conscience

• conscience

  a moral sense of right and wrong - a guide to one's behaviour
• Freud- 'The Ego And the Id'

  • Psychological approach (not God-given)
  • Splits psyche into: Id (seeking of satisfaction), Super-ego (please authority figures), Ego (mediates super-ego and id- developed through social influences)
  • not based on rational decision making
  • Psychosexual stages focus on a specific bodily part that acts as a source of frustration (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) and we are driven by it- proof conscience is limited to upbringing
  • Oedipus complex- boys want to replace the father and want a possession of their mother
• Aquinas

  • "conscience is reason making right decisions"
  • we're directed towards goodness through our imago dei- "God created mankind in his own image"
  • God gave us ratio (reason) to make decisions, wrong decisions is just misinterpreted reason.
  • Synderesis- habit towards good. Everyone wants to do the right thing so your conscience controls your synderesis. - "it is therefore clear that 'synderesis' is not a power, but a natural habit"
  • influences modern Catholics too
  • vincible and invincible ignorance: Aquinas says this is how the conscience ‘witnesses’, ‘binds’ and ‘torments’ us.
• Catholic ignorance:

  Vincible ignorance- deliberate lack of knowledge, bad outcome = morally responsible

  invincible ignorance- accidental lack of knowledge = not morally responsible
• Augustine

  • Conscience is the voice of God. He reveals directly through us. Therefore, conscience is the highest moral authority.
  • "In everything you do, see God as your witness"
  • A person cannot rightly act without the God's grace.
  • The motive for an action has to be right as these were praiseworthy actions
• Theological approach PROS

  • practical- confidence in making decisions as there's reassurance that you're backed up by God
  • Situational- 2 types of ignorance take into account a lack of education; guidance towards morality
  • Reliance on natural reason so atheists can agree too?
• Theological approach CONS

  • Subjective- different people have a different moral conscience so it can excuse immoral action + bad actions aren't God-given - invincible ignorance excuses bad actions. The action is still immoral
  • inapplicable to athiests- "everything that isn't faith is a sin" =Aquinas
• Newman (similar to Aquinas)

  • Theologian
  • Illative sense- gives a sense of guilt and responsibility rather than reason (similar to Aquinas) - direct guide to God
  • Conscience= "voice of the Lawgiver", following voice of God
  • Aquinas' view is similar - God speaking through reason not to us
  • opposite of Augustine's
• Freud

  • "the mind is like an iceberg; it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above the water"
  • Unconscious = repressed thoughts/feelings
  • preconscious = memories not available become accessible
  • conscious = current thoughts that the unconscious mind can't access
  • "The preconscious is like a mental waiting room in which thoughts remain until they succeed in attracting the eye of the conscious"
• Freud: Ego

  • mediates id and super-ego
  • wants to satisfy id
  • driven by reality principle
  • good conscience= effective operation of ego over id
• Freud: Id

  • instinctive impulses that seek pleasure
  • unconscious and present from birth
  • no control over id = no control over conscience
  • passions and desires
  • He said that the libido drives the id to desire sexual gratification and frustration ensures that desire is not satisfied
• Freud: Superego

  • contradicts Id and makes the ego behave normally
  • blank at birth and written upon by social influences (e.g parents)
  • the more the superego dominates the ego, the less likely they are to disobey an authority figure
  • However, this may lead to a person pleasing an authority figure and behaving in a socially unacceptable way
  • If desires are acted upon, guilt will be produced meaning that the balance between id (desires) and ego (morality) is disturbed
• Freud about the id: "it is a dark and inaccessible part of our personality...striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs"
• Psychological approach: PROS

  • thorough- explains that there's a balance of psychological features in the brain
  • lenient- explains that evil is flawed and might not be developed in some people.
  • easy to follow- if you feel guilty, your conscience is saying that it's wrong
• psychological approach: CONS

  • Fromm argued that Freud's theory was too misogynistic and limited so he developed the authoritarian conscience ( fear of authority = abide by rules = sense of wellbeing= not obeying leads to guilt), in which he slightly agrees with Freud. Not in the Humanitarian conscience (our own criticisms of ourselves- a good person chooses the most humanitarian response)
  • unreliable - doesn't explain how we listen to our conscience, other than guilt- but even guilt can be wrong
  • inconsistent - ego makes a balance between superego and the id so you cant always follow the superego
• Synderesis


  The inner principal directing a person towards good and away from evil.
• Conscientia


  A persons' reason, making moral judgements.
• Aquinas, Summa Theologica quote

  "It is therefore clear that 'synderesis' is not a power, but a natural habit ".
• Phronesis


  A practical wisdom, particularly in relation to moral decisions.
• Vincible Ignorance


  A lack of knowledge for which a person is responsible.
• Invincible ignorance

  A lack of knowledge for which a person is not responsible.
• Ego

  Our conscious selves. The ego manages and guides the Id. It learns from parents and society. It mediates between the id and super ego, managing id's frustration when it can't get immediate gratification. The ego acts in some ways as the conscience because it remembers what actions are appropriate and inappropriate.
• Id

  The instinctive impulses that seek satisfaction in pleasure and therefore lead us to seek pleasure. It wants immediate gratification.
• Super ego

  Where the mind 'stores' moral teaching and social rules received during upbringing. The internalised ideals from parents and society that try to make the ego behave morally.
• Freud, The ego and the Id quote

  "The ego ideal (superego), therefore, is the heir of the Oedipus complex and thus it is also the expression of the most powerful impulses... experienced by the libido in the id."
• Ratio

  The word used by Aquinas to describe reason, something which is placed in every person as a result of their being created in the image of God.
• Romans 7:19, New International Version

  'For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do'. -Paul struggles with the way his actions conflict with his inner sense of right and wrong.
• Genesis 1:27, New International Version

  'So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them'.

  - Some see the conscience as an aspect of humanity made in the image of God, created with the ability to discern right from wrong.
• What did Aquinas believe was a gift from God?

  Aquinas believed reason is a gift from God, placed in every person because everyone is made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:27).
• Why did Aquinas believe we had a duty to follow our conscience?

  Aquinas believed we have a duty to follow our conscience as it is our reasoned judgements based on God's will. Going against your conscience is a sin - reason is a gift from God we must use it
• What did Aquinas think the conscience was an aspect of?

  Aquinas did not think that the conscience was an independent special faculty or power capable of telling people what is right and wrong. He thought that the conscience is an aspect of human reason.
• What did Aquinas think separates us from animals?

  Aquinas thought reason is what separates us from other animals. He called the reason ratio.
• How did Aquinas think we use synderesis?

  Aquinas thought that within each person there is the principle of synderesis which encourages us to do good and avoid evil. He thought that we can cultivate synderesis in ourselves through effort, so that it becomes a habit. If we try to do good then our reason will help us.
• Why did Aquinas think our consciences are binding?

  Aquinas thought that our consciences are binding because it is wrong to go against reason. He thought we should do what we think is right and that we also have a duty to make sure our reason is well-informed when we make moral decisions. He did not argue that the conscience should be followed simply as a 'gut feeling'.
• Did Aquinas think we can be blamed for following our conscience?

  Aquinas believed people cannot be blamed if they follow their consciences when they make moral judgements based on the best of their knowledge, but they can sometimes do the wrong thing through ignorance.
• How does Aquinas view guilt?

  Aquinas understands guilt in terms of feelings of being to blame for moral wrongdoing.
• Criticisms of Aquinas' ideas on conscience (2)

  • It could be argued that Aquinas does not take into account the extent to which our moral reasoning is influenced by our upbringing and our society. What seems to be conscience could be the values of society we have learned.
  • Some disagree that the conscience is the human mind making moral decisions, and think that instead it comes more directly from God (Augustine, Joseph Butler and Cardinal Newman were more inclined to think this way).
• Where did Freud believe the conscience comes from?

  Freud believed that the conscience is not rational decision-making but comes from an inner unconscious part of our minds that has been shaped by our upbringing.
• What did Freud think the way the mind works is closely linked to?

  Freud thought that the way the mind works is closely linked to sexuality. He thought there are 5 stages of psychosexual development.
• What 3 aspects did Freud identify of the human personality?

  The Id, the ego and the super-ego.