Conscience

Question 1

Conscience definition for Aquinas?

Answer 1

Conscience is an act of rational thought, conscience can be explained religiously.

Question 2

Conscience definition for Freud?

Answer 2

Conscience is a synonym for guilt, conscience can be explained psychologically.

Question 3

Two SPEC scholars needed to apply to Conscience?

Answer 3

Aquinas & Freud

Question 4

How does Aquinas’ view of conscience differ to traditional religious views of conscience?

Answer 4

Aquinas view is unique, unlike other theological approaches, he does not directly link the conscience to God. The conscience is linked to God indirectly through our rationality - a tool that God has given to us to ensure that we can make moral judgements
& achieve our purpose.

Question 5

Ratio definition

Answer 5

Reason, placed in every person as a result of being created in the image of God

Question 6

Synderesis definition

Answer 6

Inner principle directing a person towards good and away from evil

Question 7

Conscientia definition

Answer 7

A person’s reason making moral judgements

Question 8

Vincible ignorance definition

Answer 8

Lack of knowledge for which a person is responsible

Question 9

Invincible ignorance definition

Answer 9

Lack of knowledge for which a person is not responsible

Question 10

What is a Real good?

Answer 10

An action which is actually good and consistent with the moral principles of natural law.

Question 11

What is an Apparent good?

Answer 11

An action which someone mistakenly thinks is a real good, but they have not reasoned correctly

Question 12

Phronesis definition?

Answer 12

Practical wisdom

Question 13

Why may an individual be invincibly ignorant?

Answer 13

May be insane, mentally ill, or a child too young to apply their reason
and know right from wrong

Those who, through no fault of their own, are unable to access Jesus’ message in the Gospels (e.g. lived before Jesus or live in religious persecution, censored from society)

Question 14

Aquinas’ example to illustrate invincible ignorance

Answer 14

Highly implausible (unlikely) example.
If a man were to sleep with someone other than his wife but whom he mistakenly believes is his wife & she is willing, then this is not something that he should be held morally responsible for.

Question 15

Where does guilt come from for Freud?

Answer 15

Guilt (Conscience) comes from conflict between our superego & the Oedipus Complex

Question 16

When does the Oedipus Complex develop?

Answer 16

Phallic Stage (3-6 years)

Question 17

Libido definition?

Answer 17

A term used in psychoanalytic theory to describe the energy created by the survival and
sexual instincts. According to Sigmund Freud, the libido is part of the id and is the driving force of all behaviour.

Question 18

Umbrella term definition?

Answer 18

An umbrella term is a word or phrase that covers a wide range of concepts belonging to a common category

Question 19

Erich Fromm’s two consciences

Answer 19

Authoritarian conscience which gives us a sense of wellbeing and security, whereas others (such as those living in Nazi Germany) have a bad authoritarian conscience
where fear of punishment overrides all other feelings.

Humanistic
conscience - a higher, more developed conscience that does not look to authority figures for guidance but, trusts our own inner voice.

Question 20

Umbrella term views of conscience?

Answer 20

Genetic predisposition-evolutionary explanations of the phenomenon. Like FREUD, this view rejects the idea that conscience is a real ‘thing’ as such; moral
thinking and attitudes simply evolved.

Dawkins argues that there is a genetic explanation for morality & evolution has
given us a moral sense, he put forward-altruistic gene (a moral gene) which has developed through the need to co-operate with fellow humans in order to ensure self-preservation. Over millions of years, we have developed an innate ‘lust to be nice’.
His observation is that animals typically display reciprocal altruism (essentially they
help each other with the expectation that the favour will be returned), whereas
humans also display non-reciprocal altruism (we help others without the
expectation of receiving anything in return – e.g. risking our own life to save
someone else from drowning).
Dawkins explains that this desire to sacrifice self for strangers is simply a ‘misfiring
of our selfish gene’ - the part of our nature that ensures our personal survival.