E-Book Overview
Value change and uncertainty about the validity of traditional moral convictions are frequently observed when scientific re search confronts us with new moral problems or challenges the moral responsibility of the scientist. Which ethics is to be relied on? Which principles are the most reasonable, the most humane ones? For want of an appropriate answer, moral authorities of ten point to conscience, the individual conscience, which seems to be man's unique, directly accessible and final source of moral contention. But what is meant by 'conscience'? There is hardly a notion as widely used and at the same time as controversial as that of conscience. In the history of ethics we can distinguish several trends in the interpretation of the concept and function of conscience. The Greeks used the word O"uvEt81lm~ to denote a kind of 'accompa nying knowledge' that mostly referred to negatively experienced behavior. In Latin, the expression conscientia meant a knowing together pointing beyond the individual consciousness to the common knowledge of other people. In the Bible, especially in the New Testament, O"uvEt81l0"t~ is used for the guiding con sciousness of the morality of one's own action.
E-Book Content
CONSCIENCE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEW
THEORY AND DECISION LIBRARY
General Editors: W. Leinfellner and G. Eberlein Series A: Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences Editors: W. Leinfellner (Technical University of Vienna) G. Eberlein (Technical University of Munich) Series B: Mathematical and Statistical Methods Editor: H. Skala (University of Paderborn) Series C: Game Theory, Mathematical Programming and Mathematical Ecunomics Editor: S. Tijs (University of Nijmegen) Series D: System Theory, Knowledge Engineering and Problem Solving Editor: W. Janko (University of Vienna)
SERIES A: PHILOSOPHY AND METHODOLOGY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Editors: W. Leinfellner (Technical University of Vienna) G. Eberlein (Technical University of Munich)
Editorial Board M. Bunge (Montreal), J. S. Coleman (Chocago), M. Dogan (Paris), 1. Elster (Oslo), L. Kern (Munich), I. Levi (New York), R. Mattessich (Vancouver), A. Rapoport (Toronto), A. Sen (Oxford), R. Tuomela (Helsinki), A. Tversky (Stanford).
Scope This series deals with the foundations, the general methodology and the criteria, goals and purpose of the social sciences. The emphasis in the new Series A will be on well-argued, thoroughly analytical rather than advanced mathematical treatments. In this context, particular attention will be paid to game and decision theory and general philosophical topics from mathematics, psychology and economics, such as game theory, voting and welfare theory, with applications to political science, sociology, law and ethics.
CONSCIENCE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEW Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities
Edited by
GERHARD ZECHA and
PAUL WEINGARTNER Institute for Theoretical Science. Salzburg International Research Centre. and Department of Philosophy. University of Salzburg. Austria
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER
ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Salzburg Colloquium on Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (1984) Conscience: an interdisciplinary view. (Theory and decision library. Series A, Philosphy and methodology of the social sciences) Includes indexes. \. Conscience-Congresses. I. Zecha, Gerhard. II. Weingartner, Paul. III. Title. IV. Series. BJ47\.S18 1984 171.6 87-4343 ISBN·13 978·94·0 I0·8200·6 e·ISBN·13 978·94·009·3821·2 001 10.1007/978·94·009·3821·2
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland. Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada by KIuwer Academic