Conscience 2

Question 1

What does Aquinas say about conscience?
Quote

Answer 1

‘The mind of a man making moral judgements’.

Question 2

Aquinas’ ratio:

Answer 2

• Reason and ability to make moral judgements.
• Not talking about a special power, simply reason, the ‘gift from God’.
• It distinguishes us from animals, as we are made in imago dei.
• We have synderesis, unlike animals.
• It would help us connect to the ‘eternal realm’ (eternal law from natural law).
• Going beyond human law, utilising reason to do the right thing.

Question 3

Synderesis:

Answer 3

• Within every human, directs us to good and away from evil.
• But there is also sensuality.
• But contrasts Augustine’s Doctrine of Original Sin, saying humans lead towards goodness.
• Augustine thinks only God’s grace can save us.
• Ratio is used towards synderesis.
• The process of conscience.

Question 4

What is conscientia?

Answer 4

Conscience in action, ‘it is clear conscience is an act’.

Question 5

Why do people make bad decisions?

Answer 5

Ignorance.
Ignorance can be divided from vincible ignorance and invincible ignorance.

Question 6

Vincible ignorance:

Answer 6

• Lack of knowledge for which a person CAN be held responsible.

Question 7

Invincible ignorance:

Answer 7

• Lack of knowledge which a person is NOT held responsible.
  Eg, feed someone some food not knowing they have an allergy and they did not say.

Thus, conscience is fallible, apparent goods vs real goods.

Question 8

Aquinas example of Invincible Ignorance:

Answer 8

If you sleep with another mans wife, knowing it’s another mans wife you are going against the 10 commandments.
BUT, if you believe that person is your own wife and she wants you then you are morally blameless.

Wrote by a celibate monk. Justifying adultery.

Question 9

Aquinas influence on Catholic church:

Answer 9

Influences catechism of the Catholic church, ‘conscience formulates its judgements according to reason’.

Question 10

Advantages of Aquinas:

Answer 10

• One of the only philosophers to talk of how humans are inherently flawed.

Question 11

Those who agree with conscience:

Answer 11

Cardinal John Henry Newman, ‘to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards’.

Question 12

Biblical passages relating to conscience:

Answer 12

‘For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do’ Romans 7:19, Paul struggling with inner sense of right and wrong.

Question 13

Disadvantages to conscience:

Answer 13

• We cannot say some things are morally blameless due to ignorance, surely if you accidentally murder someone you should be held responsible.
• Good and evil is influenced by our upbringing.
• Some do not think conscience is a human aspect, more the voice of God. Like Augustine, Butler and Newman.
• Reasoning is influenced by our upbringing and our society, Kai Neilsen comes up with this idea.

Question 14

Who criticises Aquinas?

Answer 14

Sigmund Freud, ‘founder of psychoanalysis’.

Alternative view on conscience, ‘An Outline of Psychoanalysis’ and ‘The Ego and the Id’.
- Everyone goes through the five psychosexual stages.

Question 15

Advantages of Freud:

Answer 15

• Still influential today, psychoanalysis used in therapy.

Question 16

Psychosexual stages:

Answer 16

Oral- focused on the mouth.
Anal- control of toilet training.
Phallic- Little Hans research, all sons want sex with their mother so copies father.
Latency- nothing happens.
Genital- puberty-maturity.

Each stage has a focus on a body part because of the libido (sexual desire).

Question 17

Freud’s aspects of the personality:

Answer 17

Id, Ego, Superego.

Question 18

Id:

Answer 18

• Unconscious part of the mind.
• Central component of personality.
• Seeks immediate gratification.
• Greedy.

Question 19

Ego:

Answer 19

• Because it is not socially acceptable to seek immediate gratification for all desires, children learn to keep them in check.
• Through teachings of parents and wider society.
• Mediates desire and society.

Question 20

Chariot example:

Answer 20

Takes Plato’s chariot example:
Horse= id, rider=ego.
Good conscience is effective operation of ego over Id.

Question 21

Superego:

Answer 21

• Last to develop in psyche, around age 5.
• Based on behaviourism, conditioning, when you are rewarded it is stored in superego. Positive reinforcement, like Pavolv’s dog.
• It stops us breaking rules, we fear punishment.
• Conscience is guilt due to this superego.
• Superego ‘threatens it with punishment’.

Question 22

Strengths of Freud:

Answer 22

• Founder of psychoanalysis.
• Our parents clearly do impact our upbringing.
• But surely quite reductionist to think we are purely sexual, what about people that are asexual??
• What about single parent households and men without mothers? Are they immoral?
• Says people are immoral because of parents. Not fair.
• Surely we develop later in life also?

Question 23

Guilt:

Answer 23

• ‘internal conflict in the mind’.
• Freud thinks this inner turmoil leads to us doing wrongdoings.
• But Aquinas thinks God’s grace banishes this guilt from a person.

Question 24

How can this guilt be applied?

Answer 24

Adam and Eve.
Augustine’s idea that Original Sin provided us with guilt.
Guilt is what made them know it would be wrong to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Through a new distance with God, we gain guilt.

Question 25

Augustine and conscience:

Answer 25

• It is the voice of God speaking to us.
• ‘See God as a witness’.

Question 26

Joseph Butler and Conscience:

Answer 26

• It is an essential part to being human.
• Separates us from humans.
• It will randomly exert itself ‘without being consulted’.
• It is ‘our natural guide’.
• Like Aquinas, what decides good vs bad.

Question 27

John Henry Newman:

Answer 27

• We know what is right and wrong through ‘illative sense’. Guilt (Freud).

Question 28

John Piaget:

Answer 28

• Heteronomous (ages 5-9), looks beyond self, like rules from parents.
• Autonomous (10+) we develop personal morality.

Most adults use a mixture of the two.

Question 29

Fletcher’s view on conscience:

Answer 29

It is a verb, rather than a noun.

Question 30

Biblical example of conscience:

Answer 30

Our conscience can bear witness to the truth (Romans 2:15).