Conscience Flashcards
Aquinas’ approach
-He didn’t think that the conscience was an independent special faculty or power capable of telling people what is right and wrong . He thought it was an aspect of human reason.
-He thought that reason is what separates us from animals
-He believed that reason is a gift from God, placed in everyone because we are made in God’s image and likeness
-Ratio enables us to work things out and make judgements about them
Ratio
reason
Aquinas’ Approach Continued
-Aquinas thought that within each person there is a principle called ‘synderesis’
-He thought that we could cultivate synderesis through effort, so that it becomes habit
-He thought that our consciences are binding because it is wrong to go against reason
- He argued that we must do what we think is right and it is our duty to make sure that our reason is well-informed when making moral decisions
-People can sometimes make the wrong moral decisions through ignorance
What two kinds of ignorance are there?
Vincible and invincible
Vincible ignorance
A lack of knowledge which the person could have done something about. If people do the wrong thing through ignorance when they could’ve informed themselves better, then they are blameworthy.
Invincible ignorance
Sometimes people act in good faith and follow their consciences but they get things wrong because of ignorance of facts they could not have been expected to know anything about. They cannot be blamed for this.
Synderesis
do good and avoid evil
Cardinal John Henry Newman- Quote
(a leading catholic of the 19th century)
‘to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards’
-Meaning that the conscience should take priority even over the teachings of the Catholic Church
-Responsibility for moral actions falls on the individual
Criticisms of Aquinas’ Approach
-He doesn’t take into account the extent to which our moral reasoning is influenced by our upbringing and our society
-Some disagree that the conscience is the human mind making moral decisions, and think instead that it comes directly from God (e.g Augustine and Cardinal Newman)
Freud’s Approach
-Believed that the conscience isn’t rational decision-making but comes from an inner unconscious part of our minds that has been shaped by our upbringing
-He thought that our minds have several layers, like layers of rock, we know what we’re thinking about on the surface, but there are all kinds of deeper ideas, memories and habits that we aren’t always fully aware of but still influence they ways we think/behave
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Freud’s Approach Continued
-He thought that the way the mind works is closely linked to sexuality and that there were five stages of pyschosexual development
-He identified three aspects of the human personality: Id, Ego and Super-ego
-The three aspects of the mind aren’t separate but interrelate in dynamic ways
Id
It leads us to seek pleasure and wants immediate gratification
Ego
-Manages and guides the id. The ego learns from parents and from society about behaviour that is considered appropriate in different social settings
-It manages the id’s feelings of frustration when immediate gratification isn’t possible
-It acts in some ways as the conscience because it remembers which actions are appropriate and inappropriate
Super-ego
-Where the mind ‘stores’ moral teaching and social rules received during upbringing
Erich Fromm
-Developed Freud’s ideas
-Wrote of the mature conscience (involves rational thinking and decision-making) and immature conscience (based on an unthinking response to feelings of guilt)
