conscience Flashcards
1
Q
how does kohlberg view conscience
A
- as developing through social interaction
- he developed his theory by testing out moral dilemmas on people, to establish six stages of moral development, grouped into three levels
2
Q
what are Kohlberg’s three levels
A
- pre-conventional level
- conventional
- post-conventional
3
Q
what is kohlbergs pre conventional level and the stages associated
A
- typical of primary school children
- stage 1 is about obedience to socially accepted norms knowing disobedience will result in punishment
- stage 2 individuals’ behaviour is determined by what is in their best interests
4
Q
what is kohlbergs conventional level
A
- typical of Society
- stage 3 is the desire to do what will gain the approval of others
- stage 4 is responding to what is seen as ones duty through obedience of the law
5
Q
what is kohlbergs post conventional level
A
- few people reach stage 6
- stage 5 reveals an understanding of social interaction and genuine interest in welfare of others
- stage 6 is based on respect for universal principles and the demands of the individual conscience
6
Q
how does freud view conscience
A
- freud distinguished between three aspects of the mind
- id — consists of human needs and desires
- ego - rational faculty that realises we have to take others into account and controls the id
- super ego – the internalised voice of parental authority, continuing the role that was carried out by parents and authority. conscience is also in this part
7
Q
how does durkheim view consciousness
A
- social conditioning
- he saw god as a projection if societys power and a useful tool in reinforcing the social demands made by the individuals conscience
- he developed the idea of a collective conscience: an act is bad because society views it as such
- he also saw conscience as a survival mechanism
- people sticking to shared moral values leads
to society becoming stronger
- people sticking to shared moral values leads
8
Q
how did fromm view conscience
A
- two ways conscience might be experienced
- authoritarian conscience – internalised response based on fear to the demands of an authoritarian society. disobedience creates a guilty conscience (nazis manipulation of german people)
- humanistic conscience understands and seeks what will lead to human and social flourishing. it isnt afraid to challenge elements of society that are destructive of human well being
9
Q
how does schleiermacher view conscience
A
- the innate voice of god
- listening to conscience is hearing the voice of god whispering to us
- because of its source it must always be obeyed without question
10
Q
what are the 4 non religious approaches to conscience
A
- kohlberg
- freud
- durkheim
- fromm
11
Q
how does aquinas view conscience
A
- god given faculty of reason
- all humans have a natural orientation towards good – synderesis rule
- two aspects to conscience
- conscience may be mistaken as a result of not understanding all the facts in a situation which is not blameworthy
- conscience may also be mistaken through ignorance
- aquinas taught that once conscience has made a judgement it must be obeyed
12
Q
what are Aquinas’s two aspects to conscience
A
- using practical reason to gain understanding of the primary precepts
- then distinguishing between right and wrong and making an ethical judgement in each situation, using secondary precepts to apply to the primary ones
13
Q
what are Aquinas’s two types of ignorance
A
- vincible ignorance – when people dont make every effort to understand church teaching on an issue, this is a sin
- invincible ignorance – where people have made every effort but there is some ambiguity in church teaching, this is not a sin
14
Q
how does butler see conscience
A
- butler viewed conscience as the god implanted faculty of moral reflection and what distinguishes humans from animals
- he had a hierarchical view of nature
- conscience is an autonomous judge
15
Q
how does butler see conscience
A
- butler viewed conscience as the god implanted faculty of moral reflection and what distinguishes humans from animals
- he had a hierarchical view of nature
- conscience is an autonomous judge, motivated by its internal assessment of right and wrong
- he didnt see the issue of whether conscience might be mistaken as most people would know intuitively what was right
- even though it might be misinformed, it must always be obeyed