Conscience Flashcards
Fletcher’s view on conscience
Do the most agepeic thing- use agepeic calculus for this
The agepeic calculus is your conscience (tells you whats right or wrong)
Conscience applied to Lying: Freud
Freud: Due to superego- we know we should lie.
when we do, its our ID overpowering our super ego
Conscience applied to Lying: Aquinas
Synderesis says don’t lie. ordered society.
Ratio can mislead if double effect is misunderstood
Conscience applied to Lying: Fletcher
If you lie and dont feel guilt, it must be the most loving this to do
If lying maximises agape, it must be okay
Freud’s talking therapy
Also known as Psycho analysis
Freud’s solution to psycho somatic disorders
a trained therapist can reveal repressed experiences.
his main point is that you need help because your own mind has so deeply repressed it
Conscience applied to adultery: Freud
Super ego says don’t cheat (we learned this from a young age because our parents say so).
if you cheat, you feel guilty
Conscience applied to Adultery: Aquinas
synderesis stops you from doing this.
Humans are told to reproduce, keep and ordered society and worship God
Reproduce VS ordered society and Worship God
Conscience applied to Adultery: Fletcher
If it maximises Agape, you wont feel guilty.
AN act of adultery that maximises agape is good
Id vs Super ego vs Ego
Id: instincts- animal side- operates by pleasure principle.
(Mr Hyde is Dr Jekyll’s id)
Super ego: the rules you have internalised-your inner parents- sense of right and wrong
Ego: your conscious mind which negotiates id and super ego
Augustines approach to conscience
He says conscience is the literal voice of God.
we all hear God, we are just really bad at listening
He bases this of the Apostle Pauls observation that Gentiles know right and wrong, but dont know God.
(quakers base their entire religion off this)
Freud’s Psycho-Somatic disorders
Some disorders exist in the mind alone
Freud’s 3 levels of mind
Pre- conscious: the memories not readily available but still accessible
Conscious: the thoughts a person has currently that the sub-conscious can access
Unconscious: repressed thoughts and feelings- including primitive impulses
Aquinas’ Approach to Conscience
Synderesis- “Humans seek to do good” impossible for humans to seek evil
evil happens when humans misunderstand what good is
Rationality is the key to distinguishing real and apparent goods
