Conscience

Question 1

What is Lawrence kholbergs idea of the conscience

Answer 1

1. Pre conventional
   - follow rules to avoid punishment (blind obedience)
   - acts in own interest
2. Conventional
   - wanting to please others
   - fulfill duties to society (upholds laws)
3. Post conventional
   - rejection of rigid laws (independent)
   - balances concern for others with concern for self

Question 2

What is the Heinz dilemma

Answer 2

Put forward by Kholberg

His wife is dying.
Cost of drug is inflated to make money
He can not afford it’s so gathers money
Only gets half
Pharmacist says no to reduce payment

Pre-conventional = don’t steal drug, dead wife
Conventional = steal drug, alive wife, prison
Post conventional = steal drug, alive wife, no prison
Post conventional = stealing always wrong, dead wife

Question 3

What is Freud’s idea of the conscience

Answer 3

Id = unconscious, pleasure principle, gets what it wants
Ego = reality principle, mediated between the two opposing desires 
Superego = morality principle, guidelines, restraint

Uses guilt to keep good conscience

Question 4

Problems with Freud’s view of the conscience

Answer 4

• doesn’t show that the conscience as any sort of freedom to express anything
• only an expression of the rules we were taught as children, not our own beliefs, actions, decisions.

Question 5

Emile Durkheims view on the conscience

Answer 5

Conscience is social conditioning.
It is a perception of loyalty to society.
Collective conscience - an act is bad because society disapproves if it.
Conscience is a survival mechanism developed for people to have shared moral values.

Question 6

Eric Fromms view on conscience

Answer 6

1. Authoritarian conscience
   - our conscience arises out of fear of being shunned and excluded from society
   - obedience is the supreme virtue so people feel guilty when they have been disobedient.
2. Humanistic conscience
   - even if we know something is right/wrong intrinsically, it is society that gives the act its label.
   -

Question 7

Which scholars have religious ideas about the conscience and which secular

Answer 7

Religious

• Augustine, Schleiermacher (voice of God)
• Aquinas (reason)
• Butler
• Fletcher (verb)

Secular
- kholberg, Freud, Durkheim, Fromm

Question 8

Ideas about conscience being the innate voice of god

Answer 8

Augustine
- put into minds by god so knowledge of moral laws
Schleiermacher
- direct revelation from god against sin
- god guides people from within

Question 9

Problems with conscience being the voice of god

Answer 9

• can any actions ever be wrong?
• is the voice of evil for those who commit evil crimes?
• why are there so many differing views on what god wants?
• day of judgement redundant

Question 10

Aquinas’ view on conscience

Answer 10

NOT the voice of god.
Snyderesis rule = do good: avoid evil
We have god-given reason - conscience helps us to apply rules to situations.
Conscience is fallible = it can make mistakes.

Too much emphasis on reason, not emotion.

Question 11

Butlers view on conscience

Answer 11

It is a reflective principle placed within us by god.
There needs to be a balance between prudence and benevolence and conscience does this.
We know intuitively through the conscience of an action is unbalanced.
It is autonomous so is only motivated by the criteria within itself.
It is a natural ability given by god.

Question 12

Evaluation of Butlers view

Answer 12

+ we seem to have an instinctive innate concern for others

• doesn’t consider that conscience can be bad
• self-love can cause others harm
• loving others can cause you harm in the long run also

Question 13

Fletchers view on the conscience

Answer 13

It is a verb, not a noun.
You practise conscience.
It is putting agape into practise.
It is ‘there and then’ to make a decision.

Question 14

Different views on the role of the conscience in telling lies

Answer 14

Aquinas

• doesn’t follow synderesis rule
• an apparent good, not a real good

Sociological view

• socially destructive
• breaks collective conscience
• violates norms

Freud

• lying creates a submissive superego
• not lying avoids guilt

Question 15

Different views on the role of the conscience with adultery

Answer 15

Aquinas

• ignorant of divine law
• being unaware makes you exempt as it is fallible
• being fully aware makes you fully wrong

Fletcher

• most situations it will be wrong
• if for an exceptional reason, you’re conscience may know it is okay

Question 16

What is the value of conscience as a moral guide

Answer 16

• not valuable as voice of god as you cannot know that it is gods voice
• not valuable as social as it is all due to society, conscience just reflects this
  + Aquinas’ the best as it takes into account how we see people behave in real life and shows that it is not directly god-given
• feelings of guilt can be dependent on beliefs and society
• no proof of anything