cons - 1.‘Conscience is just the super-ego’. Discuss

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

• Our super ego is the internalised ideals from parents and society that tries to make the ego behave morally
• Argument held by Freud (conscience is not rational)
• Conscience is not just the super ego

Question 2

paragraph 1

Answer 2

• Freud – conscience can be explained psychologically – formed by society and our internalised voice
  
  • Guilt occurs when we go against it
• STRENGTH – it focuses on psychological, empirical evidence making it more scientific than other views eg Aquinas which is based more on theology
• HOWEVER – there are still limits to the research – he analysed on a small number of patients with psychological problems (can’t generalise of the whole population)
• Karl Popper – Freud has been pseudo scientific – scientific claims can be proven right or wrong, his ideas on the subconscious and things are only revealed in psychoanalysis makes it unfalsifiable so not proper science

Question 3

paragraph 2

Answer 3

Alternative is Aquinas view

• Argues that conscience is the product of reason – this is God given and we have synderesis within us and have the responsibility to develop it
• We have vincible ignorance (lack of knowledge for which a person is responsible) and invincible ignorance (a lack of knowledge for which a person is not responsible)
• STRENGTHS – explains why someone changes their moral views as there is a struggle in your conscience – putting reason and rationality at the centre
• Stressing the individual reasoning in conscience explains the issues of right and wrong and disagreements (if looking at Newman’s view)

Question 4

paragraph 3

Answer 4

• WEAKNESS OF AQUINAS + FREUD COUNTER – Freud begins with our experience of guilt – this is how conscience is initially revealed so it is right to focus an explanation on this and the development of the super ego and not on God and the development of reason
• HOWEVER, there is no sign of this as said before there is no proper scientific evidence of this
• His Oedipus complex – shows parental figures and questioning relationships that stem from Freuds life – can’t apply to us
• Not a solid view to use that works for the majority and explains what we see in the world

Question 5

conclusion

Answer 5

• Conscience is not just the super ego

- It is developed by reason with conflicts – use of Aquinas