Conscience
• There is no universally accepted definition of conscience. It is often presumed to be:
• The inner conviction that something is right or wrong
• Linked with ideas of guilt and shame
• Regarded as intuitive
• A fundamental awareness we have of ourselves as thinking individuals
• Which comes first - a persons conscience or their set of moral principles?
• Is conscience individual or shared within society/religion?
Conscience as behaviour developed through social interaction
• Lawrence Kohlberg defined the stages of moral development from birth:
- Pre-conventional = learning right from wrong through punishment and obedience.
- Conventional = This begins with good inter-personal relationships and leads to the de-
cision to obey society’s rules, avoiding guilt. Many never pass this stage.
- Post-conventional = Utilitarian recognition of the need for your individual needs to give
way in order for society to benefit. Further development occurs leading to individu-
alised conscience. This is where th person feels guilty when their decisions are not
consistent and universalisable. Comparatively few reach this level.
- Kohlberg tested his theory by presenting people with moral dilemmas and classifying
them according to the criteria above.
• David Hume criticised this view arguing that conscience is not based on moral reasoning but
rather a gut reaction or intuition.
• Furthermore, “reason should be a slave of the passions” Reason is used afterwards to justify the
decision not when making it.
Conscience as sanctions or social conditioning
• Emile Durkheim - argued that conscience is social conditioning - the sanctions that the group
brings to bear on the individual. Having ‘no conscience’ is simply being socially maladjusted.
• God is society. He does not actually exist but is a useful idea as belief in God gives individuals a
moral obligation to obey society’s demands.
• Conscience is a perception of loyalty to the group and fear of societal judgement.
• A collective conscience is the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average citizen of
the same society. It is organic.
• His ideas are reinforced by the idea of evolutionary conscience. This is the idea put forward by
Richard Dawkins that living and cooperating as part of a community has a survival advantage.
The Authoritarian and Humanistic Conscience
• Erich Fromm argues that conscience and a sense of moral responsibility arise out of a fear of be-
ing rejected by society, which is based on obedience to rules and conformity to norms.
• Human beings are reduced to a state of obedience from birth; free will is an illusion.
• The supreme sin is disobedience which leads to fear and guilt.
• This is an authoritarian conscience because what troubles the person is that they have broken
the rules, not the actual thing that they have done.
• We may develop a Humanistic Conscience, which is intuitive/instinctive knowledge of what
makes life flourish and what destroys it. When we reject the authoritarian form and move onto the
humanistic form, we realise our full potential as people.
• Both Authoritarian and Humanistic Conscience are human potentialities which develop in the so-
cial and cultural context. They are influenced by ethical norms formed over thousands of years.
Conscience as a psychological phenomenon
• Sigmund Freud - distinguished between three elements of the mind:
1. The Id - unconscious, instinctive part of the personality dealign with basic physi-
cal and emotional needs.
2. The Ego - rational self. Mediates between desires of the Id and what the world
lets us have.
• There is no universally accepted definition of conscience. It is often presumed to be:
• The inner conviction that something is right or wrong
• Linked with ideas of guilt and shame
• Regarded as intuitive
• A fundamental awareness we have of ourselves as thinking individuals
• Which comes first - a persons conscience or their set of moral principles?
• Is conscience individual or shared within society/religion?
Conscience as behaviour developed through social interaction
• Lawrence Kohlberg defined the stages of moral development from birth:
- Pre-conventional = learning right from wrong through punishment and obedience.
- Conventional = This begins with good inter-personal relationships and leads to the de-
cision to obey society’s rules, avoiding guilt. Many never pass this stage.
- Post-conventional = Utilitarian recognition of the need for your individual needs to give
way in order for society to benefit. Further development occurs leading to individu-
alised conscience. This is where th person feels guilty when their decisions are not
consistent and universalisable. Comparatively few reach this level.
- Kohlberg tested his theory by presenting people with moral dilemmas and classifying
them according to the criteria above.
• David Hume criticised this view arguing that conscience is not based on moral reasoning but
rather a gut reaction or intuition.
• Furthermore, “reason should be a slave of the passions” Reason is used afterwards to justify the
decision not when making it.
Conscience as sanctions or social conditioning
• Emile Durkheim - argued that conscience is social conditioning - the sanctions that the group
brings to bear on the individual. Having ‘no conscience’ is simply being socially maladjusted.
• God is society. He does not actually exist but is a useful idea as belief in God gives individuals a
moral obligation to obey society’s demands.
• Conscience is a perception of loyalty to the group and fear of societal judgement.
• A collective conscience is the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average citizen of
the same society. It is organic.
• His ideas are reinforced by the idea of evolutionary conscience. This is the idea put forward by
Richard Dawkins that living and cooperating as part of a community has a survival advantage.
The Authoritarian and Humanistic Conscience
• Erich Fromm argues that conscience and a sense of moral responsibility arise out of a fear of be-
ing rejected by society, which is based on obedience to rules and conformity to norms.
• Human beings are reduced to a state of obedience from birth; free will is an illusion.
• The supreme sin is disobedience which leads to fear and guilt.
• This is an authoritarian conscience because what troubles the person is that they have broken
the rules, not the actual thing that they have done.
• We may develop a Humanistic Conscience, which is intuitive/instinctive knowledge of what
makes life flourish and what destroys it. When we reject the authoritarian form and move onto the
humanistic form, we realise our full potential as people.
• Both Authoritarian and Humanistic Conscience are human potentialities which develop in the so-
cial and cultural context. They are influenced by ethical norms formed over thousands of years.
Conscience as a psychological phenomenon
• Sigmund Freud - distinguished between three elements of the mind:
1. The Id - unconscious, instinctive part of the personality dealign with basic physi-
cal and emotional needs.
2. The Ego - rational self. Mediates between desires of the Id and what the world
lets us have.
