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The concept of conscience — the inner sense of right and wrong — is one of the most debated topics in ethics and philosophy of religion. The AQA A-Level specification requires you to understand a range of perspectives on the nature, origin, and authority of conscience, from theological accounts (Aquinas, Butler, Newman) to secular psychological explanations (Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Fromm). The central question is: what is conscience, and should we always follow it?
Key Definition: Conscience is the inner faculty or sense by which a person judges the moral quality of their own actions, intentions, and character. Different thinkers disagree fundamentally about its origin (God, reason, socialisation) and its authority (infallible, fallible, or merely psychological).
Aquinas provided the most influential theological account of conscience. He distinguished between two aspects:
Synderesis (sometimes spelled synteresis) is the innate, unchanging disposition to seek good and avoid evil. It is a fundamental principle of practical reason implanted in all rational beings by God. Synderesis is never wrong — it always points towards the good.
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