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Conscience summary for A-level Ethics
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ConscienceRatio The word used by Aquinas to describe reason, something which is placed in
everyone as a result of them being created by God.
Synderesis For Aquinas, this means to follow the good and avoid the evil, the rule that all
precepts follow.
Id For Freud, this is the part of the mind that has instinctive impulses that seek
satisfaction in pleasure.
Super-ego Freud uses this word to describe the part of the mind that contradicts the id and
uses internalise ideals from parents and society to make the ego behave morally.
Ego Freud uses this word to describe the mediation between the id and the super-ego.
Conscientia This is the name given by Aquinas to the process whereby a person’s reason
makes moral judgements.
Vincible This is how Aquinas describes a lack of knowledge for which a person is
ignorance responsible, and can be blamed.
Invincible This is how Aquinas describes a lack of knowledge for which a person is not
ignorance responsible, and cannot be blamed.
Aquinas’ theological approach to conscience
Ratio (reason)
Aquinas did not think that conscience was a part of the mind that tells us what is right or wrong. He
thought that you would have to understand reason (ratio). St Augustine thought that reason, the mind
and the intellect were all one power in humans but Aquinas distinguishes ratio (reason) as a separate
thing. He thought that ratio was what distinguishes humans apart from other animals as humans are
the only creatures that deliberate over moral matters. He thought that ratio was a divine gift from God.
Aquinas believed that ratio was a method of working things out and making a judgement not just an
act of comprehension. Aquinas was inspired by Paul’s letter to Romans which suggests that we can
move from the knowledge of this world to knowledge of the eternal world. Ratio allows us to make a
connection with the divine. This means that morality is not simply about doing that which is accepted
by the many, what is culturally, socially, or politically ‘normal’. Hannah Arendt, writing about the
holocaust, argues that when the norms or society become profoundly immoral, you must reject them.
Synderesis (good habit or right reason)
Aquinas thought that within people, there is a principle called synderesis that directs us towards good
and away from evil. Aquinas also noted that there was a force within us that tempted us towards evil
which was acting when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. However, he was positive about the
outcome of any conflict between the two. He has a positive outlook about humans’ capability to lean
towards the good. Synderesis is a habit that is learned, not a power, and humans can use ratio (the
ability to reason and make moral judgements) to cultivate the habit of synderesis.
Conscientia (moral judgement)
For Aquinas, conscience is an act within a person, arising when the knowledge gained from the
application of ratio to synderesis is applied to something we do. Conscience is ‘reason making right
decisions’. It is not a voice giving us commands.
Ignorance
Aquinas is clear the conscience is binding even if it is mistaken and lead us down the wrong path. To
go against reason is wrong. He believes that humans should always do what they feel right - using
reason (ratio), they can discern what is right. He acknowledges that humans can make mistakes
because the operation of ratio requires knowledge, which may be incomplete or wrong.
For Aquinas, a responsibly informed action cannot be blameworthy, even if it is wrong.
However, a person may act out of temptation or fail to educate themselves fully and cannot
therefore been completely blameless.
, Vincible ignorance is a lack of knowledge for which a person can be held responsible for -
they should have known better. They are morally culpable for their actions.
Invincible ignorance is a lack of knowledge for which a person is not responsible. A person has fully
educated themselves but still does not act what is in accordance to what is right or wrong. Aquinas
does not believe that God will condemn people for invincible ignorance. If they fear God and live
according to their conscience, God in his infinite mercy will give them salvation although they error.
Aquinas deliberately uses an unlikely scenario where a man sleeps with another man's wife but if he
really thought that the woman was his wife, then he is free from fault. Aquinas is trying to emphasise
that a person cannot be blamed for a genuine mistake even if it goes against a law or commandment,
such as adultery which is punishable by death.
Cardinal John Henry Newman in a letter in 1846 wrote; “conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ... I
shall drink to the Pope, if you please, still, to conscience first and to the Pope afterwards”. In this
quote, Newman is stressing that obedience to the conscience is more important than anything else.
You are morally responsible for your own actions and therefore cannot blame anyone else for your
actions - ‘I was just following orders’ is not acceptable.
People can feel deeply responsible for things that they could not have foreseen but if you practice
good habits and lean towards the good (synderesis), your reason (ratio) will help you act as well. And
if you try to gather knowledge to inform your decisions then your actions cannot be blameworthy
(invincible ignorance). This is conscientia in operation.
Aquinas has been criticised for not taking into account the environment in which people make
decisions in. Shame and guilt, regrets about past actions, and a misplaces sense of duty are just
some of the factors that affect our conscience and heavily influence our moral decision-making.
Freud’s psychological approach to conscience
According to Freud, conscience is not based on rational decision-making, it is a product of
psychological factors that influence humans. He developed the theory of psychosexual development
and argued that psychological development takes place in a number of fixed stages:
Oral (0-1 years): concerned with sucking and swallowing.
Anal (1-3 years): concerned with withholding and expelling.
Phallic (3-6 years): concerned with masturbation.
Latency (6 to puberty): concerned with the absence of sexual motivation.
Genital (puberty to adulthood): concerned with sexual intercourse.
Freud also thought that frustration in women was linked to penis envy. He also thought that boys
feared castration and wanted to replace their fathers so they had exclusive possession of their
mothers (Oedipus complex).
Much of his thinking has been challenged or rejected due to the lack of evidence for his notions.
However, he raised the idea that there is an inner unconscious that interacts with our conscious
awareness of our actions.
Freud argued that the human mind is made up of the unconscious mind (repressed thoughts and
feelings, including primitive desires, pleasure and dreams of gratification), the preconscious mind (the
memories not readily available but accessible) and the conscious mind (the thoughts a person
currently has, which the unconscious mind cannot access).
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