Conscience
- Created by: Ellen Hannah
- Created on: 16-06-14 13:33
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- Conscience
- Where does it come from?
- People believe various things create our conscience. This can affect the goodness or rightness of conscience + link to religious belief
- God given
- Some believe God gives us a gift to live moral lives either at birth or later on. This may be the voice of God or an ability.
- Instilled by society
- Others believe conscience = result of society's expectations. culture plays a large part in the development of our conscience
- Instilled by our parents
- Our upbringing largely affects our conscience, which has led some people to consider parents as moral teachers. We make our own decisions as we mature but our parents affect this
- Instilled by authority
- This can be police officers, teachers, parents + politicians who form an authoritative body. This can be negative if we are influenced by wrong people
- Innate eithin us
- Suggets there =no external factors that affect our conscience. It was given to us at birth + = wired in by our genetics. Everyone thus should have the same conscience + training + development may be required
- Religious perspective
- Early Christian concepts
- A god-given ability to distinguish right from wrong. Paul said it can sometimes be flawed + weak. A good relationship with God leads us away from sin.
- Augustine - believed it voice of God
- Newman
- Suggested conscience discovered ever-present truths. When someone follows conscience they follow divine law given directly by God. Not following this + turning away from God results in feelings of guilt + shame
- Butler
- Conscience = final decision maker. Directs humans away from self-love + towards benevolence. It comes from God + must be obeyed. If we are intuitively told right action, no-one can do a wrong action
- Aquinas
- Conscience = 'right reason' + not a voice but reason making right decisions. Synderesis rule 'do good + avoid evil' can be achieved when 'conscientia' (distinguishing right + wrong + making good decisions) = followed. Bad actions = result of faulty reasoning. Faulty principles = faulty conscience
- Early Christian concepts
- Secular approaches
- Piaget
- Heterinymous morality - before the age of ten, when children take morality from parents/carers
- Automous morality - after age of 10, our own moral reasoning becomes prominent as a result of an increased awareness of morality + society
- Fromm
- Authoritarian conscience - reward + punishment for actions reinforces our understanding of morality + may cause guilt
- Humanistic conscience - a healthier + more positive attitude to conscience that suggests we are allowed to assess our successes as human beings. We moderate our behaviour according to peer assessment
- Freud
- The id = seeks pleasure + satisfaction. The ego = seeks experience + reacts to world. The superego = moral policeman that constrains + censors the ego. Associated with guilt
- Conscience = a construct of mind as early influences continue to affect us in later life. Rel/non-rel peopl have different conscience as they raised differently. This = why there are so many ethical codes in society
- Piaget
- Key issues
- If the conscience is central to our identity, Can we rely on it?
- If conscience is varied is varied + individual, can it be used to make universal moral codes?
- Corporate + collective consciences all agree over right + wrong. How many people does this require exactly? Can it still be wrong if everyone accepts it?
- If the informed conscience is incorrect + we follow it, we sin. But not following our conscience = considered a sin anyway
- If informed conscience contradics teachings of own person religion, what are we supposed to do?
- Strengths + weaknesses
- Strenghts
- Differing consciences = explained by Aquinas' concept of faulty reasoning
- Idea can be accepted by atheists, humanists + religious people alike
- Weaknesses
- Secular approaches attempt to sow where conscience comes from but don't instruct us on how to use it
- Different religions have different opinions on ethical matters, how can they be hearing the same voice of God?
- Some people have no conscience at all. If it si God given how can they feel no guilt/repsonsibility/regret?
- Sometimes people make decisions based on their emotions. Emotional detachment = difficult + perhaps impossible, but may be required
- Strenghts
- Where does it come from?
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