Understanding Moral Conscience, Freedom, and Responsibility
Moral Conscience
Moral conscience is the application of reason to assess, discern, and freely respond to values. It is the aspect of a person that recognizes and embraces values guided by reason and moral sensitivity. The result is expressed in moral judgments or ethical assessments. A duty-based approach defines freedom as the connection between a person’s goals and the means to achieve them, which we call responsibility.
The development of moral conscience is related to cognitive, affective, and social development. Moral maturity involves learning to make decisions independently while considering others.
Dilemmas
A dilemma is a problematic situation with multiple potential solutions, requiring a person to judge the best course of action. Individual motivation evolves from fear of consequences to adherence to universal principles of justice.
Moral Criticism
Marxism
Marxism views morality as a form of ideological alienation, a distorted reflection of social reality where classes are in conflict.
Nietzsche
According to Nietzsche, Western moral philosophy has constructed a grand moral and metaphysical fiction. Morality stems from resentment and a fear of life, representing a morality of submission. He argues that humanity must transcend good and evil, creating genuine value for life.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis explains moral conscience as a product of the superego. Conscience is the internalized voice of social prohibitions and taboos.
Freedom and Moral Demands
The Meaning of Freedom
Freedom is a necessary prerequisite for moral action. Without freedom, there can be no morality or responsibility.
External Physical Freedom
This refers to freedom of action, the absence of physical constraints. We always experience some degree of limitation.
Internal Moral Freedom
This is freedom from compulsion and the ability to choose otherwise. It can be understood in two ways:
- Spontaneous Will: A will that creates even the subject who exercises it. The person decides randomly or arbitrarily, demonstrating the absoluteness of their freedom. This is called free will or freedom of indifference, where one is not predisposed to any particular choice.
- Will with Identity: A person already possesses an identity that cannot be renounced. When choosing, they must do so in accordance with who they are. This creates a paradox arising from the limitation of the decision. The human being does what they are, and must choose what aligns with their being. This is our distinctively human freedom.
Freedom of Reason or Thought
The spirit is free to think, but is linked to truth. Freedom is a necessity, understood as progressive liberation.
Freedom and Responsibility
Progress in freedom is interpreted as the recovery of an active subject in an open society, as a liberation of politics and social responsibility. Responsibility is a creative task in the face of world dilemmas. It involves overcoming civic apathy and indifference to others. The responsibility of the individual transforms them into a citizen. This participation is a virtuous practice of civility or citizenship.
The Injustice of Evil
- Physical Evil: Attributed to natural causes, raising metaphysical questions about the goodness of being and even the existence of a supreme being.
- Moral Evil: Arises from our decisions, is rejected, and calls into question the meaning of freedom. Some philosophers believe moral evil results from ignorance or choosing a particular good over the ultimate good. Others argue that evil is simply the absence of good. If good is eliminated, we become physical and moral automatons.