cons - 2. ‘Aquinas is more convincing than freud on: a. The concept of guilt’. Discuss

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

• Aquinas is not more convincing than Freud when concerned with guilt

Question 2

paragraph 1

Answer 2

• Aquinas argues that our conscience is a combination of conscientia and synderesis
• These are God given and are the main important aspects of our conscience and how it is developed
• When we do not follow our conscientia, synderesis and ratio (what we have worked out) we form guilt as a response to this
• SUCCESSFUL – this puts reason and rationality at the front of our decisions – shows that this is what we need to follow, we all have moral values and explains why when these are broken we feel guilt

Question 3

paragraph 2

Answer 3

• ON THE OTHER HAND – it is not just a misuse of decisions that causes guilt and a guilty conscience
• We have immediate responses and intuition not deliberation of what to do
• FREUD COUNTER – guilt occurs when we go against our super-ego (parental figure), guilt is how our conscience reveals itself, as we get older we get other authority figures that shape the superego and further the guilt
• SUCCESSFUL – explains why there is a difference in moral thinking, we don’t all have the same authority figures in our lives and where not all told the same thing
  
  • Newman – it is God
  • It can’t be God as we all have different moral values and ideas of right and wrong
  • We all feel guilty after doing different things

Question 4

paragraph 3

Answer 4

• UNSUCCESSFUL – Erich Froome – people have a conscience driven by fear of authority and others that stand up to this authority and challenge it
  
  • There is a humanitarian conscience that some develop
• HOWEVER – freud may argue that the decisions people make is how they are taught as they grow up
  
  • Eg parents say its ok to stand up against authority or stand up themselves
  • Reflecting that parental figure still cause different ideas of guilt
• Still reflects the individual – subjective nature of guilt

Question 5

conclusion

Answer 5

• Freud is more successful in explaining the concept of guilt
• Links to the individual nature of guilt – not linked to God