A2 Religious Ethics Revision Conscience 4

Sigmund Freud () ( )

best known for his analysis of the human psyche or mind

He believed that the key to human behaviour was in people’s instincts and desires

Behaving instinctively is often contrary to the interests of the community.

Freud Because of this, people disapprove of certain types of behaviour

Freud Remember the young child playing in the bath and his mother’s disapproval? Remember the young child playing in the bath and his mother’s disapproval?

Consequently, instinctive desires and behaviour are suppressed from an early age

and individuals develop an EGO with which to interact with society

At the same time society’s disapproval of ‘inappropriate’ behaviour is internalised by the SUPER-EGO

Super-Ego? This internalisation deals with the ego’s suppressed anger and bewilderment at the requirements of society

Super-Ego? This internal suppression leads to the development of a guilty conscience

Super-Ego? Freud also suggested that a child identifies closely with its parent

Super-Ego? The ‘super-ego’ becomes an ‘inner parent’

Super-Ego? rewarding the good behaviour and punishing the bad

Super-Ego? Remember Hitchcock’s film, ‘Psycho’?

Super-Ego? “Yes, mother...” (even though she was no more than a mummified corpse!)

The Super-Ego divides into the Ego-IdealandConscience

Ego-Ideal represents the ‘rewarding’ parent leading to feelings of pride and satisfaction

Conscience represents the ‘punishing’ parent’ causes feelings of guilt and discomfort for immoral acts

Freud’s analysis of human behaviour is often seen to be discredited by his elaborate account of the effects of sexuality on the psychological development of human beings

However, others have developed Freud’s ideas

They argue that conscience develops through past experiences, especially those of childhood

Children learn their behaviour from their parents, carers and teachers

Parents encourage good behaviour and punish bad

The way they do this affects the moral development of the child

The admonishments can be displays of anger, disappointment or even controlled violence (i.e. a smack)

The child becomes anxious as it tries to avoid the displeasure of the adult

Eventually this anxiety is felt when the child even thinks about an immoral act

This - for Freudians and some modern psychologists - is the conscience