Does Conscience Exist Anylonger

The host of a show called "DOCTOR, Explorations in Psychotherapy" questions the existence of conscience in today's society. He mentions several cases of violence and lack of guilt, including police brutality, mass shootings, and a child shooting a teacher. He refers to an old TV show episode that highlights the importance of living honestly. Conscience is described as a sense of moral goodness that guides behavior and creates a feeling of obligation to do the right thing. It is influenced by shame, morals, scruples, super-ego, and knowledge of right and wrong. The Ten Commandments are mentioned as the bedrock of moral behavior in the Western world. The host encourages comments and opinions on his website. Welcome to DOCTOR, Explorations in Psychotherapy. I am your host, Dr. Alan Schwartz, and in this episode, we are raising the question, does conscience exist anymore? There are five cases that I will mention that cause me to raise this question. The first is Tyre Nichols, who died after being battered, kicked, and pepper-sprayed by Memphis police officers. There is the case of George Floyd, who died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. There were three women, all out-of-state tourists, who were killed and four people injured in the second mass shooting to erupt in Los Angeles County in eight days. There were six in California that month, according to the police. The deadliest mass shooting in the United States in 2022 was the massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. And that happened ten days after ten people were shot and killed at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. And then, a six-year-old child shot one of his teachers at Rynek Elementary School in Newport News. The teacher had life-threatening injuries, but ultimately did survive. Is there a lack of guilt today? Do people still have an inner sense of self-restraint? One of my all-time favorite television programs, going back to the 1950s when I was a child, was Jackie Gleason's The Honeymoon. In one episode, Ralph Brandon, played by Jackie Gleason, was a bus driver who found a beaten-up old briefcase that he brought home. And he and his neighbor, played by, his neighbor was Ed Norton, played by Art Carney, who worked in the sewer. And they deliberate over this beaten-up old briefcase and finally decide to open it. And they're overwhelmed when it turns out it's stuffed with money. Little did they know at the time that it was counterfeit. In the meantime, they argue back and forth what they're going to do with the money and so on. Until finally, a group of gangsters show up. It was their money. Threatened them with guns. And, well, anyway, in the end, the police show up and arrest those guys. And of course, in all of The Honeymoon shows, there's a moral to the story. And this one has to do with living honestly. Hysterically funny program. But it still raises the question, well, if you were in this situation and you did not know it was counterfeit, what would you have done with the money? What is conscience? Conscience is comprised of several things. Shame. Morals. Scruples. Super-ego. And a knowledge of right and wrong. Conscience is a sense of moral goodness that guides a person's conduct and creates in them a feeling of obligation to do the right thing or to be a good person. According to Freud, the part of a person's mind that acts as a self-critical conscience, reflecting social standards and morals, is learned first from his parents, and then teachers, and then society in general. And it is called the super-ego. Here are some hypothetical examples of super-ego. A woman feels the urge to steal office supplies from work. Sound familiar? However, her super-ego counteracts this urge. She focuses on the fact that such behaviors are wrong and she would feel terribly guilty if she did it. So she does not. In case number two, a man realizes that the cashier at the checkout aisle forgot to charge him for one item in his cart. Should he tell her? Should he show her? Should he go back? By definition, having a conscience means a person does not steal because they firmly believe that stealing is wrong. And on that basis, that man would alert the cashier to her error and would thereby pay for the item. The bedrock of moral behavior in the Western world is the Ten Commandments. 1. Worship only one God. 2. Do not practice idolatry. 3. Do not take up God's name in vain. In other words, do not curse. 4. Keep the Sabbath. Whatever religion you are, keep the Sabbath to your religion. 5. Honor your mother and father. 6. Do not murder. 7. Do not commit adultery. 8. Do not steal. 9. Do not covet thy neighbor's wife. Does society follow these commandments today? Do we follow these commandments? Do you follow these commandments? I encourage your comments and opinions. If you go to my website, explorationsinpsychotherapy.org Go to my website and you will be able to put in your comments, opinions, and questions. I encourage you to do so. This is the end of this episode of Explorations, Adopts of Explorations in Psychotherapy. Signing off for now. Until next time.