The Conscience Flashcards
Who said the conscience is the natural ability to understand right and wrong, and the use of reason to find out God’s good?
Aquinas
What does biblical teaching say about the conscience?
It is god given and innate.
What is synderesis?
‘Right’ reason. The acquiring of knowledge of basic moral principles. Seeking good and avoiding evil.
What is conscientia?
The actual ethical judgement or decision.
Who argued that the conscience judges right and wrong, and is authoritative and automatic?
Joseph Butler
Butler also suggested that conscience is a ___-_____ guide that must be obeyed to have true ___________. It is natural to make _______ because people will always try to do _____.
- god-given
- happiness
- mistakes
- right
Butler further said that it is wicked to ____ your conscience and convince yourself something is right. The conscience will always look out for the ________ of ______. The conscience will harmonise ___-love and _________.
- blind
- interests
- others
- self
- benevolence
Newman argued that the conscience is a messenger of God, and to follow it is to follow divine law. How did he bring in authority?
We feel responsible, ashamed or frightened, so there must be an authority - God.
Who said that the conscience is a construct of the mind, and that all our moral constructs come from our experiences and cultures?
Sigmund Freud.
Define the id, ego and superego.
The id: basic drives and repressed memories. Amoral and selfish. (pleasure principle)
The ego: the conscience self which tries to balance the id and superego. (reality principle)
The superego: a set of moral controls which come from outside influences. (the conscience)
The superego _________ others’ disapproval, and so we feel _____.
- internalises
2. guilt
Who argued that the conscience develops as we grow.
Piaget and Kohlberg
P&K said that we have heteronomous morality and autonomous morality. Define both.
Heteronomous morality: (5-10 years) the conscience is immature, focusing on rules and punishment, consequences tell us what is right/wrong.
Autonomous morality: (10+) we develop our own rules and understand them, becoming less dependent on moral authority.
P&K suggest different levels of conscience.
- behaving in socially ________ ways because we are told to and want ________.
- wanting to keep the ___ and ___ for others.
- respect for _________ principles and the demands of our _________ conscience.
a. acceptable
b. approval
c. law
d. care
e. universal
f. individual
P&K said that moral development occurs through…. ?
And some people do not… ?
- social interaction
2. mature fully (most adults do not move beyond simply keeping to the law)
Fromm suggested the Authoritarian Conscience. Explain. (E.g. rules, guilt, sub)
Authority figures apply rules and give punishments, which we internalise.
Guilt is the result of displeasing authority.
This makes us submissive.
(E.g. Nazi Germany)
Fromm then changed his argument and proposed the Humanistic Conscience, which is about evaluating our behaviour. Explain. (E.g. judge, self, potential)
We judge how successful we are as people.
It is our real self and helps us reach our potential.
Fromm’s Humanistic Conscience says we use our ________ and _________, as well as the ______ of others.
- discoveries
- experiences
- example
Who argued that the conscience is not a voice because this suggests we have a special skill or need a piece of equipment?
What else did they say? (E.g. path, desire, pov)
Vincent Macnamara.
The conscience is an awareness that there is a moral path. People desire truth and goodness. It is about who we are and how we see the world.
Richard Gula proposes that conscience is not an internal law, but about vision and _____. It is the ability to act within a ________ community through ________ understanding.
- choice
2/3. Christian
Who says that conscience is a balance between rationalism and divine command theory? It is our interpretation of the voice of God.
Vernon Ruland
