A Short History of Conscience, Authorty and Obedience

Abstract

The issue of conscience and authority has long been on the agenda of moral philosophy. In particular, the views of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes came to the fore when there was freedom of religion and conscience. Their views continue to influence the moral philosophers of today's world. In terms of organizing and maintaining individual and social relationships, different perspectives from past to present have been made possible by taking into account the common life practices.In today's world, the social configurations that have changed compared to the past and the problems arising from the encounter of different ethnic and social groups have caused re-emergence of solidarity in a common theme. The concept of cultural relativism, which is one of these common themes, refers to the evaluation of exposed judgments within the internal dynamics of culture. On the other hand, shaping of universal human rights and social solidarity on an intercultural ground makes the existence of an additional theme inevitable in terms of harmony and sustainability: conscience.Conscience is related to the commonization of the common living commitments and being in solidarity in sustaining social relations. Predicating the relations to be formed on the basis of conscience upon an essentialist foundation does not run parallel to the continuous reshaping of solidarity in practical life. In the absence of essentialist truths, and outside the original ethnic relativity, a new and sustainable togetherness starts to be shaped within these practices. Therefore, one of the themes that will spring to mind will be the values education. There are studies that include the answers given to the questions that come to mind about the theoretical possibilities of this and the determination and interpretation of the values already positioned in the practical structures. ÖZET Vicdan ve otorite konusu uzun zamandır ahlak felsefesinin gündemindedir. Özellikle, John Locke ve Thomas Hobbes'in görüşleri, din ve vicdan özgürlüğü söz konusu olduğunda ön plana çıkmıştır. Onların görüşleri, bugünün dünyasının ahlak felsefecilerini etkilemeye devam etmektedir. Bireysel ve toplumsal ilişkilerin düzenlenmesi ve sürdürülmesi açısından geçmişten günümüze değin benimsenen faklı bakış açıları gelmiştir. Bu farklı bakış açılarının imkanı, ortak yaşam pratiklerinin

Reflection of conscience in people of the XX and XXI centuries

“…The XX century, of course, is filled with events that have radically changed the world and human consciousness as a whole. In modern society, peaceful coexistence is a goal and a great value, which creates the need for each individual to act according to moral and ethical and generally accepted value principles (Yildiz, 2018). At the same time, the positions of cultural relativism and pluralism form tendencies to individualize positions, which, in turn, leads to differentiation and polarization of opinions regarding basic moral values.…”

“…Thus, duty acted as an incentive to action, ignoring the society's moral values, such as the life's value and each person's freedom. One of the concepts is the perception of history through obedience and disobedience, where disobedience is the determining dynamics of social development and transformation of the life's existing way (Yildiz, 2018;Indra, Malik, Akbar et al, 2021).…”

“…Conscience, as a moral regulator, directs them so that the individual can overcome their natural instincts and subordinate them to their will, learning to control them. Hence, the concept of conscience arises as a reaction to an impulse, outlined by N. Yildiz (2018). According to his position, the motivation to live in society for a person is associated with the awareness of the inability to survive alone and, in the process of socialization, there is a tendency to seek approval from others, which requires the individual to revise their own moral values and adjust them in accordance with public ones.…”

“…However, totalitarianism managed to eliminate the humanity's manifestations in front of an impartial political system that existed by means of creating a new ideology. Social relations were built in such a way as to suppress conscious responsibility to official duty or bureaucracy (Yildiz, 2018), i.e. conscience and honour were automatically equated with duty.…”

“…This is confirmed by the experience of the XX century, the period of two world wars and a number of other military conflicts, in which the aspect of conscience has been little studied in modern scientific literature. Conscience has a direct connection with the community of life circumstances and solidarity in maintaining social relations (Yildiz, 2018). Thus, the question of the complexity of moral choice in wartime conditions is being updated.…”