“Conscience is the voice of God
working within us.”
There are many philosophical perspectives about the conscience and its connexion with
God. From looking at genesis, it is clear ‘God created mankind in his own image,’ which
implies the conscience is the voice of God within us. However, Freud would disagree with
this and instead argued that our conscience is shaped by our upbringing. Despite counter
arguments, I think that it is not logical to believe that conscience is the voice of God because
our moral reasoning is clearly influenced by society and our upbringing.
John Henry Newman agreed the conscience is the voice of God. He described our
conscience as the ‘voice of the lawgiver,’ which influences our moral decision making.
Newman introduces the concept of the illative sense of moral judgement. The illative sense
guides us towards our ascent to the existence of God through all conscience which is where
we get feelings of guilt and responsibility. This argument is flawed as if conscience is the
voice of God within us, there would be no sociopaths as God is omnibenevolent and
wouldn't choose who has a conscience. Martha Stout estimated that 4% of people do not
have a conscience. If this was the case, then it would be not possible for God to be
omnibenevolent. If God was the voice of conscience, why doesn't God choose to stop
immoral acts? Loeb and Leopold well partners who committed tragic murders and showed
no remorse after. If their conscience was the voice of God, then surely, he would have
stopped or made them feel guilty. Therefore, I disagree with Newman as I think he doesn't
take into consideration that not everyone has conscience. He famously says, ‘to conscience
first, and to the Pope afterwards,’ which shows his belief that conscience should be
prioritised over the teachings of the Catholic Church. However, if you don't have a
conscience, this is problematic.
Thomas Aquinas disagreed that conscience is the voice of God, and instead believed the
conscience is an aspect of human reason. He thought that ratio was essential to moral life
and being able to distinguish what is right and wrong, which subsequently helps us to
understand what God sees as moral. Aquinas proposed a principle called synderesis, which
directs us towards good and away from evil. However, Aquinas acknowledges that
sensuality tempts us towards evil. This can be seen in the Garden of Eden when Adam and
Eve were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. Therefore, rather than conscience being a
voice of God, conscience is ‘reason making right decisions.’ I think this argument is
successful as it is more consistent then thinking that the conscience comes directly from
God. However, it is irrational to not consider how are moral reasoning is developed and
influenced by our upbringing. For example, Piaget believes that we don't have a conscience
until the age of 11, and before this we rely on external factors such as parents, to help us
make moral decisions.
Furthermore, Freud also agreed that conscience is not the voice of God working within us.
Instead, Freud believed that the conscience comes from an inner unconscious part of the
mind which is influenced from our upbringing. Therefore, people's sense of right and wrong
aren’t absolute but depends upon society and life. Instead of God being the voice of
working within us.”
There are many philosophical perspectives about the conscience and its connexion with
God. From looking at genesis, it is clear ‘God created mankind in his own image,’ which
implies the conscience is the voice of God within us. However, Freud would disagree with
this and instead argued that our conscience is shaped by our upbringing. Despite counter
arguments, I think that it is not logical to believe that conscience is the voice of God because
our moral reasoning is clearly influenced by society and our upbringing.
John Henry Newman agreed the conscience is the voice of God. He described our
conscience as the ‘voice of the lawgiver,’ which influences our moral decision making.
Newman introduces the concept of the illative sense of moral judgement. The illative sense
guides us towards our ascent to the existence of God through all conscience which is where
we get feelings of guilt and responsibility. This argument is flawed as if conscience is the
voice of God within us, there would be no sociopaths as God is omnibenevolent and
wouldn't choose who has a conscience. Martha Stout estimated that 4% of people do not
have a conscience. If this was the case, then it would be not possible for God to be
omnibenevolent. If God was the voice of conscience, why doesn't God choose to stop
immoral acts? Loeb and Leopold well partners who committed tragic murders and showed
no remorse after. If their conscience was the voice of God, then surely, he would have
stopped or made them feel guilty. Therefore, I disagree with Newman as I think he doesn't
take into consideration that not everyone has conscience. He famously says, ‘to conscience
first, and to the Pope afterwards,’ which shows his belief that conscience should be
prioritised over the teachings of the Catholic Church. However, if you don't have a
conscience, this is problematic.
Thomas Aquinas disagreed that conscience is the voice of God, and instead believed the
conscience is an aspect of human reason. He thought that ratio was essential to moral life
and being able to distinguish what is right and wrong, which subsequently helps us to
understand what God sees as moral. Aquinas proposed a principle called synderesis, which
directs us towards good and away from evil. However, Aquinas acknowledges that
sensuality tempts us towards evil. This can be seen in the Garden of Eden when Adam and
Eve were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. Therefore, rather than conscience being a
voice of God, conscience is ‘reason making right decisions.’ I think this argument is
successful as it is more consistent then thinking that the conscience comes directly from
God. However, it is irrational to not consider how are moral reasoning is developed and
influenced by our upbringing. For example, Piaget believes that we don't have a conscience
until the age of 11, and before this we rely on external factors such as parents, to help us
make moral decisions.
Furthermore, Freud also agreed that conscience is not the voice of God working within us.
Instead, Freud believed that the conscience comes from an inner unconscious part of the
mind which is influenced from our upbringing. Therefore, people's sense of right and wrong
aren’t absolute but depends upon society and life. Instead of God being the voice of
