conscience

Question 1

what does aquinas argue all humans are created with

Answer 1

-‘ratio’- reason in us as a result of imago dei
-we have god given ability to consider info and reach judgement

Question 2

synderesis

Answer 2

the inner principle directing a person towards good and away from evil

Question 3

conscientia

Answer 3

a person’s reason making moral judgements
(must practise in order to do efficiently)

Question 4

what does aquinas think of human nature

Answer 4

optimistic, don’t deliberately choose acts they know are evil, rather they make mistakes and pursue apparent goods

Question 5

vincible ignorance

Answer 5

-a lack of knowledge for which a person is responsible
-has applied reason incorrectly

Question 6

invincible ignorance

Answer 6

-a lack of knowledge for which a person isn’t responsible
- man accidentally sleeps with someone he thinks is his wife

Question 7

aquinas provides a helpful view of the conscience- arguments

Answer 7

• puts reason and rationality centre stage
• gives good explanation for moral disagreement. individual reasoning> god directly communicating
  -explains why someone may change their moral views

Question 8

aquinas doesn’t provide a helpful view of the conscience- arguments

Answer 8

• his view doesn’t fit with how we experience conscience. it is more immediate and intuitive rather than process of deliberation
• research by Piaget and Kohlberg- moral thinking develops over time. challenges that syneresis is innate
• he fails to take into account social and environmental factors that affect people’s moral views
• we should obey our conscience even if it is in error? unhelpful
• overly optimistic on human nature. apparent goods is naive to suggest people don’t deliberately choose evil acts. view of our rational abilities is optimistic
• Augustine’s the fall

Question 9

what are freud’s 3 aspects of personality

Answer 9

ego
id
superego

Question 10

ego?

Answer 10

the conscious self. the part seen by the outside world and the thinking we are most conscious of

Question 11

id?

Answer 11

the unconscious self which contains basic desires and drives. 2 main- sex and death

Question 12

superego?

Answer 12

within the ego. a reaction to the id.
a set of moral controls and ideas given by authority and often opposed by the id
conscience= superego

Question 13

what is the superego formed by and what is it

Answer 13

-society, parents
-a reaction to all the demands placed on a person that they cannot live up to
- a gap emerges between ego (who we actually are) and demands of superego (our idea of an ideal person formed by these early interactions)

Question 14

what happens when we go against our conscience? superego

Answer 14

guilt occurs

Question 15

what are all psychological problems caused by according to freud?

Answer 15

-sexuality
-psychosexual goes through several stages and development may be healthy or unhealthy
-oedipus complex

Question 16

freud’s stages of pyschosexual development

Answer 16

oral- 0-1 years
anal- 1-3 years
phallic- 3-6

Question 17

freud’s view is helpful- arguments

Answer 17

-freud begins with guilt. this is how conscience initially reveals itself to us. seems right to focus on this
- based on psychology rather than theology
- can explain differences in moral thinking. conscience isn’t voice of god like Newman suggests
- links ideas of culture and upbringing to explain diff moral views

Question 18

freud’s view is unhelpful- arguments

Answer 18

• research he has based on is limited, small no. of patients with psychological problems
• Karl popper- freud is pseudo-scientific. scientific claims can be falsified, his can’t
• Erich Fromm- many have conscience driven by fear of authority. doesn’t explain those who challenge authority. some develop a humanitarian conscience

Question 19

summary of conscience for aquinas

Answer 19

• the product of reason
• god created us with ability to reason and we have syneresis in us
• use conscienta to apply and make moral judgments

Question 20

summary of conscience for freud

Answer 20

• not rational
• product of the unconscious mind
• internalised voice of our parents and society in superego
• attempts to restrain inappropriate desires of the id

Question 21

Erich fromm- who?
what 2 consciences does he believe humans have?

Answer 21

• develops Freud’s view- doesn’t agree completely
• authoritarian and humanistic conscience- dependant on individual which is stronger

Question 22

authoritarian conscience

Answer 22

-conscience is about fear of authority, we internalise feelings of fear so inner voice becomes part of authority
- a bad authoritarian conscience makes obedience the supreme moral value and fear of punishment overrides all other feelings
e.g. ordinary germans feeling guilty about disobeying nazis
- for most, this dominates

Question 23

humanistic conscience

Answer 23

• our own inner voice reacting to how well we are functioning in life
• our reaction to our own behaviour
• this is a higher, more developed conscience

Question 24

conscience stems from reason- arguments

Answer 24

• explains diff moral views and them changing
• Piaget’s theory of moral development + Fromm’s humanistic conscience require ability to reflect. conscience can’t just be unconscious
• opens up debate about what it is to be human. aquinas- reason is unique special part of human nature. Dawkins- nothing special about humans, just marginally more evolved than other creatures

Question 25

conscience stems from unconscious mind-arguments

Answer 25

- freud + fromm- conscience is at leats in part instinctive or subconscious reaction to authority. may lead people to do illogical things - explains why moral ideas differ - freud- correct that conscience feelings present themselves immediately

Question 26

conscience doesn't stem from reason- arguments

Answer 26

- if moral judgements were product of reason, surely we would see more moral agreement -social and environmental factors that affect moral views

Question 27

conscience doesn't stem from unconscious mind- arguments

Answer 27

-Karl popper- freud not based on science, can't falsify - limited case studies

Question 28

e.g. of conscience as real and god- given

Answer 28

Paul said the Gentiles (non- jews) had a conscience regardless of access to scripture - the equivalent of having god's law on their hearts

Question 29

Newmans' beliefs on conscience

Answer 29

-it is the voice of god -it is a precondition; without it there would be no such thing as morality - it is as much a part pop our psychology as memory, reason, imagination - it is authoritative- needs to be obeyed- shown by guilt and shame when we ignore it - conscience feelings imply a higher judge

Question 30

Dawkins beliefs on conscience

Answer 30

-humans are sum total of their genes - we are 'bytes and bytes of DNA' -' humans who cooperate with their fellow creatures and help others are more likely to survive and pass on their 'more moral' genes than those who act out of selfishness - over generations nature has selected those who have good moral attitudes

Question 31

Jean Piaget on conscience

Answer 31

-environment and education are key to understanding 'conscience' - our moral views develop through 2 distinct stages: under 10 years view rules imposed by authority figures, older children and adults understand rules awe things humans make and can change

Question 32

conscience is a real thing- arguments

Answer 32

- Aquinas- part of human nature. imago dei, gift by god - Newman- strange to deny existence when we experience this phenomenon

Question 33

conscience is merely a label or umbrella term for other factors- arguments

Answer 33

- many explanations of conscience rely on existence of god - our experience of conscience can have a brain-based explanation, evolution can account for it as it does for memory - diff moral views? problematic particularly for Newman- shouldn't god's voice be universal? - Freud begins with guilt