Aquinas' theological approach

For Aquinas, Conscience is: a rational and intellectual response to the laws of God revealed in nature and through scripture, "The application of knowledge to activity"

Conscience: a person's reason for making moral judgments.

Ratio

• Aquinas adopts a reasoned approach to decision-making, arguing for "ratio" something that has been placed within us as a consequence of being placed by God and is reason in practice.
• Aquinas did not think that the conscience was an independent special faculty or power capable of telling people what is right from wrong.
• Conscience is a part of the human reason: ratio and this is what separates us from other animals
• "So God created mankind in his own image" (Genesis 1:27)

Synderesis

• Synderesis: the inclination to do good and avoid evil.

• As a result of our innate God given conscience, Aquinas says we have a natural inclination towards the good (Synderesis) which allows us to support our faith in God and guide us into making the right moral decisions.

• Our conscience is therefore fallible, however, we still have a duty to always follow it.

• Sensuality: temptation towards evil. However:

• Is an inclination towards the good evident in human moral life?

• Why should we follow a fallible conscience, a weak and misled conscience is surely not going to provide us with satisfactory guidance.

• If our moral life is influenced by God do we still have free will? However:

Aquinas argues that just because we desire good, it does not commit us to the right or good action as we are still humans tainted by the original sin and still need the guidance of the church and Bible.

Conscientia

• Conscience is an act within a person that arises through the application of ratio to synderesis and applying the right reason to moral dilemmas.
• It is not a voice giving commands but is a kind of movement that begins with the understanding of certain things that are naturally known as immutable principles without investigation and it ends with the intellectual activity by which we make judgments on the basis of these principles.
• "Reason is making the right decisions"

Invincible ignorance

• It is impossible to give consent if we are ignorant of facts
• Invincible ignorance: Ignorance that we cannot be blamed for that is not easily overcome (eg being too young to make an important decision.)
• A person acts to the best of their knowledge, having done all they can to reasonably inform themselves, but nonetheless get it wrong anyway.
• Aquinas does not believe that God will condemn humans for invincible ignorance. If they fear God and live according to their conscience, God in this infinite mercy will still give them salvation

Vincible ignorance

• Vincible ignorance: Ignorance that can be overcome easily. Which we are blamed for.
• This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good"
• A lack of knowledge for which a person can be held responsible
• They ought to have known better
• Vincible ignorance is not an excuse and a person who demonstrates vincible ignorance is morally culpable for the acts carried out as a result

Aquinas asserts that the classic functions of conscience stem from applying our understanding of natural moral law to our actions in three ways:

1. Witness: Conscience allows us to recognize whether we have performed or neglected an action.
2. Bind & Incite: Through conscience, we determine that certain actions ought to be performed or avoided.
3. Accuse, Torment, & Rebuke: Conscience enables us to judge the morality of our actions, leading us to feel that something was done rightly or wrongly.

Erring Conscience: Believing one is right when one is not when one's conscience is in error

Critique of Aquinas' approach to Conscience

• Why should we follow a conscience which is fallible and misled?
• The amount of evil we see in the universe contradicts an inclination towards the good, clearly, humans do not have an innate understanding of what is good.
• If we all humans have a god-given conscience, why is there not more agreement and cohesiveness within society
• If Conscience is God given and influences our every actions, do we have free will?
• Fletcher- what is right and wrong is related to the situation we are in (moral relativism)
• Aquinas is too optimistic about human nature, we have proved that we do not have an inclination towards the good.
• Karl Barth: Aquinas places too much emphasis on corrupted reason.

Strengths of Aquinas' approach to Conscience

• Recognizes we can develop, giving weight to the role of reason and education in the development of the conscience.
• Conscience as a "signpost", helps guide us and support our Christian faith.
• Aquinas acknowledges the reality of morality within human society, where we have a shared idea of what is right and good however that does not stop us from acting against our conscience and acting immorally.

Augustine

• Augustine takes a literal interpretation of conscience
• Goodness comes from God
• Hiding one's actions and unwillingness to confess them to God leaves to distances between God and Man
• To disobey your conscience is to disobey God
• Conscience has divine authority. (Divine Command theory)
• Conscience is a result of God's love.
• Because God is benevolent and the source of all virtue, comparison with God is the most reliable moral guide we have.
• Conscience is awareness of our own inadequacies when compared to God's ultimate virtue.

Saint John Newman

• Conscience is a detector of truth
• We fear displeasing God and therefore obey our conscience
• Conscience has divine authority

Saint John Newman

• Conscience is Gods intuition
• Exerts itself without consultation
• Divine and infallible