Conscience Flashcards
Who influenced Augustine
Heavily influenced by Plato, specifically the idea of a God from which all goodness emanates.
What did Augustine’s theory state
His theory stated there was one true virtue called Virtue, from which all other virtues are derived from – this was God. God’s divine love pours out to humans and binds all the virtue’s together.
Where does Augustine believe conscience comes from
Divine love is where our conscience comes from – when we are listening to our conscience, we are listening to the word of God. That is why we should “see God as our witness”.
What happens when we experience God for Aquinas
He believed that God was so pure and divine, that when we experience him, we are revealed all our inadequacies in presence of such a purely good being, but also understand that we can never be as pure or as good as God is. Augustine’s most important point therefore is our conscience is hugely important and we should listen to it as it is what God is willing us to do.
Who did Augustine inspire
Luther was an Augustinian monk who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church because he believed conscience had more divine command than the teachings of the church, and his conscience would not let him accept the teaching of the pope.
Wilberforce believed in the authority of scripture and its stance on slavery, however he followed his conscience and took part in abolishing it.
Why did Wilberforce and Luther raise problems
There actions led to the question: is the conscience a higher authority than the church and the Bible?
What other problems does Augustine face
If God is our conscience, why does he contradict himself and allow some to think it is acceptable to kill or steal – this also cannot clearly be God’s love, which contradicts Augustine’s theory. It is impossible to verify your conscience is the word of God, and this can lead to self-delusions.
Why is Augustine’s theory prescriptive
The theory is therefore prescriptive, not descriptive – it doesn’t tell us what to do, it is just left to our conscience.
What did Aquinas combine with Aristotle’s reason
Christian thinking. He believed that “reason in man is like God in the world” – our reason comes from God and therefore by using our reason, we become closer to him.
What does Aquinas believe about innate ideas
We have innate rational ideas from which we can know moral rights and wrongs. Therefore, Aquinas believes that our conscience and our reason comes from God, and to disobey these is to disobey God.
What did the New Testament say about Conscience
In the new testament, consciousness is defined as the “witness” to “requirements of the law” and that humans act instinctively to follow conscience. Aquinas’ natural law is recognized in this, as it states there are moral laws weaved into the nature of the universe.
What are the two parts of the conscience for Aquinas
- Synderesis: The human knowledge of moral laws through the five primary precepts (moral laws). All humans have this knowledge as it is innate and rational to us
- Conscientia: The application of synderesis to learn and derive more moral laws from the five primary precepts
What are the strengths of Aquinas’ theory
1) We can hold all humans accountable as we can all reason right and wrong, and yet choose to make the wrong decision
2) Agrees with Piaget that consciousness is born from conditioning and experience – children don’t yet have full conscience
What are the weaknesses of Aquinas’ theory
1) Can be argued that following our conscience and following our reason lead to different outcomes
2) Butler argues conscience should never be questioned
What did Butler agree with Aquinas
Aquinas that reason was a God given ability and that conscience will lead us to the right moral decisions. It is therefore an ability to use reason to make an informed moral decision. He believed conscience also carried its own authority as it is our moral guide assigned to us by God
What was Butler’s view on human nature
Butler considered human nature as a pyramid, with conscience as the highest most divine feature. At the bottom, we have our base animal instincts which influence us without regard to consequence. Just above this were two slightly more sophisticated impulses
What are the two impulses
- Self-love: Wanting the well-being of yourself, but not in a selfish manor, simply care for yourself
- Benevolence: Care for others around you
What is reflection
Above this is the god given ability reflection, which allows us to judge our decisions and approve or disapprove. Conscience therefore is what binds both self-love and benevolence, however this process sometimes takes time to do in a situation and therefore we are presented with moral dilemmas.
What is our Ultimate authority for Butler
Butler believed that conscience should be our ultimate authority, as it is what separates us from animals – being able to approve or disapprove of our own actions. He believed that: “man is conscience”. We must therefore listen to our conscience
What are the strengths of Butler’s theory
1) Supports many Christian beliefs – asserts existence of God
2) Moore concurred with Butler’s view of an inner sense of Good
3) Hutcheson also argues that it is benevolence which creates morality, and therefore there is an innate moral code of helping others
What are the weaknesses of Butler’s theory
1) We could therefore blame all actions on the conscience if it is ultimate authority – Aquinas also believes conscience can be misinformed
2) Morality is therefore seen differently to everyone – no objective standard – moral anarchy
3) Atheists combat Butler by stating there is nothing supernatural or beyond our own reason which influences their decisions