Critically assess the claim that the conscience is the voice of reason (35)

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JAN 2011

Critically assess the claim that conscience is the voice of reason. [35]

The origin of the conscience is much debated by both secular and religious beliefs. One may insist that the conscience is the voice of reason and this can be supported by Aquinas’ belief in the recta ratio. One may however discuss that the conscience is the voice of God, supported b y the Butler and Newman, or is influenced mainly by society, parents or authority figures, usually supported by secular views. This essay will critically asses these claims.

Aquinas believed that the conscience is the right reason (recta ration) and this reason is central to moral life to aid the conscience in choosing right from wrong. If man can use reason correctly, in line with the conscience, then it can help us to understand what it is God sees as good. We must use reason to what is good as some may perform bad actions due to faulty reasoning and thus commit sins; for example this is seen in the event of the man who slept with another man’s wife believing that is was his own wife and thus did not believe he was committing a sin. As this is faulty reasoning, the conscientia helps to distinguish between right and wrong. Along with the Synderesis rate it is vital for making moral decisions. Aquinas states that the conscience is the voice of reason as it enables man to fully assess good actions before taking them.

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Others if religious belief may argue that the conscience is the voice of God rather than the voice of reason. Both Newman and Butler argue that the conscience is the actual voice of God and thus makes us different from animals. As the conscience is seen as God-given, it is understandable for one to also believe that it must be his voice, and that by following our conscience we are effectively following divine law.  Believing this, Newman went on to say that man must also use reason to enable man to decide what God’s voice guides man towards. For Newman, ...

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