1.8 Conscience Flashcards
what is Aquinas’ view of conscience?
- unusual amongst theological views of conscience
- it is not a feeling or an inner voice but a process of reasoning
- it is the rational ability to understand the difference between right and wrong
how does reasoning link to God for Aquinas?
- our ability to reason is given to us by God
- it is our resonsibility to use our reasoning correctly: ‘right reason’ is known as recta ratio
- we can do this by developing the intellectual virtue of prudence or phronesis (the ability to make judgements based on the circumstances we find ourselves in
for Aquinas, what is conscience made up of?
- synderesis (the inner principle directing a person towards good and away from evil) and conscientia (a person’s reason making moral judgements)
- conscientia is the intellectual process of making moral judgements and applying them to situations we face
- conscience is not a thing but an act
- as Fletcher later said conscience is a verb not a noun
how are we responsible over our consciences?
- it is possible that we may seek apparent over real goods
- we therefore have a responsibility to educate our consciences to become better at reasoning and to develop our conscience through the repeated use of right reason
- we must develop our phronesis or prudence so we make fewer errors
what is vincible ignorance?
a lack of knowledge for which a person is responsible
what is invincible ignorance?
a lack of knowledge for which a person is not reponsible
how does Aquinas view the authority of conscience?
we are obliged to follow our consciences - it carries authority even on the occasions that it is wrong
what did J.H. Newman argue about conscience?
- 19th century
- also took a theological approach to conscience but argued that it is an immediate inner voice rather than our own reasoning
- conscience is effectively God’s voice speaking to us directly
- it is authoratative and we must obey it
- we experience guilt and shame when we disobey it
what are the three aspects that make up the human personality according to Freud?
- the ego: the conscious self, the part seen by the outside world and the thinking we are most conscious of
- the id: the unconscious self which contains basic desires and drives, the ego is the reasoning and the id is basic drives and passions
- the superego: a set of moral controls given by authority and often opposed by the id
how is the superego formed?
- our conscience is our superego
- it is formed by society, initially parents and then later other authoratative figures
- a gap emerges between the ego (who we actually are) and the demands of the superego (our idea of an ideal person formed by all these early interactions)
- guilt occurs when we go against our conscience/superego
what is another cause of guilt for Freud?
- the oedipus/electra complex
what are arguments in favour of Aquinas’ view on conscience?
- it is an improvement on other theological approaches as it requires reasoning rather than gut instinct
- takes into account that conscience can be mistaken and we can make moral mistakes which is often a challenge for religious theories when there is a direct link to God
- it explains how we change our mind on moral issues, our conscience can be developed through education
- it also explains moral disagreement
what are arguments against Aquinas’ view on conscience?
- his view does not fit with our experience of conscience feelings, conscience feels more intuitive and emotional than rational
- he doesn’t take into account social and environmental factors that shape our moral view which Freud does
- he assumes an absolute right due to his naturalistic approach to meta-ethics but there isn’t necessarily a ‘right’ conscience
what are strengths of Freud’s argument on conscience?
- he attempts to ground his explanation in scientific fact
- he links morality to upbringing, explaining the difference in cultural ethical practices around the world
- it’s pretty weak tbh
what are weaknesses with Freud’s argument on conscience?
- his research, although mildly empirical, does not have much support to it and his ideas like the Oedipus complex were only based on a handful of studies
- his work on the unconscious cannot be falsified as criticised by Popper who said it was a ‘pseudo-science’
