Conscience Flashcards
Aquinas provides a helpful view of the conscience. Discuss.
FOR the statement.
Aquinas’ view of the conscience puts reason and rationality centre stage. This could eb seen as an improvement upon other theological views.
Aquinas’ view of the conscience provides a good explanation of moral disagreement. If conscience were directly linked to God as Newman thinks, then it is hard to see why people would disagree over right and wrong. By stressing individual reasoning in conscience, Aquinas is able to explain these issues.
Aquinas is also able to explain why someone may change their moral views over time, which is something that a more direct view of the conscience may struggle with.
Aquinas provides a helpful view of the conscience. Discuss.
AGAINST the statement.
Aquinas’ rational view does not fit with how we experience the phenomenon of conscience. We are conscious of a more immediate and intuitive senserather than a process of deliberation and reflection.
Research carried out on moral development by thinkers such as Piaget and Kohlberg shows that moral thinking develops over time. It could be argued that this is a challenge to Aquinas’ idea that synderesis is innate, although Aquinas may respond that synderesis is only one aspect of conscience.
Similarly, some thinkers argue that Aquinas fails to take into account the social and environmental factors that seem to affect people’s moral views.
Aquinas reaches the uncomfortable conclusion that we should obey our conscience even if it is in error. This does not seem helpful.
Aquinas is perhaps guilty of being overly optimistic about human nature. His view of apparent goods is naive, suggesting that people do not deliberately choose evil acts. His view of our rational abilities is also optimistic; Augustine’s view of original sin and the divided will would be more cautious about our abilities.
Freud’s view on conscience is helpful. Discuss.
FOR the statement
Unlike Aquinas, Freud begins with our experience of guilt. This is how conscience initially reveals itself to us so it seems right to focus an explanation on this phenomenon.
Freud’s explanation is based on psychology rather than theology.In engaging in empirical research, he is attempting to be more scientific than some theological views of conscience.
Freud is able to explain differences in moral thinking. If conscience were the voice of God as Newman believed, then it is odd that different moral views exist. By linking our ideas of right and wrong to our varied upbringning and culture, Freud is able to explain different moral views.
