Conscience: An Interdisciplinary View: Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities

311 Pages·1987·13.61 MB·English

by  Lawrence Kohlberg (auth.), Gerhard Zecha, Paul Weingartner (eds.)

CONSCIENCE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEW
THEORY AND DECISION LIBRARY
General Editors: W. Leinfellner and G. Eberlein
Series A: Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences
Editors: W. Leinfellner (Technical University of Vienna)
G. Eberlein (Technical University of Munich)
Series B: Mathematical and Statistical Methods
Editor: H. Skala (University of Paderborn)
Series C: Game Theory, Mathematical Programming and Mathematical
Ecunomics
Editor: S. Tijs (University of Nijmegen)
Series D: System Theory, Knowledge Engineering and Problem Solving
Editor: W. Janko (University of Vienna)
SERIES A: PHILOSOPHY AND METHODOLOGY OF THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
Editors: W. Leinfellner (Technical University of Vienna)
G. Eberlein (Technical University of Munich)
Editorial Board
M. Bunge (Montreal), J. S. Coleman (Chocago), M. Dogan (Paris), 1. Elster (Oslo),
L. Kern (Munich), I. Levi (New York), R. Mattessich (Vancouver), A. Rapoport
(Toronto), A. Sen (Oxford), R. Tuomela (Helsinki), A. Tversky (Stanford).
Scope
This series deals with the foundations, the general methodology and the criteria, goals and
purpose of the social sciences. The emphasis in the new Series A will be on well-argued,
thoroughly analytical rather than advanced mathematical treatments. In this context,
particular attention will be paid to game and decision theory and general philosophical topics
from mathematics, psychology and economics, such as game theory, voting and welfare
theory, with applications to political science, sociology, law and ethics.
CONSCIENCE:
AN
INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEW
Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in
the Sciences and Humanities
Edited by
GERHARD ZECHA
and
PAUL WEINGARTNER
Institute for Theoretical Science.
Salzburg International Research Centre.
and Department of Philosophy.
University of Salzburg. Austria
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
DORDRECHT / BOSTON / LANCASTER / TOKYO
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (1984)
Conscience: an interdisciplinary view.
(Theory and decision library. Series A, Philosphy and methodology of the
social sciences)
Includes indexes.
\. Conscience-Congresses. I. Zecha, Gerhard. II. Weingartner,
Paul. III. Title. IV. Series.
BJ47\.S18 1984 171.6 87-4343
ISBN·13 978·94·0 I 0·8200·6 e·ISBN·13 978·94·009·3821·2
001 10.1007/978·94·009·3821·2
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
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All Rights Reserved
© 1987 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE vii
PHOTOGRAPH xiii
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS xv
PART 1 / CONSCIENCE: FOUNDATIONAL ASPECTS
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG / Conscience as Principled 3
Responsibility: On the Philosophy of Stage Six
Discussion 16
JOSEF FUCHS SJ / The Phenomenon of Conscience: 27
Subject-Orientation and Object-Orientation
Discussion 47
PART 2 / CONSCIENCE: SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL
ASPECTS
GERHARD ZECHA / V alue-Neutrality, Conscience, 59
and the Social Sciences
Discussion 78
GEORG LIND / Moral Competence and Education 91
in Democratic Society
Discussion 111
ANN HIGGINS / The Idea of Conscience in High School 123
Students. Development of Judgments of Respon-
sibility in Democratic Just Community Programs
Discussion 150
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 3/ CONSCIENCE: SPECIAL TOPICS
GUNTER VIRT / Conscience in Conflict? 165
Discussion 191
PAUL WEINGARTNER / Aquinas' Theory of Conscience 201
from a Logical Point of View
Discussion 217
HEINRICH SCHOLLER / The Ambivalent Relationship of 231
Law and Freedom of Conscience: Intensification and
Relaxation of Conscience Through the Legal System
Discussion 252
HANS STR01ZKA / Psychoanalysis and Ethics 263
Discussion 280
INDEX OF NAMES 295
INDEX OF SUBJECTS 301
PREFACE
Value change and uncertainty about the validity of traditional
moral convictions are frequently observed when scientific re
search confronts us with new moral problems or challenges the
moral responsibility of the scientist. Which ethics is to be relied
on? Which principles are the most reasonable, the most humane
ones? For want of an appropriate answer, moral authorities of
ten point to conscience, the individual conscience, which seems
to be man's unique, directly accessible and final source of moral
contention. But what is meant by 'conscience'? There is hardly
a notion as widely used and at the same time as controversial as
that of conscience.
In the history of ethics we can distinguish several trends in
the interpretation of the concept and function of conscience. The
Greeks used the word O"uvEt81lm~ to denote a kind of 'accompa
nying knowledge' that mostly referred to negatively experienced
behavior. In Latin, the expression conscientia meant a knowing
together pointing beyond the individual consciousness to the
common knowledge of other people. In the Bible, especially in
the New Testament, O"uvEt81l0"t~ is used for the guiding con
sciousness of the morality of one's own action.
S1. Augustine described the Golden Rule as 'written con
science' and as lex naturalis. Since God has written this law into
the heart of man, 'conscience' can be understood as 'the voice
of God'. St. Thomas Aquinas distinguished, as it was usual in
medieval times, between synderesis as a natural habitual knowl
edge of general principles of action and conscientia as the ap
plication of knowledge to a special act. He described three
functions of conscientia in control and decision procedures and
explained the logic of judgments of conscience in detail. Imma
nuel Kant typically identified 'conscience' as consciousness
which is duty in itself; he also called it 'the law within us', and
was sharply criticized by Arthur Schopenhauer, who rejected
this concept of conscience as a forum internum and instead pre
ferred to view conscience as 'moral self-determination'.
vii
Vlll PREFACE
In the twentieth century three main trends can be identified:
(1) Conscience as natural consciousness of values either
rooted in value emotions (Max Scheler, Nicolai Hartmann) or
pointing to some transcendental authority (Viktor Cathrein, Vik
tor Frankl). This means that conscience does not create values
autonomously but rather presupposes them.
(2) Contrary to this, existential philosophers point to a very
self-conscious type of conscience, e.g. Karl Jaspers, 'In con
science a voice speaks to me which is myself ['1m Gewissen
spricht eine Stimme zu mir, die ich selbst bin'] or Martin Heid
egger, 'In conscience Dasein calls itself [,Das Dasein ruft im
Gewissen sich selbst'].
(3) Still another theory of conscience is conceived by Sig
mund Freud. The values and norms of the society or culture em
bodied in the authority of the father on the one hand and the
desire to identify oneself with the simultaneously feared and
beloved father on the other originate an ideal in the unconscious.
Freud called this ideal Super-Ego, and it plays the role of a very
strict judge and causes, therefore, the so-called 'qualms of con
science'.
In this rich but also somewhat perplexing tradition experts of
many disciplines are now working on a new understanding of
the concepts, contents, and functions of conscience. To ascer
tain the present status of research, an international colloquium
was organized on the topic with the title 'Conscience: An Inter
disciplinary View' and took place on 30 July - 1 August 1984 at
the Institut fUr Wissenschaftstheorie of the International Re
search Center Salzburg, Austria. Scholars from various discip
lines were invited to report on their work on conscience and to
compare and discuss their results with colleagues from other
disciplines. The present volume contains not only all the papers
that were read at the colloquium, all of which are original con
tributions, but also the discussions that followed immediately
after the presentation of each paper. These discussions are very
important as they contain additional information and useful
clarifications; they point to open questions and sometimes critic
ally even to problematic suggestions.
PREFACE ix
The collection is divided into three parts:
Part 1: Conscience: Foundational Aspects
Part 2: Conscience: Social and Educational Aspects
Part 3: Conscience: Special Topics
In Part 1, Lawrence Kohlberg, after commenting on the
question why moral psychology needs moral philosophy, des
cribes the philosophical implications of his famous Six Stage
Theory of cognitive moral development to the effect that each
higher stage is a better stage in both a psychological and a phil
osophical sense. The philosophically most challenging Stage 6
is connected with the concepts of principle, reversibility, respect
for persons, and judgments of conscience. Kohlberg expounds
these concepts and their interrelations by illustrating the moral
point of view, the dialogue condition and ideal consensus with a
Stage 6 example that also makes clear the motivational force of
responsibility at this stage of moral thinking.
Josef Fuchs SJ distinguishes two fundamentally different
aspects of conscience: the subject-orientation and the object-ori
entation. Conscience is, above all, subject-related in the sense of
having an inner knowledge, a self-consciousness that is existent
in every person's life. In this respect, the primary interest of
conscience is the moral goodness of the subject, whereas moral
rightness is a secondary element, belonging to conscience but
mainly connected with practical reason. Here the nonnative and
evaluative functions of conscience are at stake. What is morally
right often depends on personal interests and dispositions,
hence opinions and moral judgments may differ. Dialogue and
consensus nourish the hope of acquiring moral truths, leaving
untouched the conscience's subject-orientation. Finally, a series
of traditional problems (e.g., universal norms and the con
science in a concrete situation) are discussed in the light of this
distinction.
Part 2 addresses various social sciences, especially social and
educational aspects of conscience.
Gerhard Zecha is concerned with the crucial role that con
science may play in the moral responsibility of the social scien
tist. Many social scientists pursue as responsible scientists strict
objectivity, which entails value-neutrality. But there are also
x PREFACE
other thinkers who argue for an elimination of value-neutrality
from the social sciences. Referring to these controversial views,
Zecha first clarifies the notions of value-neutrality and re
sponsibility. He then describes and critically analyzes two
suggestions for introducing norms and value-judgments into the
object-language of the social scientist. In this connection he
alludes to some of the so-called discipline-oriented values and
finally proposes a normative concept of conscience which sup
ports a general framework for justifying valuations and recom
mendations in his field.
This is in a way illustrated by Georg Lind's paper, which
views conscience in the context of society and education. The
main question, 'Do institutions of education in our societies fos
ter moral judgment competence?', he answers positively after
reviewing an impressive body of research findings related to
this problem. With respect to these empirical data he argues for
a series of requirements to the effect that extraordinary value
conflicts and difficulties with norms and principles call for a
development of extraordinary moral competency. Improving the
moral cognitive development may be achieved by fostering gen
eral education as well as the moral atmosphere of schools and
colleges, Lind concludes.
This is, indeed, exactly what Ann Higgins shows in her con
tribution: that judgments of responsibility can be taken as one
manifestation of the idea of conscience and that certain social
environments and educational institutions do have an influence
on the ability to make such judgments of responsibility. In this
project, three alternative democratic high schools using the just
community idea of education and three traditional high schools
were studied. The students were asked to respond to moral di
lemmas. Their responses were analyzed and compared with one
another. The democratic school students turned out to be more
socially responsible than their regular high school comparison
students in favoring prosocial responsibility, in making judg
ments of responsibility and in their stage of judgment. This is -
according to Higgins -the effect of a different moral atmosphere
of the democratic schools where a strong sense of collective