Introduction
Conscience determines the type of actions that are morally right or morally wrong. In order to find out whether the conscience is factor that brings about morally good actions or not it is important to know first what the definition of conscience is. Conscience is defined as the inner most feeling or voice that guides a person in the path of doing something wrong or good. When it comes to the topic of conscience been the guide for ones doing morally good or evil things is something that has been discussed by money, there are those who believe that the conscious is the one that guides while there are those who dispute this fact. According to the moral values in this case can be said to have come from the norms or the values of the people in the society (Chalmers).
There are many views that have come out of the word conscience some of the views are stated to be psychological in that the person is said to be having the feelings of remorse or guilt for doing something that goes against the social values of the individuals. The moral judgment in this case is what has brought about many problems because there have been many disputes that have come from it. The other views have also come from the religious groups in the society. According to the religious groups, in the society they believe that conscience is the one that enables a person to be able to have the knowledge about good and the evil (Kohlberg). These is one of the views that many people in the society have come to accept and believe in. There is however, some of the views that have been stated by the philosophers in the world. Some of the notable philosophers are Sigmund Freud.
Conscience is associated with guilt
The conscience has been closely linked to the sense of guild. There are many people who have a firm belief that the sense of guilt that a person gets is associated with the level of conscience. This belief has been stated by Sigmund Freud. According to the views of Sigmund Freud, he claims that the feeling of guilt has been brought on by the conscience of the mind (Chalmers). In this view, he states it in a psychological manner. In his views, he claims how when people are being brought up when they are children they are taught about the values of the society.
The values that the people are being taught is what will bring about the moral awareness for people in their adulthood. The moral awareness will be in the conscience mind that will be able to make a person see that what they are doing is going against the values once taught. The reasoning that is been given by Freud shows that the people who have not been taught about the value of the society. They will not be able to make the reasoning about what is right and what is wrong.
In looking at the reasoning of Freud, it is quite clear how he believes that the morality of people in the society has been brought on by the early upbringing where they are been taught what is right and wrong. This kind of reasoning is very true because most of the values that human beings have in the society has been taught to them when they were younger. This reasoning also shows that some people who are considered to be living immorally I the society might actually be living morally in their own opinions.
There are some people who when they are brought up they are taught the values where they are told that stealing, killing and fighting is morally justified. They will grow up knowing that this kind of living is morally good. Then because of their upbringing or living conditions shows that no one is supposed to judge this people in any way or form. There are others who are never taught on the values of the society therefore, they will not be able to understand that what they are doing is right or wrong. Their conscience of morality and values will not be able to register and make the make the best decisions (Langston).
Conscience as a means of applying moral principles
The conscience has been stated by some of the philosophers that it causes the person to do a particular action (Pitrat). Joseph Butler is stated to have claimed that the conscience of the people is what has brought about the application of the oral principles of the people. According to him, he believes that the people are able to be making some certain decision based on their conscience. This will make them to at times refrain from making some certain actions that seems to be morally wrong. Butler states that in life there are two types of aspects about human beings (Butler). The aspects are the appetites that people have and the passions that people have. He claims that the conscience will enable the overruling of one’s appetite. This statement can be seen or be compared to that of Plato where he claims the will power ones reasoning will cause them to have the will power of controlling their appetites.
In looking at this reasoning, made by Butler it is quite clear that he believes that the conscience is an agent that controls ones actions. The case that Butler is trying to state is about the aspects of human beings, which are the appetites and affections. In looking at the reasoning, that is being found in the statements being made by Butler is that the conscience of an individual will cause them to refrain from their appetites, this refrain will cause a person to live morally right when they have refrained from their passions and appetites. When the conscious mind does not alert the individual about the negativity of following ones desire then the person is stated that will do something that will be considered to be morally wrong (Kohlberg).
Consciousness is intuition
According to G E Moore, he states that the phrase that states a person to be good in the society does not exists. The reason for stating this is that he believes that the definition of good cannot be stated, the reason for implying this is because of the he had a firm belief that the people already had the intuition that they are supposed to act good in the society. This is the reason why most people are able to live upstanding lives without being told by anyone on how they are supposed to live morally good lives.
He also claims that a person’s sense of what is morally good or bad is based on the inner feeling that a person might contain this is the reason why he states that the conscience of person is very good instrument in the starting of the morality. The reason for this statement is that when the person does not have that inner feeling or intuition then they will not be able to know the difference between what is right or wrong thus they may be able to live immoral lives in accordance to the society.
Conscience as the natural ability
According to the works of Aquinas, it states that the conscience is a natural ability that will cause the human being to know the actions they are doing is either morally wrong or morally right. However, he has a firm belief that the people have the ability to be unable to have the moral sense o make the moral upright decisions (Davies). The reason for stating this is that the people are usually being influenced by their desires and passions. This is one of the common mistakes that people make in the world that causes them to make wrong decisions that are immoral in the society and in the eyes of God.
According to him, there are some beliefs that to other people might seem morally wrong while to other people I might seem morally right (White). This therefore, makes it hard for one to come up with the conclusion of whether a certain decision that was taking was either right or wrong. He states that there are some circumstances where a person will do something that to everyone else in the region will perceive it to be morally wrong but at the end of the day the decision made was for the right reason. In looking at this case it is quite obvious that Aquino’s is trying to state that the conscience of a person will make them to make the general moral view that they might have in their lives (Davies).
In looking at the point, that is being made by Aquino’s in this statement is that the he has beliefs that can be stated to being followed by most of the religious groups. In the thought, he has a firm believe that the conscience of a person has been brought on the knowledge of what or right or wrong. The knowledge of knowing what is wrong will cause a person to be able to live a life that is morally upright. He was also able to come up with the fact that there are some decisions that are made that seem to be morally wrong but at the end of the day, the decision had to be made. This can be seen from the killings of the gangsters or terrorist in the society.
Killing is known to be a very immoral act but due to the number of people that have been victimized makes it justifiable for them to be killed. There is also the death penalty that has existed in the United States of America for years. The death penalty has a lot of views in that some people do not believe in it since it is morally wrong while there are those who believe that it is the best solutions to stop rime and will be a lesson to others who want to commit the same crimes.
Aquino’s has also made it clear that there are some actions that people make are caused by the values that the community have. Different communities in the world have different values in that the values that they might have might differ with that of another community in that they are stated to be doing something that is morally wrong. The point that seems to be coming from this fact is that the morality of some certain community should not be evaluated for all the communities. This is because there are some things that make people unique and culture is one of them. If the culture makes a person to do something that is, morally wrong to another then it is important to nit judge and respect the culture of the person (D'Arcy).
In conclusion, the conscience has been proven to be a very important tool that will cause a person to either make right moral decisions or make the wrong moral decisions. The reasoning of this fact is what has led to many people in the world to do researchers in order to come up with better clues of how the conscience plays a big role on the decisions made morally. Some of the researches have shown that the conscience is influential to human beings because it helps people to understand the moral decisions they should make and how it will affects their values. The values of the individuals have shown how important it is for some individuals. The reason for stating this is that there are some decisions that are applied that will defiantly be immoral but for the sake of good, it has to be done.
This is the reason why the death penalty was formulated by the government. For many people the death penalty is sheer immoral but for some they see it as a sense of justice. The people also believe that the conscious is an intuition that people have. This intuition is what informs them of what they are doing is morally good or bad (D'Arcy). In looking at all the claims it is clear that the vies that were given by Sigmund Freud seem to be authentic. The reason for stating this is because he believed that the people when they are taught on certain values when they are younger they will use those lessons subconsciously to make moral decision. This is true because when human beings are taught on the values of their culture when younger those values stick to them until their adulthood where the conscious mind will remind them of the values.
Work cited
Butler, Joseph. Sermons in The Works of Joseph Butler. Clarendon Press, 1896. Print
Chalmers, David. The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print
D'Arcy, Eric. Conscience and Its Right to Freedom. New York: Sheed and Ward Publisher, 1961. Print
Davies, Brain. The Thought of Thomas Aquinas. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. Print
Kohlberg, Lawrence. Conscience as principled responsibility: on the philosophy of stage six. An Interdisciplinary View, 1987. Print
Langston, Douglas. Conscience and Other Virtues: From Bonaventure to MacIntyre. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. Print
Pitrat, Jacques. Artificial Beings: The Conscience of a Conscious Machine. Wiley, 2009. Print
White, Katherine. Crisis of Conscience: Reconciling Religious Health Care Providers' Beliefs and Patients' Rights. Stanford Law Review, 1996. Print
