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Conscience

Aquinas, Butler and Newman on Conscience

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1

Overview

Recall questions on Aquinas's synderesis and conscientia and whether a mistaken conscience must be followed, Butler's conscience beside self-love and benevolence, and Newman's two elements of conscience.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

In Aquinas's theory of conscience, what is synderesis?

Key term

How did Butler distinguish conscience from self-love and benevolence?

Process

Which part of conscience cannot err, and does a mistaken conscience still bind?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    In Aquinas's theory of conscience, what is synderesis?

    Model answer

    Synderesis is the innate habit or disposition toward understanding the first principles of morality, the natural orientation toward doing good and avoiding evil.

  2. 2

    What does Aquinas mean by conscientia?

    Model answer

    Conscientia is the act of applying moral principles to particular situations, the practical application of synderesis to specific actions.

  3. 3

    According to Aquinas, why can conscience sometimes lead us astray?

    Model answer

    Conscience can err due to faulty reasoning when applying moral principles to specific situations, even though the underlying orientation toward good (synderesis) remains intact.

  4. 4

    How does Aquinas distinguish between synderesis and conscientia in terms of their capacity for error?

    Model answer

    Synderesis is the innate orientation toward good that cannot err, while conscientia is the fallible process of applying this orientation to specific actions and can make mistakes.

  5. 5

    According to Aquinas, must we follow our conscience even when it is mistaken?

    Model answer

    Yes, conscience binds us to act according to its judgments even when mistaken, though we remain morally culpable if the error results from our own negligence.

  6. 6

    What role did Butler assign to conscience in moral decision-making?

    Model answer

    Butler argued conscience is the supreme authority in moral decision-making, a God-given faculty that intuitively distinguishes right from wrong and should always be obeyed.

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