A2 Religious Ethics A2 Religious Ethics RevisionRevision
Conscience 4Conscience 4
Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud
((1856 - 1939))
best known for his best known for his analysis of the analysis of the
human psyche or human psyche or mindmind
He believed that He believed that the key to human the key to human behaviour was in behaviour was in people’s instincts people’s instincts
and desiresand desires
Behaving Behaving instinctively is instinctively is
often contrary to often contrary to the interests of the interests of the community.the community.
FreudFreudBecause of this, people Because of this, people
disapprove of certain disapprove of certain types of behaviourtypes of behaviour
FreudFreud Remember the Remember the
young child young child playing in the bath playing in the bath and his mother’s and his mother’s
disapproval?disapproval?
Consequently, Consequently, instinctive instinctive desires and desires and
behaviour are behaviour are suppressed from suppressed from
an early agean early age
and individuals and individuals develop an develop an EGOEGO with which to with which to interact with interact with
societysociety
At the same timeAt the same timesociety’s disapproval society’s disapproval
of ‘inappropriate’ of ‘inappropriate’ behaviour is behaviour is
internalised by the internalised by the
SUPER-EGOSUPER-EGO
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
This internalisation This internalisation deals with the ego’s deals with the ego’s
suppressed suppressed angeranger and and bewildermentbewilderment at the at the
requirements of requirements of societysociety
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
This internal This internal suppression leads suppression leads
to the development to the development of aof a
guilty conscienceguilty conscience
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
Freud also Freud also suggested that a suggested that a child identifies child identifies closely with its closely with its
parentparent
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
The ‘super-ego’ The ‘super-ego’ becomes an becomes an
‘inner ‘inner parent’parent’
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
rewarding the rewarding the good behaviour good behaviour and punishing and punishing
the badthe bad
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
Remember Remember Hitchcock’s film, Hitchcock’s film,
‘‘PsychoPsycho’?’?
Super-Ego?Super-Ego?
““Yes, mother. . .”Yes, mother. . .”((even though she was even though she was
no more than a no more than a mummified corpse!)mummified corpse!)
The Super-Ego The Super-Ego divides into the divides into the
Ego-IdealEgo-Ideal
and and
ConscienceConscience
Ego-IdealEgo-Idealrepresents the represents the
‘rewarding’ parent‘rewarding’ parent
leading to feelings of leading to feelings of pride and satisfactionpride and satisfaction
ConscienceConscience
represents the represents the ‘‘punishing’ parent’punishing’ parent’
causes feelings of causes feelings of guilt and discomfort guilt and discomfort
for immoral actsfor immoral acts
Freud’s analysis of Freud’s analysis of human behaviour is human behaviour is
often seen to be often seen to be discredited by his discredited by his
elaborate account of the elaborate account of the effects of sexuality on effects of sexuality on
the psychological the psychological development of human development of human
beingsbeings
However, However, others have others have developed developed
Freud’s ideasFreud’s ideas
They argue that They argue that conscience conscience
develops through develops through past experiences, past experiences, especially those especially those
of of childhoodchildhood
Children learn Children learn their behaviour their behaviour
from their from their parents, carers parents, carers and teachersand teachers
Parents Parents encourage encourage
good good behaviour and behaviour and
punish badpunish bad
The way they The way they do this affects do this affects
the moral the moral development development of the childof the child
The admonishments The admonishments can be displays of can be displays of
anger, anger, disappointment or disappointment or
even controlled even controlled violence violence
(i.e. a smack)(i.e. a smack)
The child The child becomes anxious becomes anxious
as it tries to as it tries to avoid the avoid the
displeasure of displeasure of the adultthe adult
Eventually this Eventually this anxiety is felt anxiety is felt when the child when the child
even even thinksthinks about an about an
immoral actimmoral act
This - for This - for Freudians and Freudians and some modern some modern
psychologists - psychologists -
is the is the conscienceconscience