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RPE > Conscience > Flashcards

Conscience Flashcards

1
Q

Aquinas- Guilt

A

Guilt is helpful, results from synderesis and conscientia. Conscience is exercise of reason and moral judgement, ought not to be ignored, never disobeyed, even though it may be wrong.

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2
Q

Freud- Guilt

A

Internalised system of reward and punishment- guilt a result of superego punishing ego for submitting to id. Conscience is a guilt complex, not rational self-government, but repressed internalised guilt from external authority

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3
Q

Guilt Evaluation

A

Freud’s makes more sense- secular. Idea of development due to reward and punishment rather than immediate intuition, Aquinas’ theory doesn’t really account for variation in conscience.

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4
Q

Aquinas- God

A

Ratio given by God, conscience rooted in God’s Natural Law, humans gifted with inclination to do good and avoid evil. Variation occurs due to varying degrees of practical wisdom. God-given virtues as seen in the conscience help us move towards eudaimonia

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5
Q

Freud- God

A

Freud believed religion was wish fulfilment- language of sin the repression of id’s instincts. Worship linked to Oedipus complex, superstition away of outwardly projecting guilt, belief in afterlife a remedy to fear of death, no true relation to conscience

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6
Q

God- Evaluation

A

Freud’s view very one-sided and direct, Aquinas wrote about how ratio is God-given but not gospel, idea of virtues fit with concept of eudaimonia

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7
Q

Aquinas- Subconscious

A

Aquinas recognises self-deception, believed some things to be intuitively known, wilfully disobeying conscience to pursue apparent goods goes against eudaimonia. Important to have sense of oneself and one’s own mind, Plato’s analogy of chariot

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8
Q

Freud- Subconscious

A

Primitive urges and desires a part of subconscious mind- self-autonomy and harmony can only be achieved by looking inward, aware of genetic inheritance, psychological traits passed down, instilled in childhood

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9
Q

Subconscious- Evaluation

A

Both championed importance of looking inward- Aquinas believed more in intuition, Freud focused on uncovering subconscious desires

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10
Q

Aquinas- Effect of environment

A

Aquinas unaware of genetics, seems to dismiss idea of reason having to develop and vary depending on environment

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11
Q

Freud- Effect of environment

A

Superego receives social norms derived from environment, acts as external authority and imposes guilt

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12
Q

Effect of environment- Evaluation

A

Freud makes more sense- benefit of centuries of scientific development- more aware of surrounding impact of society than Aquinas

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13
Q

Aquinas- Reliability and Role

A

Should always be followed- even if not always right- directed by God-given ratio towards synderesis- wrong actions are from misused wisdom

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14
Q

Freud- Reliability and Role

A

Unreliable- conscience is simply guilt imposed by superego, one must be in harmony with all three parts

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15
Q

Reliability and Role- Evaluation

A

Aquinas’ view is more positive and personalistic, but more rigid

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16
Q

Augustine

A

Direct voice of God, received intuitively, truth inventor. Hiding from it leads to distance between God and Man

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17
Q

Newman

A

Less literal, the messenger of God’s will, truth detector rather than inventor, ‘sacred in its authority’

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18
Q

Butler

A

Separates humans from animals, intuitive judgement rather than reason, not an instruction, regulates passions and principles. Divine authority, has final say, ‘if it had the power to match its obvious authority, conscience would absolutely govern the world’. Disobeying conscience is worse than action itself, deliberate deviation and disobedience of God

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19
Q

Fletcher

A

Verb, not noun. Process of moral reasoning, prospective not retroactive, ‘keeps principles sternly in their place’, no real concrete authority

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20
Q

Fletcher- Strengths

A

Avoids problem of working from abstract ideals of behaviour from set ideals and principles, accounts for complexity of reality
Gives more authority and responsibility to the agent

21
Q

Fletcher- Weaknesses

A

Questionable if people can discern right and wrong without authority or rules
If moral compasses are broken, fixed standards help
Conscience should not be a matter of individual judgement, but socially agreed moral judgements

22
Q

Aquinas- Three Parts of Conscience

A

Synderesis, Conscientia, Ratio

23
Q

Aquinas- Synderesis

A

Natural disposition towards doing good and avoiding evil, implanted by God. Direct leaning and inclination, not just ability

24
Q

Aquinas- Conscientia

A

Moves our will to act in practical ethical decisions and judgements

25
Q

Aquinas- Ratio

A

Situationally applicable reason, leads us to telos, distinguishes between speculative and practical reason, sets us apart from animals

26
Q

Aquinas- Vincible and Invincible Ignorance

A

Vincible- ignorance due to deliberate negligence of conscience, Invincible- ignorance due to lack of available knowledge

27
Q

Aquinas- Material and Formal sin

A

Material- sin that results from obeying conscience, inculpable. Formal- sin from deliberate disobedience of conscience- culpable

28
Q

Aquinas Notes

A

Needs use of reason and application of wisdom, should be followed, even when not always correct.
Challenges notion of intuitive wisdom
‘Every judgement of conscience, be it right or wrong, is obligatory, in such wise that he who acts against his conscience always sins’

29
Q

Aquinas- Strengths- Personalistic

A

Avoids problem of flawed reason, not the voice of God himself, human failure rather than divine, conscience is yours rather than God’s

30
Q

Aquinas- Strengths- Accessible

A

Optimistic given synderesis, no blame or damning if we are misinformed, vincible and invincible ignorance, God-given, but not his voice- more accessible

31
Q

Aquinas- Weaknesses- Evolutionary Psychology

A

Piaget and Kohlberg- moral reasoning develops, simple intuition of synderesis can be questioned, more likely trained into us.
Aquinas unaware of genetics and psychological development

32
Q

Aquinas- Weaknesses- Variety

A

Reason differs among cultures and religions- cannot be universal, conscience varies between people- flawed reason. If conscience is subject to societal and cultural norms, there can be conflict. Webster- Aquinas has too much faith in individual conscience, does not consider self-deceit and impaired reason

33
Q

Aquinas- Other Weaknesses

A

Still reliant on God, why should the conscience be followed if it can be objectively wrong?

34
Q

Freud- Three Parts of Mind

A

Id, Ego, Superego

35
Q

Freud- Id

A

Primitive, instinctive impulses that seek satisfaction in pleasure. Driven by pleasure principle, seeks immediate gratification and anxiety when it is not met- ‘It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts, but it has no organisation.’

36
Q

Freud- Superego

A

Contradicts id, working on internalised ideals from parents and society- develops in early childhood. Represses desires, fearful of authority. Developed from outside influences, results in either pride and affirmation or guilt and remorse

37
Q

Freud- Ego

A

Mediates between id and superego. Ego driven by reality principle, delayed gratification, a good conscience is effective ego over id

38
Q

Dominant Id

A

Impulsive and uncontrollable individual

39
Q

Dominant Superego

A

Extremely moralistic individual, acting to please an authority rather than themselves

40
Q

Dominant Ego

A

Caught up in reality, extremely rigid, incapable of spontaneity

41
Q

Freud- Three levels of mind

A

Unconscious (repressed feelings and desires), conscious (current thoughts) and preconscious (thoughts which the person is, as of yet, not aware of)

42
Q

Freud- Reality of Conscience

A

Guilt, internalisation of disapproval from society when ego submits to id and is punished by superego. Retroactive, does not discern the moral thing we do, completely unconscious, not necessarily anything to do with morality

43
Q

Freud- Strengths

A

Idea of impulsive behaviour being imprinted by experience on our subconscious is optimistic- suggests ability to unlearn
Secular

44
Q

Freud- Weaknesses- Pseudoscience

A

Consistent lack of empirical and historical evidence
Largely considered as pseudo-scientific i.e. ideas about neurosis and depression being the result of “superego”
Oedipus complex discredited- lack of male deities.
Borch-Jacobsen- Freud took same approach to historical interpretation as he did to behavioural psychology
Reivich and Shatte- pessimistic idea that we are largely developed even at 5 with inability to change as people

45
Q

Freud- Weaknesses- Impersonalistic

A

Fromm- it is possible to reject authoritarian conscience and develop a more mature conscience that reflects own values
Jung- completely discredits religion
If we are aware of presence of desires of id and rules of superego, surely we have the power to control it ourselves
Lack of personal responsibility for actions, if conscience is simply chaos of conflict between id and superego

46
Q

Freud- More Weaknesses

A

Popper- Unfalsifiable
Doesn’t distinguish between moral feelings and security feelings- no difference between good and bad conscience
Considers conforming to social norms as insincere, despite fact that Ego sets aside pleasure principle to make way for social norms
Jones- Freud’s tendency to claim that ‘morality is nothing but the psychological phenomena which he describes and purports to explain’

47
Q

Piaget

A

Punishment and reward up to 11, then people become more autonomous and draw on social norms, reason slowly develops

48
Q

Fromm

A

Drew on Freud, believed in free will and self-evaluation, should not have authority, rather is fear of displeasing authority (could be God)< more humanistic than Freud, guilt not overpowering

RPE (5 decks)

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