Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
|
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867614081481965568 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Theron, Shirah |
| author2 | Palk, Andrea |
| author_browse | Palk, Andrea Theron, Shirah |
| author_facet | Palk, Andrea Theron, Shirah |
| author_sort | Theron, Shirah |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135771 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:21.556Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135771 Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online Theron, Shirah Palk, Andrea Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Theron, S. 2026. Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/d4080f4c-5121-43b5-a292-e74c661bed6e Engaging in online sexual activities has become a defining feature of contemporary sexual life. From consuming pornography and sexting to interacting with sexual artificially intelligent companions, the internet has transformed how human sexuality is experienced, expressed, and understood. While existing moral philosophical work on the intersection of sex and technology confronts questions of consent, autonomy and harm, little to no attention has been given to how moral knowledge itself functions within the realm of sex online. I address this gap by developing a hybrid moral epistemological account of sexual moral knowledge, proposed as the integration of knowing-that (the capacity to state and justify normative claims) and knowing-how (the practical skill of enacting such claims contextually and responsibly). In this dissertation, I expand and clarify the moral evaluative categories of permissibility, goodness and badness to further include suberogation and morally expected acts, arguing that the cultivation of sexual moral knowledge facilitates a more nuanced and contextually robust discernment of how particular sexual experiences or acts may be situated within these categories. My central argument asserts that the moral evaluation of sex online cannot be achieved through the application of abstract or universal moral principles alone. Instead, moral evaluation requires the cultivation of sexual moral knowledge that enables individuals to navigate technologically mediated sexual activities responsibly and with respectful (self-)care. I advance that sexual moral knowledge includes the cultivation of the interwoven capacities of moral attention, dialogical competence, accountability and moral repair, that collectively foster a more responsive and context-sensitive moral agency. Methodologically, this project departs from the traditional philosophical “armchair” approach by treating case studies as epistemic sites where moral knowledge is produced, tested, and refined through exploring first-hand accounts of lived experiences. The first case study examines interview excerpts from recent research on sissy hypno pornography consumption, and the second investigates my own interactions with a sexual AI companion. Both case studies serve to demonstrate how sexual moral knowledge may be examined and applied in the pursuit of exercising moral responsibility and respectful (self-)care. Through these analyses, moral evaluation is shown to be an ongoing process of reflective deliberation in which individuals interpret and respond to morally salient features within specific technological, social, and affective contexts. My study further situates these findings within the broader philosophical debate concerning moral agency, ignorance, and freedom. I argue that sexual moral knowledge is a necessary condition to put moral responsibility into action and preserve moral agency, even while ignorance remains an inevitable aspect of navigating sex online. As such, engaging in online sexual activities does not absolve moral responsibility, nor does it diminish moral agency; rather, such engagement demands renewed attentiveness to the epistemic practices through which moral knowledge is cultivated and sustained. Ultimately, this dissertation advances a moral epistemological framework that grounds sexual ethics in the ongoing development of moral capacities, thereby bringing the philosophy of sex and the undertaking of moral epistemology into productive and mutually illuminating discourse. Doctoral 2026-04-10T06:32:29Z 2026-04-10T06:32:29Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135771 en Stellenbosch University 267 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Theron, Shirah Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title | Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title_full | Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title_fullStr | Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title_full_unstemmed | Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title_short | Good Sex and Bad Sex: Investigating the Moral Epistemology of Sex Online |
| title_sort | good sex and bad sex investigating the moral epistemology of sex online |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135771 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT theronshirah goodsexandbadsexinvestigatingthemoralepistemologyofsexonline |