Conscience

Question 1

The four non-religious ideas about the nature of conscience

Answer 1

• Kohlberg: conscience as a behaviour developed through social interaction
• Freud: conscience as an aspect of the super-ego
• Durkheim: conscience as sanctions or social conditioning
• Fromm: the authoritarian and the humanistic conscience

Question 2

Conscience as a behaviour developed through social interaction

Kohlberg

Answer 2

key scholar: Lawrence Kohlberg
- Kohlberg defined six stages of moral development from birth in three levels (pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional)

Question 3

Pre-conventional level of moral development

Answer 3

• begins with the ‘punishment and obedience’ stage
• right is what we are rewarded for and wrong is what we are punished for

Question 4

Conventional level of moral development

Answer 4

• begins with the development of good interpersonal relationships
• concludes with the decision to obey society’s rules and thus avoid guilt

Question 5

Post-conventional level of moral development

Answer 5

• begins with a utilitarian recognition that where the needs of individuals and society conflict, individual needs must give way to benefit society as a whole
• the final stage is the level of an individualised conscience - conscience becomes fully internal and principle-based, guiding behaviour independently of external rewards or authority

Question 6

The dilemma of Heinz

Answer 6

• Heinz’s wife is dying from a rare illness
• a pharmacist has discovered a drug that could save her life but is charging far more than it costs to make
• Heinz doesn’t have the money and the pharmacist refuses to lower the price
• Heinz considers stealing the drug to save his wife.

The dilemma asks whether Heinz should steal the drug, and why

Question 7

Super-ego

Answer 7

• the controlling, restraining self
• the part of the unconscious mind that controls the individual’s potentially socially damaging impulses (eros and thanatos)
• the internalisation of parental and other authoritarian commands, which are usually negative
• manifests as guilt, remorse and anxiety

Question 8

The three aspects of the mind

Answer 8

• the id
• the ego
• the super-ego

Question 9

The id

Answer 9

the unconscious, instinctive part of our personality that consists of our basic needs and desires

Question 10

The ego

Answer 10

the rational faculty that mediates between the desires of the id and the constraints of the external world (what the world lets us have)

Question 11

Conscience as an aspect of the super-ego

Freud

Answer 11

conscience is the negative aspect of the super-ego, expressing itself consciously or unconsciously as guilt and shame

Question 12

Conscience as sanctions or social conditioning

Durkheim

Answer 12

• Durkheim saw God as a projection of society’s powers and a useful tool in reinforcing the social demands made by the individual’s conscience
• developed the idea of a collective conscience: an act is bad because it opposes the views of society and of the common conscience
• conscience as a survival mechanism: people sticking to shared moral values = stronger society

Question 13

Conscience as the authoritarian and the humanistic conscience

Fromm

Answer 13

• authoritarian conscience: an internalised response based on fear of the demands of an authoritarian society
• disobedience creates a guilty conscience
• humanistic conscience: understands and seeks what will lead to human and social flourishing
• it is not afraid to challenge elements of society that are destructive of human wellbeing

Question 14

Authoritarian conscience examples (includes criticism)

Answer 14

• the Nazis’ manipulation of the conscience of many Germans to feel guilt at helping or not harming Jews
• Criticism: conscience can oppose authority (e.g. Maximilian Kolbe, who volunteered to die in the place of another prisoner in Auschwitz, which was against Nazi authority)

Question 15

Freud’s conscience - criticism

Answer 15

• the reductiveness of Freud’s view of conscience is challenged
• it gives a limited and extremely narrow role to it

Question 16

Durkheim’s conscience - criticism

Answer 16

does not account for the conscience of people who throughout history have challenged their social groups from outside
e.g. Jesus, Oscar Romero

conscience can sometimes transcend social conditioning and may not always be just a product of social norms

Question 17

Kohlberg’s conscience - criticism

Answer 17

• reason alone can’t motivate moral action - our emotions and passions drive us to care about moral issues
• ‘reason should be a slave of the passions’, not the other way round
• you decide on the right thing to do through intuition about right behaviour, and only subsequently justify it rationally

Question 18

Fromm’s conscience - criticisms

Answer 18

• how do we know which authority figures we can place our confidence on, to guide us in the right way?
• the authoritarian conscience allows people to pass moral responsibility on to authority figures, rather than accepting it themselves

Question 19

The four religious ideas about the nature of conscience

Answer 19

• Schleiermacher: conscience as the innate voice of God
• Aquinas: conscience as the God-given faculty of reason
• Butler: conscience as a God-given faculty - intuitive, reflective and autonomous
• Fletcher: conscience as agape love making decisions situationally

Question 20

Conscience as the innate voice of God

Schleiermacher

Answer 20

• conscience was put into human minds by God
• it is an innate knowledge of God’s moral laws
  (the above two points are Augustine’s views)
• this is supported by St. Paul: ‘a witness to the requirements of the law’ (Romans)
• because of its source, conscience must always be obeyed without question
• conscience is direct revelation from God, and to go against it is sin

Question 21

Schleiermacher’s conscience - criticisms

Answer 21

• suggests that God is selective in communicating to some and not others
• why do people who claim to have been spoken to directly by God come up with different answers?
• how can an individual be sure that the guidance comes from God and not from some unconscious subjective view?

Question 22

Conscience as the God-given faculty of reason

Aquinas

Answer 22

• based on the synderesis principle
• we have an innate God-given faculty of practical reason that arrives at/understands the primary precepts of NML
• conscience then applies these through secondary precepts
• fallible - can be mistaken if it is ignorant of the law, or if it isn’t informed about the facts of the case
• should always be followed - dictates what’s true to the individual and truth must be followed (truth comes from God, so going against it would be going against God)

Question 23

Aquinas’s conscience - strengths

Answer 23

• realistic in the view that conscience is not infallible
• emphasis on the use of reason - reason allows us to make a freely chosen moral decision, which to many is the essence of being a moral being

Question 24

Aquinas’s conscience - weaknesses

Answer 24

• ignores the fact that large numbers of people act irrationally due to being blinded by desires + limited reasoning powers
• not everyone is aware of the synderesis principle - the state of the world today shows that people follow the rule of self-interest

Question 25

Conscience as a God-given faculty - intuitive, reflective and autonomous ## Footnote Butler

Answer 25

- conscience is a reflective principle placed within us by God - all humans have a reflective sense of right and wrong - we are able to reflect morally on the past and what we're about to do in the future - prudence and benevolence are the two governing principles of human behaviour - prudence = egoism ≠ selfishness - benevolence = altruism - a balance between both is required for morality - conscience is the part of the hierarchy of the self which judges between prudence and benevolence, and works intuitively as an autonomous judge

Question 26

Autonomous

Answer 26

self-governing or independent

Question 27

Butler's conscience - strength

Answer 27

following conscience is a good way to ensure that we have balance between egoism and altruism

Question 28

Butler's conscience - weaknesses

Answer 28

- balancing self-love with the love of others might lead us to make moral decisions that cause us harm - Anscombe - Butler does not allow for the possibility that the conscience may be distorted or evil (many do terrible things in the name of conscience) - Nietzsche mocked Kant (+ Aquinas and Butler) for inventing the faculty of conscience - where is this undetectable faculty of the mind?

Question 29

Conscience as agape love making decisions situationally ## Footnote Fletcher

Answer 29

There are four theories about conscience: 1. it is an innate faculty 2. it is guidance by the Holy Spirit/an angel/some other entity 3. it is the internalised values of society 4. it is reason making moral judgements (Aquinas) **Fletcher rejects all of these** - conscience is a verb (something we *do* not something we have) - conscience is prospective, not retrospective: it is choosing what agape love demands in the present situation

Question 30

The role of conscience in making moral decisions (two scenarios)

Answer 30

- telling lies and breaking promises - adultery

Question 31

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Telling lies and breaking promises - society-linked approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of telling lies and breaking promises

Answer 31

- threatens the stability and flourishing of society - fear of punishment in an authoritarian environment might be the motive behind keeping promises and not telling lies

Question 32

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Telling lies and breaking promises - reason-based approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of telling lies and breaking promises

Answer 32

- for Aquinas, it conflicts with the synderesis principle and contravenes the primary precept of living in an ordered society. However, an evasive truth is acceptable in exceptional circumstances - other theories might adopt a more proportionalist approach (more flexible) - Butler's reflective principle might encourage a balancing act, leading to lying being the right thing in some circumstances

Question 33

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Telling lies and breaking promises - 'Voice of God' approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of telling lies and breaking promises

Answer 33

- would normally be in line with the Ten Commandments - but for modern thinkers, in very exceptional situations its guidance might go against all accepted ethical rules

Question 34

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Telling lies and breaking promises - psychological approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of telling lies and breaking promises

Answer 34

- lying and promise-breaking would not be seen as moral issues - it would be a concen only if they raised emotional issues of guilt etc.

Question 35

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Telling lies and breaking promises - situationist approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of telling lies and breaking promises

Answer 35

- there is no absolute right or wrong - it all depends on the agapeic calculus's assessment of the situation

Question 36

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Society-linked approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of adultery

Answer 36

- in western society, changed views on the nature of marriage have made it more socially acceptable (e.g. increasing acceptance of non-exclusive relationships) - other societies see it as a threat to the stability of society (e.g. fidelity ensures long-term stability and child welfare)

Question 37

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Reason-based approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of adultery

Answer 37

- conflicts with the synderesis principle and contravenes the PP of living in an ordered society (Aquinas) - contrary to the divine law's teaching on marriage and adultery - but Aquinas's example of marrying a widow, not knowing her husband was still alive, would not be blameworthy - Butler's intuitive conscience would reject adultery as against the Bible

Question 38

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions 'Voice of God' approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of adultery

Answer 38

- would normally be in line with the Ten Commandments - but for modern thinkers, in very exceptional situations its guidance might go against all accepted ethical rules

Question 39

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Psychological approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of adultery

Answer 39

- adultery would not be seen as a moral issue - for Freud, a guilty conscience arises out of accepting social restrictions intended to control expression of the *id* and the resultant sexual frustration ## Footnote you're affected psychologically (e.g. guilty) because what society expects conflicts with what the *id* wants

Question 40

# The role of conscience in making moral decisions Situationist approaches ## Footnote how the conscience informs the issue of adultery

Answer 40

- there is not absolute right or wrong - it all depends on the agapeic calculus's assessment of the situation

Question 41

# The value of conscience as a moral guide Society-linked approaches

Answer 41

- a collective conscience would unite society - but this would have no value if the morality of that society was corrupt

Question 42

# The value of conscience as a moral guide Reason-based approaches

Answer 42

- encourages an objective approach to right and wrong (independent of emotions/social pressures) - conscience is not infallible - emotions and social conditioning can also influence and distort it - many people do not have the capacity for the reasoned thinking demanded by e.g. Aquinas and Kohlberg

Question 43

# The value of conscience as a moral guide 'Voice of God' approaches

Answer 43

- this runs the risk of being subjective and unreliable - can we be sure that it is God speaking to us and not our unconscious desires or prejudices?

Question 44

# The value of conscience as a moral guide Psychological approaches

Answer 44

- feeling guilty can act as a warning or a corrective - but it may be both subjective and unreliable; many people feel guilty without good reason

Question 45

# The value of conscience as a moral guide Situationist approaches

Answer 45

- Fletcher's view of it simply as a process of decision-making means it has no real significance - It's just another word for application of the agapeic calculus (no independent authority or insight into right and wrong; merely a tool to calculate the most loving outcome)