulations. This is a multi-disciplinary move away from absolutizations of thought and pure theory which we no longer consider plausible in philosophy.Item Open Access Attitudes of the elderly towards euthanasia: a cross-cultural study(University of the Free State, 2004-12) Ramabele, T.; Le Roux, A.The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes of the elderly towards euthanasia. The aims of this research study were achieved by gathering data from a number of elderly respondents aged 65 and older at several old age homes in the Bloemfontein area. Six old age homes were involved in this study with a slightly greater concentration coming from Bloemfontein N=89 (44.5%), while the distribution was relatively even across the other two broader residential areas N=55 (27.5%) in Heidedal, and N=56 (28%) in Mangaung. A biographical questionnaire as well as the Euthanasia Attitude Scale was used. The influence of three variables such as, race, religious beliefs and gender, on the attitudes of the elderly people towards euthanasia was investigated. One-way ANOVA analysis was used. After statistical analysis, the variable found to have the greatest influence on the attitudes of the elderly towards euthanasia was race. Other variables, religious beliefs and gender were not found to have a significant correlation to euthanasiaItem Open Access Key structures in philosophical discourse : a universal semantics of kernel phrases(University of the Free State, 2013-02-01) Van Reenen, Dionne; Visagie, P. J.English: Key theory, or Logosemantics, was formulated by Johann Visagie as part of a larger project known as Discourse Archaeology (DA) which is an interlocking set of sub-theories designed to investigate the structures, systems, patterns and relationships that occur in philosophical discourse. The present study gives a brief overview of the whole of DA so that Key theory can be placed in the context of Visagie’s expansive venture. The historical background from which Key theory emerged is sketched showing where the theory finds points of contact with thinkers in the field of philosophy who previously considered such occurrences in discourse. The systematic context looks to formulate a detailed explanation of Key theory components and their functions, as well as demonstrate its critical, pedagogical and descriptive import in the field of philosophy. A number of different philosophers’ work from varying fields, epochs and traditions is used to illustrate the diverse applications of the theory. In contrast, similarities between key elements are further used to diagnose typologies and trends across different time frames and conventions of thought. Seeing that all of the DA sub-theories operate within a systematic approach, the links to the sub-theories of Figurative Semiotic theory and Epistemic theory will also be explored as they are housed in the same faculty of the broader theory. In order to reach a fully generative analysis, it has proven fruitful to interface various departments with one another in order to form complexes which show the protological diversity required to begin asking the kinds of questions that initiate a detailed analysis. The target area for forming this line of inquiry is chosen as ethics and morality as it is an area which has proven notoriously complicated and often difficult for philosophy to deal with effectively either in explanation or evaluation. The link to Anthropology theory gives a brief outline of the possibility that the hierarchical structure contained in keys is universally representative of human theory-forming capacities. We seem to be constrained in some way to think like this and, consequently, we do not propose a rejection of all keys. We do suggest a deconstruction of keys so that the careful unpacking of concepts contained in, and implied by, key formulations can be evaluated and reconstructed with as much legitimacy as possible. The anticipation is to investigate the validity of acceptable key formulations and look for new conceptual links to replace or rework unacceptable formulations. This is a multi-disciplinary move away from absolutizations of thought and pure theory which we no longer consider plausible in philosophy.Item Open Access Discursive deep structure and philosophy of mind: a critique of Patricia Churchland's neurophilosophy(University of the Free State, 2006) Repko, Pieter; Visagie, P. J.Patricia Churchland is a professor at the University of California and is a philosopher and cognitive scientist with special knowledge of the neurosciences. Neuroscience in her opinion is relevant to solving the problems posed by philosophy in the field of the mind/body problem. This has given rise to the creation of neurophilosophy, a new sub-discipline in philosophy. Patricia Churchland has a fixed direction in her agenda that is directed at proving that the mind is nothing but neurological activity. Neuroscience in her opinion will in the long run solve the mind/body problem and at the same time eliminate folk psychology. The basic theme in her thought is that there is no non-physical mind but that mind must be explained on the basis of physical activity. She employs the notion of neural activity as foundational to the mental activity of the brain that is then responsible for the mind. The problem of how neurological activity can give rise to the non-physical mind (thought, reason, and so forth) remains however unanswered. Although her work has caused widespread commentary, critical evaluation on deeper levels has not received the attention it warrants. The following study is an attempt in this regard. For this purpose I have used the following philosophical tools: ideology analysis, metaphor analysis and analysis of “key formulas” (logosemantic analysis). The result of this analysis points to a one-sidedness in Patricia Churchland’s approach to the mind/body problem, while neuroscience and eliminative materialism is pushed to its limits. In this study the abovementioned tool-analysed results have also been compared to the views of other well-known thinkers in the field. Lastly I have included some of my own ideas on future prospects for research on mind and consciousness.Item Open Access The meeting of film and philosophy: a 'deep-structure' perspective(University of the Free State, 2011) Rossouw, Martin Paul; Visagie, P. J.Over the past two decades the field of ‘philosophy of film’ has become increasingly concerned with the self-reflective question of what constitutes the relationship between film and philosophy itself. This study proposes and explores a unique ‘deep-structure’ perspective on their relationship. It engages particularly with the question of ‘philosophy in film’ – that is, the ability of film to embody philosophical thought – from within the theoretical framework of Discourse Archaeology (DA), a theoretical system researched and taught at the Department of Philosophy, UFS. Certain assumptions that are at work within DA are explored in order to present an original and illuminating ground-perspective on how film and philosophy meet. Detailed analyses will illustrate how grounding concepts, identified by different sub-theories of DA, represent constitutive deep-structure ‘spaces’ within which film and philosophy interact in a variety of ways. While current approaches to this question tend to lack the meta-philosophical leverage which this question requires, DA’s systematic theories of philosophical discourse (and by implication philosophical ‘moments’ in any other discourse, like film) are illuminating ‘tools’ which allow the film-philosopher to deal with these two kinds of discourse in the same unifying terms. The study is conducted through five extensive case studies of how different DA sub-theories could be applied in probing the deep-structures that allow philosophy to be ‘in’ a film. The main analyses are of The Man who shot Liberty Valance (John Ford 1962), Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee 2005), Modern Times (Charles Chaplin 1936), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry 2004) and The Matrix (Andy and Larry Wachowski 1999). The DA sub-theories that are employed in analysis are Macro-motive theory, a theory of logosemantics (‘Key theory’), a figurative semiotics (or ‘Metaphor theory’), a theory of ethical ‘postures’ and a theory of ideology. In an attempt to investigate different theoretical avenues and possibilities, each chapter of analysis examines a particular sub-theory and has its own unique exploratory aims and procedures. Yet, to anchor this study in an active and ongoing debate, each of the analyses (apart from that of Brokeback Mountain) also seeks to establish some form of dialogue with Thomas Wartenberg’s analyses in Thinking on screen: Film as philosophy (2007). Apart from offering new perspectives on ‘philosophy in film’, four of the case-studies could therefore also be seen as ‘DA-replies’ to aspects of Wartenberg’s work on exactly the same films.Item Open Access Cartesianism and reformed scholastic theology: a comparative study of the controversy between Christoph Wittich and Petrus van Mastricht(University of the Free State, 2013-07) Schlebusch, Jan Adriaan; Rossouw, J. H.; Zietsman, J. C.; Goudriaan, A.English: The significance of the dispute between the two 17th century Dutch Reformed Scholastics, Christoph Wittich and Petrus van Mastricht, within the theological and philosophical context of Post-Reformation Protestant Scholastic Theology can scarcely be overestimated. The issue of the authority of Scripture, itself the epistemological standard upon which the Reformation was built, is at the very core of the dispute. From the historical context of their dispute as well as the philosophical presuppositions with which they approach the issue at hand, one can glean the differing philosophical lines of thought present in the exegetical approaches of the two respective authors. An epistemological battle regarding the foundation and nature of true knowledge is at the heart of this dispute. Cartesianism gained increasing popularity in 17th century Dutch academic circles, and René Descartes’s Accommodation Theory, i.e. his attempt to reconcile his epistemological methodology of liberation from deception via hyperbolic doubt with Divine Revelation, plays a central role in Wittich’s dealings with Scripture. Wittich’s acceptance of this element of Cartesian epistemology should be seen in light of his desire to reconcile Copernican physics with the revelation of the Holy Scripture. Van Mastricht on the other hand, responds with an attempt to prove that the application of the Accommodation Theory in the field of Biblical exegesis, particularly with regard to passages where moral and practical matters are adressed, is heresy, since he regards Wittich’s approach is fundamentally rooted in the presupposition that human reason is not fallen and enslaved to sin as Reformed Theology has historically taught, and that this forms the premises from which Wittich understands its ability to function perfectly well without the need of being redeemed and sanctified first. The net effect of these differing philosophical and theological presuppositions is that the authors’ respective interpretations of the same Biblical texts radically differ, as what Wittich constantly sees as the Holy Spirit’s accommodation of absolute truths to the beliefs of the original audience to whom the books of the canon were adressed, is viewed by Van Mastricht as the mere rendering of absolute truths by the Holy Spirit within the particular historical and social context in which they were written. Therefore Van Mastricht views Wittich’s application of Cartesianism to the exegesis of Scripture via the Accommodation Theory to be at odds with the historic Calvinist doctrine of Divine Accommodation in special revelation. Van Mastricht defends Scripture’s absolute authority in the midst of potential skepticism caused by an incorporation of Cartesianism into Reformed Theology.