‘Conscience Is the Voice of God’ Discuss. - 1152 Words

‘Conscience is the voice of god’ Discuss. Most people would agree that conscience is the reasoned voice inside us that guides and tells us what we should and shouldn’t do. However peoples views on the origins of conscience can differ a lot; whether people belief its Gods doing or whether it’s innate or even whether it is acquired. In this essay I will be showing the viewpoints of various philosophers with their beliefs on whether conscience is or isn’t the voice of God. Ultimately I believe that conscience is not the voice of God. John Henry Newman believed that conscience was the voice of God, and that following the suggestions of your conscience gives the same significance as to follow God’s laws and values. Newman used†¦show more content†¦It is not an instinctive feeling about what is right - instead, it is an ability to use reason to weigh up factors in a moral decision. Butler says we have a number of influences, but the conscience should not be seen as merely one among many drives or passions. The conscience should have ultimate authority over all of our instincts. On the other hand, there are also beliefs that our conscience is not the voice of God – shown by the views of Sigmund Freud and Erich Fromm. Freud believed that people were psychologically conditioned to act in a certain way, and their sense of right and wrong are not absolutes, but depend on our life experience and our society. Freud believed that figures such as parents, religion and school impose a great influence on our decision-making than our conscience, which is said to be the voice of God. These ‘rules’ influenced on us are believed to over ride the conscience that is innate. An individual therefore leans to restrain its desires by the rules it as internalised through other types of authority, excluding God. According to Freud, a good conscience was the result of following the rules; a guilty conscience was when instincts were followed and rules are consequently broken. These rules can be so deeply ingrained as they have been influenced at such a young age that people may feel their conscience is the voice of God, when in fact they have inherited these rules and guilt. Erich Fromm also supported the view that conscience isShow MoreRelatedOnly God can be the source of moral awareness. Discuss. (10 marks)883 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Heloise Tudor Only God can be the source of moral awareness. Discuss. (10) Moral awareness is sometimes referred to as the human conscience, it supposedly separates us from other animals and allows us to function as a society. A moral is a value that we live our lives by and each one contributes to a moral code of conduct which then becomes a country’s laws. 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