Deformations of conscience

Authors

  • Tadeusz Biesaga

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15633/lie.3471

Keywords:

Dietrich von Hildebrand, pseudo­norms, legalism, anarchism, extra­moral theories, extra­moral ideologies, moral values, extra­moral values, value response, reverent­ humble­loving center, concupiscent center, pride center

Abstract

The paper presents a description of moral pseudo­norms, which displace proper moral norms from our consciousness and action as well as distort our morality. The study analyzes mainly the pseudo­norms that generate the fundamentals of legalism and their opposition – the fundamentals of moral anarchism. The first groups of pseudo­norms identifies morality with civil law, especially criminal law. On the other hand the other group of pseudo­norms, equates morality with what is spontaneous, impulsive, authentic.


The paper analyzes not only the scope­ and content­related distortion of moral norms caused by the substitutes of morality, but it also reveals the reasons of creating the pseudo­ norms in our consciousness. These reasons are induced by the impact of the pride center and the concupiscent center on our value response and by preferring the extra­moral values over the moral ones. Exposing the mechanism of functioning of the pseudo­norms in our moral consciousness is useful not only for ethics but also for psychology and pedagogy as well as for self­education and moral development. 

Author Biography

  • Tadeusz Biesaga
    Tadeusz Biesaga S.D.B. – a professor, a doctor with a habilitation degree, an ethicist, a bioethicist, a head of the Department of Bioethics at the Faculty of Philosophy,  Pontifical University of John Paul II. He develops personalist ethics, bioethics and medical ethics. He uses realistic personalism as the position from which to criticise utilitarianism, socionomism, contractualism in general ethics, bioethics and medical ethics.

References

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Published

2019-10-10

Issue

Vol. 25 (2019): Special issue

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2020 Tadeusz Biesaga

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