Religious Views On The Conscience Flashcards
St augustine’s view on the conscience
The innate voice of god- ‘ there is no soul,however wicked…in whose conscience god does not speak’
Conscience is the way that god communicates with us. It is a source of direct revelation from god and should be taken in priority above all else, an absolutist view- moral truths are fixed for all time and all people because the commands are god given
E.g. if someone has an urge to steal a chocolate, Augustine suggests that god will tell that individual to not steal because it gives against his objective law to not steal, therefore, the individual will put back that chocolate.
How can i use the doctrine of the trinity to support Augustine’s view
Because humans are made imago dei, our conscience reflects the goodness of god through the father’s laws, the son’s truth and the spirits convention therefore, making the trinity active in every moral decision we make
Problems with conscience being the innate voice of god
However evil in the world show this cannot be the case
People committing evil acts, while thinking they are doing what is right
There are countless testimonies from children who grew up in nazi germany who fought that, because figures of authority told them that Jewish extermination was right, they believed that to be true and supported the nazi germany - an omnibenevolen god would surely not allow for people to carry out this quality and quantity of evil (evidential), although god is allowing free will or wanting humanity to develop, these sorts of evil does not justify the burning of children (Irving Greenberg) therefore, pointing towards shortcomings (faults)in the system.
Therefore, it seems god’s innate voice just does not work on some people
E.g. Ian Brady, kidnapped, assaulted and murdered 5 children
How would religious believers also disagree with conscience being the innate voice of god
Christians disagree about moral principles
It seems unlikely that by appealing to your god-given conscience would give people of the same faith such different answers on moral issues like abortion, especially, since Augustine argues that the rule should be absolute as they are god given
Conscience as the god-given faculty of reason ( St Aquinas)
Conscience is part of your mind or brain that helps you do a specific thing or functions. It’s like a skill or ability you have, and its usually something you don’t have to think too hard about to use
Rather than god giving u the direct answers, he is giving u a choice
Aquinas’ synderesis rule
Believed that all humans are geared towards the good and avoid evil
By using our natural understanding of the good, we could reason to discover right from wrong
What did aquinas believe about the conscience
It is not god’s voice but instead a way that god has programmed into humans to be able to decide what’s right from wrong
Conscience is fallible= humans can make mistakes when appealing to their conscience but it should always be followed even if it leads to terrible outcomes as to aquinas, what the conscience dictates to be true must be followed as to go against ur conscience is to go against god
Advantage of god given faculty of reasons
Overcomes problem of evil because it suggests that evil is a result of people misusing their reason to freely choose between good and evil.
Disadvantage of god given faculty of reason
If god gave everyone the faculty of reason to choose good, why do some people seem genuinely evil and show no remorse and deliberately choose evil, knowing its wrong
Counter= aquinas would argue that evil happens when people misuse their reason and allow desires to cloud their judgement e.g. some people might want something good like security but go about it the wrong way e.g. achieving security through murder- bad means for a misunderstood good
What is the god-given faculty of intuition (Joseph Butler)
Conscience is given to humans by god but instead of being a reasoning power, it is an intuitive sense of wha is right and wrong based on our moral decisions based on gut-feeling
E.g.just like how sea turtles know to go to the sea after they are hatched, butler argues that we intuitively know what is right and wrong as god has given us this ability
What are the 2 governing principles of conscience to make it balanced
Prudence, our natural love of self (egoism)
Benevolence , natural love for others (altruism)
The conscience works intuitively because we can feel the balance between self love and love for others
Conscience is an autonomous( independent) judge,there is no rewards or punishment it is solely driven by our naturally ability to discern what is right or wrong based on feeling.
E.g. as soon as the idea of cheating crosses ur mind, you would feel an immediate sense of discomfort or guilt
Conscience as agape love (fletcher)
Conscience is not something you have but something you do, it is an action not a feeling
It is choosing what agape love demands in the present situation
