durkheim

• what does Durkheim view the conscience as?

  sanctions and social conditioning
• durkheim believes that God is a useful idea in society, why?

  god gives us a moral obligation to obey society's demands
• when projected onto an omnipotent God...?

  society's demands become unconditional, because to disobey them is to disobey the will of God
• therefore, what is conscience?

  a perception of loyalty to the group
• to say that someone has no conscience is simply to say what?

  that they're socially maladjusted
• what did durkheim also put forward the idea of?

  a collective conscience
• what is a "collective conscience"?

  beliefs agreed on by those in the same society, acts are bad because society disapproves of them
• what is durkheim's view reinforced by?

  an evolutionary perspective on the conscience
• what is an evolutionary conscience?

  it allows society to grow stronger, it is a survival mechanism developed by people sharing the same moral values
• what are the conclusions of durkheim's understanding of the conscience?

  conscience exists as a social and evolutionary phenomena, and having a good conscience allows a society to survive
• what view of the conscience is durkheim?

  sociological