Conscience (Schleiermacher, Fletcher, Freud) + application Flashcards
ID and freud
Id (instincts)
- unconscious and instinctive part of the personality at the level of its basic physical and emotional needs
- includes EROS (life instinct) - instinct for love, sexuality and satisfaction
- THANATOS (death instinct) - drive for aggression, violence and need
- operates on pleasure principle
EGO and freud
Ego (reality)
Rational self, mediates between the desires of the id and and what the world lets us have
‘Part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world’
SUPER EGO and freud
Super-ego (morality)
Controlling, restraining self developed around the age of 3-5
Controls the impulses that could be damaging to society e.g. eros and thanatos
modern psychology and freuds theory
- more modern psychology classes superego as an underdeveloped conscience, more childlike
- ego is considered to be a more developed conscience, with a more whole world view
freud and conscience
- if conscience is an expression of our unconscious application of rules, then it does not provide some alternative source of moral authority
- It cannot be seen as a voice of God or an expression of our natural self but more like childhood training or the expression of the wishes of your parents or significant adults = approved action
God as a control mechanism and freud
- logically, we should grow out of our conscience but the super-ego remains a shaping force in our adult lives
- God (if He exists) is just another control mechanism along with parents and society
- The idea of God is enough of a control mechanism: for believers, they do not need evidence for his existence because He is significant anyway
guilt and freud
- guilt is when the superego punishes the ego for letting the id do what it wants e.g. hurting someone or lying
- However, the problem is, Freud says that conscience is not a personal or emotional wish to do what is right but a conformity to parental expectations whether or not the parents are still around
- Value is reduced
Schleiermacher background
- Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834)
- a Prussian/German theologian & philosopher
- seen as an early leader of liberal Christianity
- wanted to reinstate the significance of academic study of religion, following the rationalist critiques of the Enlightenment period
- despite his achievements as a theologian, he was more widely known as a charismatic preacher
schleiermacher and conscience as the innate voice of God
- For Augustine and others, the conscious is innate: put into human minds by God.
- This means it amounts to an innate knowledge of God’s moral laws.
- Augustine goes beyond St Paul (who describes conscience as ‘a witness to the requirements of the law’) and appears to think of conscience literally as the voice of God.
- Augustine - ‘In whose conscience God does not speak?’
- This understanding of conscience is also seen in the writings of Protestant theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher.
schleiermacher definition of conscience
- “any deviation of our conduct from them is apprehended as a hindrance to life, and therefore as sin..”
- “Conscience also is very markedly traced to divine causality, and, as the voice of God within, is held to be an original revelation of God”
From Schleiermacher’s, “The Christian Faith” - Conscience is a source of direct revelation from God, so going against it is considered sin.
- Not that is goes against established moral principles but because it would be a hindrance to a Christian way of life.
- It is part of what God does, guiding people from within. As direct revelation = first priority over all else
problems with view that conscience is gods voice (schleier)
- The amount of evil in the world: either God is selective in who he talks to or people are good at ignoring God’s voice.
- Makes ethical discussion and decision making redundant - just do what God says.
- You can justify evil actions by saying God told you.
- No moral freedom, can’t develop as a moral agent if you are just doing what God says
- Everyone (even within Christianity) has different views on right and wrong, which doesn’t make sense if they’ve all been given their conscience by God.
fletcher and conscience definition
conscience is something that we do and not something we have- it is prospective not retrospective (SITUATION ETHICS)
- something we do there and then in the situation
- we do conscience when we calculate what love demands
- choosing what agape demand in the situation is conscience
quote from fletcher
“Conscience is merely a word for our attempts to make decisions creatively, constructively, fittingly.” (Joseph Fletcher)
theologian applications of conscience
- thomas aquinas and lying –> NML, never lie, goes against fellowship with God
- reduces free will as it hinders a persons ability to make decisions based upon false truths
- 10 commandments and synderesis rule
- order in society and worshiping god hindered
- evasive truths are allowed and conscience can be incorrect
- fletcher –> if it upholds law of love it is permissible, conscience applied before making the decision
- permits lying in necessary situations
- Butler –> breaking promises lying etc acts in self interest/love not with benevolence
sociological applications of conscience
- Durkehim: may disrupt mechanical solidarity –> leads to anomie, isolation and a disrupted society
- social disruptive as society is based on trust and keeping promises
- violation of ethical norm
