Does conscience exists at all or is instead an umbrella term covering various factors involved in moral decision-making, such as culture, environment, genetic predisposition and education? Flashcards
(9 cards)
Introduction
- Lie out the question
- Aquinas’ view
- Freuds view
- what will this essay explore
- LOA
• The nature of the conscience has long been debated in moral philosophy and psychology.
• Some, like Aquinas, view it as a real, God-given faculty tied to reason and natural law.
• Others, like Freud, reject this, arguing instead that conscience is a by-product of psychological development and social conditioning.
• This essay will explore both interpretations, examining whether conscience exists as a distinct metaphysical faculty or if it is best explained as an umbrella term for the psychological, social, and biological processes behind moral judgement.
• Line of argument: Ultimately, conscience is more plausibly understood not as a singular, independent entity, but as a conceptual umbrella for multiple scientifically observable factors like upbringing, culture, and evolutionarily developed instincts.
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1: Aquinas – Conscience as a God-Given Rational Process
Paragraph 1: Aquinas – Conscience as a God-Given Rational Process
AO1 – What Aquinas Argues
• Aquinas bases his view on Natural Law Ethics and the concept of telos—the idea that everything has a purpose designed by God.
• Human telos is to follow God’s natural moral law, which we achieve using reason (ratio).
• Reason contains the power of synderesis, an innate inclination to know basic moral truths—the primary precepts.
• Conscientia is the application of synderesis to specific situations—producing secondary precepts.
• Conscience is therefore a two-part rational process combining innate knowledge and rational application.
• Guilt arises when this reason-based process judges an action to be morally wrong.
• Aquinas distinguishes between vincible and invincible ignorance, protecting his theory from the critique that people often feel differently about moral decisions.
Paragraph 1: Aquinas – Conscience as a God-Given Rational Process
AO2 – Evaluation of Aquinas’ Theory
• Aquinas offers a coherent theological account, but his central assumption—telos—is scientifically questionable.
• Philosopher-scientists like Francis Bacon and Sean Carroll argue that telos has no place in modern science; the universe is made of atoms and energy, not embedded purposes.
• Evolution offers an alternative explanation: behaviours like empathy emerge because they benefit herd species like humans—not because they are inherently moral.
• Science offers a simpler, more evidence-based account (Ockham’s Razor): if evolution and socialisation explain conscience, we don’t need telos or divine design.
• Even the sense of guilt can be understood neurologically or psychologically rather than spiritually.
• Therefore, Aquinas’ conscience appears to be a projection of a theological worldview, not a necessary explanation of moral behaviour.
• Furthermore, Aquinas’ claim that conscience exists universally through synderesis fails to explain cross-cultural moral variation, which often correlates more with societal norms than with innate knowledge of moral law.
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2: Freud – Conscience as an Umbrella Term for Psychological and Social Processes
Paragraph 2: Freud – Conscience as an Umbrella Term for Psychological and Social Processes
AO1 – What Freud Argues
•Freud rejected the spiritual view of conscience. He saw conscience as the result of psychological development and childhood socialisation.
The human psyche has three parts:
• Id – instinctual desires (unconscious)
• Ego – the rational, decision-making self
• Super-Ego – internalised social and moral rules taught by authority figures
The conscience is the tension between these parts. When the Ego suppresses the Id in deference to the Super-Ego, we act ‘morally.’ If not, guilt follows.
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development explains how the Super-Ego forms in stages:
From the Oral stage to the Genital stage, children internalise social expectations.
By adulthood, the conscience is shaped by repressed desires and moral codes learned through education and culture.
Paragraph 2: Freud – Conscience as an Umbrella Term for Psychological and Social Processes
AO2 – Evaluation of Freud’s Theory
• Freud’s model does not rely on any metaphysical or supernatural claim—conscience is a by-product of culture, family, and unconscious psychology.
• Criticised by Karl Popper as unscientific and unfalsifiable: Freud didn’t use large samples or rigorous empirical methods.
• However, Jean Piaget, a more empirically reliable psychologist, defended Freud’s central insight: that conscience is a product of socialisation and cognitive development.
• Modern psychology supports Freud’s claim that unconscious factors shape behaviour—such as implicit bias and emotional conditioning.
• This view successfully explains cross-cultural moral variation:
• If conscience was innate and the same for all, we’d expect moral uniformity. Instead, morality often reflects cultural and environmental influences.
• Fletcher and Skinner agree: differences in views on euthanasia, sexuality, and justice reflect social norms, not innate conscience.
• Aquinas’ defence—that all cultures share some core values—can be explained scientifically.
• Dawkins argues empathy and moral instinct evolved because they helped communities survive.
• Shared values like prohibitions against murder are practical necessities for a functioning society—not evidence of divine telos.
• Therefore, what we call “conscience” is better understood as a complex result of evolution, upbringing, and environment rather than a distinct, singular entity.
Conclusion
• Aquinas sees conscience as a divine, rational faculty guiding us toward God’s purpose. Yet this view relies on outdated metaphysical claims like telos, and fails to convincingly explain moral variation or psychological complexity.
• Freud’s view, although controversial, offers a more empirically grounded and scientifically credible account: conscience is the result of layered factors like upbringing, unconscious mental processes, and social norms.
• The evidence supports the conclusion that conscience is not a distinct ‘thing’ that exists independently, but rather an umbrella term referring to the many psychological, biological, and cultural components that shape moral decision-making.
LOA
We should reject the notion of conscience as a unified metaphysical faculty and instead accept the more defensible, scientific view that conscience refers to a broad set of overlapping influences—culture, upbringing, genetics, and environment.
