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conscience Flashcards

1
Q

what is Augustine’s view of conscience?

A
  • the conscience is an external, separate entity which offers advice to us when we cannot discern right and wrong
  • believed that humans cannot do good without god since He is the source of all goodness
  • conscience is a result of the outpouring of God’s love, it is infallible and cannot be possessed by us
  • it is also a way for us to know God since conscience is God speaking to us in solitary moments
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2
Q

‘It is in turning to reflect…’

A

‘It is in turning to reflect upon the mind’s conscientia that we meet with God so as to share with God a true judgment about ourselves’ - Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum

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3
Q

impact of the conscience

A
  • profound impact on later medieval writers
  • made the conscience the most important element of moral decision making - above and beyond even the teachings of the Church
  • Eg. Martin Luther started as an Augustinian monk but later broke with the Catholic Church arguing his conscience would not allow him to accept the teachings of the Pope.
  • Eg. In the late 18th and 19 centuries, Christians wrestled with the issue of slavery. St. Paul, in his letter to Philemon, supported slavery. However, William Wilberforce rejected the biblical teaching in favour of the conscience.
  • Eg. homosexuality, many Christians such as Bishop Desmond Tutu have wrestled with condemnation of gay sex. ‘I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place.’ - Bishop Desmond Tutu
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4
Q

evaluation of Augustine’s view of the conscience

A

+ sometimes we don’t like what the conscience wants us to do, external, imposed
- can’t really be questioned, especially when it goes against the teachings of the Church
- conflicting experiences of conscience, God or not - it suggests He contradicts Himself
Eg. 1551, Toulouse
> perhaps some experience God, others don’t
> why wouldn’t God make it obvious its him?
- how can we verify that God is the source of these feelings, especially given we are (allegedly) corrupt and unable to control ourselves?
Eg. Breivik, 2011 Norway attack
- conscience/guilt come after the event, it doesn’t help prevent bad actions
> perhaps this is to maintain free will
- this model of conscience is very closely linked to one specific Christian theology - finds root in a model of humanity that is incapable of goodness without God’s help, it might be seen as misanthropic

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5
Q

1551, Toulouse

A

1551, Toulouse, protestant citizens rise up against Catholic rules after being led by their conscience, a few weeks later they are butchered by the Catholics at the behest of their conscience
- conflicting experiences of consciousness
- God contradicts himself

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6
Q

Breivik, 2011 Norway attack

A

Breivik, 2011 Norway attack - killed many Christians, felt that God told him to do it
- how can we verify that God is the source of these feelings, especially given we are corrupt and are unable to control ourselves

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7
Q

Joseph Butler’s theory of conscience

A
  • internal part of human nature, placed within us by God but not God’s direct voice
  • it is correct and infallible
  • interest and passion are ‘often too strong for’ conscience and can over power it, our natural regard more for ourselves can also corrupt it
  • persistent ignoring/neglect of the conscience’s advice leads to it degradation
  • ‘Had it strength, as it has right; had it power, as it has manifest authority, it would absolutely govern the world.’ - Sermon 2, 1726
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8
Q

‘Had it strength, as it…’

A

‘Had it strength, as it has right; had it power, as it has manifest authority, it would absolutely govern the world.’ - Joseph Butler, Sermon 2, 1726
- conscience is correct and infallible

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9
Q

‘interest and passion do come in…’

A

‘interest and passion do come in, and are often too strong for, and prevail over reflection and conscience.’ - Joseph Butler, Sermon 2, 1726

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10
Q

‘as we have naturally a greater…’

A

‘as we have naturally a greater regard to ourselves than to others […] the former will have proportionally a greater influence upon the judgement’ - Joseph Butler, Sermon 10, 1726
- our natural regard more for ourselves can corrupt and overshadow the conscience
- persistent ignoring of the conscience leads to degrading of it (explains lack of guilt some people have)

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11
Q

‘undermines the whole principle…’

A

‘undermines the whole principle of good; darkens that light, that “candle of the Lord within,” which is to direct our steps; and corrupt conscience, which is the guide of life.’ - Sermon 10, 1726
- our natural regard more for ourselves can corrupt and overshadow the conscience
- persistent ignoring of the conscience leads to degrading of it (explains lack of guilt some people have)

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12
Q

‘the constitution of our…’

A

‘the constitution of our nature: that this faculty [conscience] was placed within to be proper governor’ - Sermon 2, 1726
- conscience is a natural internal part of us (created by God but not his voice)

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13
Q

evaluation of Joseph Butler’s ideas

A

+ distances itself from the idea of salvation from grace
+ puts more responsibility on humans - resolving the problem of conflicting advice
+ resolves conscience after actions (our fault for not reflecting)
- the coupling of knowledge and conscience proposes a real problem
> why do we only feel guilty when we know the consequences, eg. might be okay doing something til you find out it was hurting others

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14
Q

soteriology

A

beliefs about salvation

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15
Q

John Newman

A
  • sees conscience as ‘dutiful obedience’ to an external ‘divine voice, speaking within us’
  • he was worried about humanity moving towards seeing conscience as a human faculty, and us having an ability to reason and understand morality (enlightenment)
  • possible conflict between conscience and the Pope’s authority, ‘a Pope is not infallible’ [Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875]
  • what Newman opposes is what Aquinas stood for
  • balancing humility and misanthropy
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16
Q

‘I am using the word “conscience”…’

A

‘I am using the word “conscience” […] not as a fancy or an opinion, but as a dutiful obedience to what claims to be a divine voice, speaking within us’ - Newman, Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875

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17
Q

‘Conscience has a legitimate… ‘

A

‘Conscience has a legitimate place among our mental acts [just like] the action of memory, of reasoning, of imagination’ - Grammar of Assent, 1870

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18
Q

‘there are things which excite…’

A

‘there are things which excite in us approbation or blame, and which we in consequence call right or wrong’ - Grammar of Assent, 1870

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19
Q

‘but in this age…’

A

‘but in this age, with a large portion of the public, it is the very right and freedom of conscience to dispense with conscience’ - Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875- worried about moving towards a view of conscience as a human faculty rather than a divine voice

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20
Q

‘Conscience is a stern…’

A

‘Conscience is a stern monitor, but in this century it has been superseded by a counterfeit […] the right of self-will.’ - Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875
- worried about moving towards a view of conscience as a human faculty rather than a divine voice

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21
Q

‘I observe that, conscience being a…’

A

‘I observe that, conscience being a practical dictate, a collision is possible between it and the Pope’s authority […] But a Pope is not infallible’ - Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875

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22
Q

‘I shall drink - to the…’

A

‘I shall drink - to the Pope, if you please, - still, to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards.’ - Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, 1875

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23
Q

evaluation of John Newman

A

+ distances salvation from grace
- still falls foul of many of Augustine’s problems: conflicting advice from God, conscience after an action, can we trust that the voice is God’s

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24
Q

Aquinas’ view of conscientia

A
  • ‘the application of knowledge to activity’ [Summa Theologiae, I-II, I] or ‘reason making right decisions’.
  • applies the first principles of the synderesis and the secondary principles of prudence to particular situations
  • application or ratio (reasoning) to synderesis
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25
Q

Aquinas’ view of synderesis

A
  • the knowledge comes from the synderesis
  • natural disposition of the mind by which we apprehend without inquiry the basic principles of behaviour
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26
Q

Aquinas and doing evil, how does it happen?

A
  • Prudence is connected to the correct perception of individual circumstances, and therefore this aspect connects both it and conscientia to the problem of weakness of will.
  • The incontinent (not morally capable) man possesses the knowledge of what he should do (synderesis), but he is driven by the passion he has for a particular; this passion leads him to act contrary to what he knows should not be done. This is the failing of the conscientia.
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27
Q

according to Aquinas, what is guilt

A

noticing that you’ve acted irrationally

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28
Q

conscientia according to bonaventure

A
  • within the rational faculty
  • part of practical reason since it is connected to the performance of actions
  • divided into two general parts:
    1. a power for discovering the truth of very general practical principles
    2. the application of the very general principles to situations
  • I cannot be mistaken that I should obey god (general principle) but I can make mistakes in applying that principle to everyday life
  • dynamic faculty (see below)
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29
Q

Bonaventure’s two parts of the conscientia

A
  1. a power for discovering the truth of very general practical principles,
    it is innate and unnering; it cannot be lost to any person no matter how morally corrupt they may become
    2. the application of the very general principles to situations, also innate
    can be mistaken since the very general principles of the first part may be misapplied through ignorance or faulty reasoning. The misapplication explains how conscience, oriented to good, can be involved in the performance of evil actions.
30
Q

how does bonaventure’s theory of two section of the conscientia lead to secondary precepts?

A

The distinction between two parts of conscience also opens up the possibility for developing, through experience, practical principles of behaviour not directly entailed by knowledge that appears to be innate. By generalising on activities performed in accordance with the principles, one can formulate new general principles not contained in the general rule that can guide behaviour in a number of contexts. Thus conscience appears to be a dynamic faculty. As such, from innate primary precepts, new secondary precepts are born.

31
Q

Bonaventure’s view of synderesis

A
  • in the affective part of human beings
  • that which stimulates us to the good, motivation - provides the movement that conscience needs to operate
  • the ‘spark of conscience’ [Commentary on the Sentences, Book II, distinction 39]
  • put in us by God
32
Q

How does bonaventure describe the interaction between synderesis and conscientia?

A

The formation of ethical rules by conscientia is seen by him as an implementation of a human being’s desire for good (the synderesis). Because we naturally have a desire for the good, we also desire the means to that goal. The principles of conscientia are such means. Similarly, the emotional reaction to doing evil (guilt or remorse) is a reaction to the frustration of the desire for good caused when one fails to adhere to what the conscientia has determined will lead to good.
He views conscience as driven by synderesis and at the same time directing synderesis.

33
Q

Aquinas’ view of morality

A

vicious (not trying to do good) - incontinent (want to do good but can’t put it into practice) - continent (do good things, have to try at it) - virtuous (just do the right thing, don’t have to try)
> human reason isn’t reliable but it can become more reliable
> a very different way to describe why bad people are bad, Augustine thinks it is in our nature whereas Aquinas thinks it is okay when we do something bad
> focus on bad/good people rather than bad/good actions

34
Q

Freud’s view of conscience

A

superego - morality principle, internalisation of societal expectations, guides the ego
ego - reality principle, practical, regulating when and which desires are fulfilled
id - pleasure principle, basic desires
- it is the superego

35
Q

the problem of irrational guilt

A

eg. survivors guilt - Aquinas would struggle to explain this whereas Freud could explain this through (subconscious) societal values of self-sacrifice and putting others before themselves in the superego (the conscience)

36
Q

is Freud’s conscience reliable?

A
  • can misinterpret values
  • often the focus is on conforming with society
  • doesn’t necessarily guide us towards good but towards what is acceptable within society
  • part of us but not a part we can control
  • is reasonably reliable to have got us this far (it is a function of survival).
37
Q

3 ways to develop prudence

A

(based on Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics):
- our experience
- role models
- being educated

38
Q

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

A
  • a theory inspired by Jean Piaget
  • method - moral dilemmas (eg. Heinz) to investigate children’s reasoning
  • six stages - concerned with justice
  • not interested in what should be done but in the reasoning used to justify the response
39
Q

Level 1 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

A

pre-conventional morality, right and wrong determined by reward and punishment
- stage one (punishment/obedience - whatever leads to punishment is wrong)
- stage two (rewards - the right way to behave is the way that is rewarded)

40
Q

Level 2 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

A

conventional morality, views of others matter, focus on avoidance of blame; seeking approval
- stage three (good intentions - behaving in ways that conform to “good behaviour”)
- stage four (obedience to authority - importance of “doing one’s duty”)

41
Q

Level 3 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

A

post-conventional morality, abstract notions of justice. Rights of others can override obedience to laws/rules
- stage five (difference between moral and legal right - recognition that rules should sometimes be broken)
- stage six (individual principles of conscience - takes into account likely views of everyone affected by the moral decision)

42
Q

stage one

A

punishment/obedience - whatever leads to punishment is wrong

43
Q

stage two

A

rewards - the right way to behave is the way that is rewarded

44
Q

stage three

A

good intentions - behaving in ways that conform to “good behaviour”

45
Q

stage four

A

obedience to authority - importance of “doing one’s duty”

46
Q

stage five

A

difference between moral and legal right - recognition that rules should sometimes be broken

47
Q

stage six

A

individual principles of conscience - takes into account likely views of everyone affected by the moral decision

48
Q

heteronomous

A

putting morality on someone else/the law

49
Q

evaluation of Kohlberg’s stages of development

A
  • not a linear progression, we are more of a mixture of these stages rather than consistently at any one level
  • just because we have developed for complex, abstract reasoning (level 3) doesn’t mean we use these techniques (capacity vs reality) eg. Tomlinson-Keasey and Keasey (1974)
  • innate preference for stage 6 - why?
  • there is a lot of overlap between the stages, they aren’t distinct
  • subjective and limited study, we have to be careful to make conclusions based on the research eg. Colby et al. (1983)
  • gender bias
50
Q

Colby et al. (1983)

A
  • 20 year longitudinal study of 58 American males who progressed as predicted through stages 1-4
  • between 10 and 16 years, stages 1 and 2 decreased and stages 3 and 4 increased
  • but only 10% of the participants were at stage 5 in their 30s
  • there was no evidence of stage 6
  • a lot more evidence of the heteronomous moralising rather than autonomous - support Freud better than Kohlberg
  • risk of cultural and gender bias
51
Q

Snarey (1985)

A
  • meta-analysis of 44 studies from 27 cultures
  • support Kohlberg prediction through stages 1-4
  • same order and time
  • stage 5 (willing to break the law when necessary) was found more in western cultures than rural or village cultures > a reflection of western individualism
52
Q

Isawa (1992)

A
  • cross cultural analysis of Japan and the USA
  • similar stages of moral reasoning but interesting cultural differences
  • USA participants favoured Heinz stealing to preserve’s wife’s life
  • Japanese participants thought he should not steal in order to preserve a pure and clean life
53
Q

Tomlinson-Keasey and Keasey (1974)

A
  • investigated links between cognitive and moral development
  • girls of 11-12 years at stage 5 scored well on tests of abstract reasoning but some failed to show stage 5 moral reasoning
  • Abstract reasoning may be a necessary precondition but it is not a sufficient explanation of post-conventional moral reasoning
  • brain development doesn’t seem to be linked to moralising
54
Q

Gilligan (1982)

A
  • Kohlberg is sex-biased (androcentrist)
  • Females had predominantly stage 3 (interpersonal feelings)
  • Males had stage 4 and 5 (focus on principles)
  • So males were focused on rules, rights, and abstract principles whereas females were focused on relationships and compassion
55
Q

Conclusions based on research evidence for Kohlberg

A

+ there is strong evidence for children progressing through Kohlberg’s stages as predicted - across cultures
- most people do not go beyond stage 4 (so supports earlier, less developed theories of heteronomous moralising)
- difficult to distinguish between 5 and 6
- cultural variations are not accounted for
- gender bias (however, Gilligan’s study could have been influenced by stereotypical conditioning)
- complex and artificial dilemma story - 5 and 6 year olds are not going to understand concepts of death, marriage, capitalism, etc.
- position on Kohlberg’s stages doesn’t seem to be connected with brain development

56
Q

Piaget’s theory of moral development

A

> as children develop, their way of thinking about the world changes because they develop new capacities such as object permanence
they don’t make choices in the same way we do, so the assumption is that they will therefore moralise differently

57
Q

Milgram (1962)

A
  • 40 males between 20-50 years old
  • educational levels varied from elementary level to post-graduate study
  • deception - thought they were giving shocks to assist learning
  • a substantial number of people will obey authority despite their own moral feelings on what they are being asked to do
  • hard to argue that adults have a more autonomous morality
  • Kohlberg was too optimistic in his view of adult morality
58
Q

Who was Erich Fromm?

A
  • influenced by both Marx (sceptical of authority systems because they are intended to control us, also believed that religion is a way of placating people into not revolting) and Freud
  • believed that humans are not free but that we are directed to behave a certain way by external forces
  • the individual is moulded/conditioned by their society to act as society wants them to
  • authority exerts itself on us through fear of repercussions.
  • Fromm escaped Nazi Germany in 1934.
    > this reflects Kohlberg’s stage one of development with our moralising based on fear of punishment
59
Q

the Authoritarian conscience

A
  • much more pro-Freud
  • we are all influenced by external authorities eg. parents, teachers, etc.
  • rules are applied by these authority figures and punishments given for breaking them, we then internalise this and it forms our ‘conscience’
  • however, instead moral guilt, we are experiencing fear of guilt for displeasing an authority
60
Q

how is the Authoritarian conscience developed?

A
  • construction of the authoritarian conscience involves the interaction of two processes:
    1. perfection of character is projected onto an external authority
    2. the ‘ideal’ is internalised in the individual’s consciousness
  • this therefore leads to an ‘unshakable conviction’ in the authority, leading the individual to lose their capacity for rationality and reason - the power of fear for the authority replaces the power of ethical reasoning. (Man for Himself, 1947)
61
Q

‘The authoritarian conscience is the…’

A

‘The authoritarian conscience is the voice of an internalised authority such as the parental authority […] The authoritarian conscience is a fear for the authority rather than a representation of the individual’s real conscience’ - Fromm ‘Man For Himself’ (1947)

62
Q

‘In most social systems, obedience is the supreme…’

A

‘In most social systems, obedience is the supreme virtue, disobedience the supreme sin. When most people feel ‘guilty’, they are actually feeling afraid because they have been disobedient.’ - Fromm ‘On disobedience and Other Essays’ (1981)
> doesn’t have to be an actual threat of punishment, it is based on desired actions when we were children - keeping us wanting to obey those instructions through to later life

63
Q

‘[When most people feel guilt] They are not really troubled…’

A

‘[When most people feel guilt] They are not really troubled by a moral issue, as they think they are, but by the fact of having disobeyed a command.’ - Fromm, ‘On disobedience and Other Essays’ (1981)

64
Q

‘The paradoxical and tragic…’

A

‘The paradoxical and tragic situation of man is that his conscience is weakest when he needs it most.’ - Erich Fromm ‘On disobedience and Other Essays’ (1981)
> when you really need to make a decision, your conditioning kicks in and you obey
> disobedience produces guilt, which makes us more submissive to authority

65
Q

How should we use the authoritarian conscience?

A
  • this sort of learnt conscience should not have authority over us
  • it is as likely to have us do wrong as have us do right
  • we should be careful when listening to our conscience
  • This is how Fromm thought that Nazi authorities manipulated German people, teaching them that Jews were not to be trusted, adapting their conscience.
    > Fromm has a very negative view of the instruction to follow your conscience, he sees it as the worst thing we could do. Perhaps even the most animalistic thing we could do (in contrast to Aquinas who sort it as a defining component of being human).
66
Q

Fromm’s authoritarian conscience/Marx vs Freud

A
  • Freud’s superego helps us live together and have our needs met when living in a group.
  • For Freud, the negative effects of our superego are a bi-product.
  • The influence of Marx meant Fromm’s view of conscience was one of manipulation and subjugation - much more negative
  • Marx believed that a lack of consciousness keeps us subjugated so we need to realise how our conscience controls us if we want to be free
  • Freud believed our conscience was influenced by society around us, whereas the focus of Marx and Fromm was on the influence of authority figures.
67
Q

‘For centuries kings, priests…’

A

‘For centuries kings, priests, feudal lords, industrial bosses and parents have insisted that obedience is a virtue and that disobedience is a vice.’ - Erich Fromm ‘On disobedience and Other Essays’ (1981)

68
Q

The Humanistic Conscience or Rational Conscience

A
  • pro-aquinas
  • a second view of the conscience
  • has ‘an intuitive knowledge of what is human and inhuman, what is conducive to life and what is destructive of life’ (1981)
  • not everyone has this, it depends on life opportunities
  • this explains why we can feel guilt for an action even where we have obeyed the authority
  • our real self - we should follow this conscience and ignore the other
  • human adaptability depends on construction of rational conscience, such self-knowledge is necessary for rational evaluation of the ever-changing social environment
  • development of rational conscience depends on actualisation of human potential
69
Q

‘Conscience is this […] the voice of…’

A

‘Conscience is this […] the voice of our true selves which summons us […] to live productively, to develop fully and harmoniously. IT is the guardian of our integrity.’ - Erich Fromm ‘Man for Himself’ (1947)

70
Q

How can Fromm’s development of his view be compared to post-Freud developments of the Freudian perspective?

A

In some ways this development is similar to the shift in Freudian perspectives from conscience as suppressed guilt caused by id-superego tensions to the (so-called) ‘mature-conscience’ that balances the id’s desires with society’s requirements.

71
Q

Eric Fromm on the genesis story

A
  • specifically 2-3 and the Garden of Eden story
  • the Fall was the start of human history and that that act of disobedience defined them as humans
  • Until The Fall, Adam and Eve were just doing what they were told, and the choice they made was their own choice rather than acting out of fear for an authority figure
  • It is the best example of overcoming authority

PTE (13 decks)

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