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Synderesis

Synderesis is the habitual knowledge of universal moral principles in scholastic moral philosophy, guiding moral action through self-evident truths. Historically, it has roots in the works of Jerome, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas, with interpretations varying among scholars. The term is also relevant in psychiatric studies, particularly concerning psychopathy.

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31 views2 pages

Synderesis

Synderesis is the habitual knowledge of universal moral principles in scholastic moral philosophy, guiding moral action through self-evident truths. Historically, it has roots in the works of Jerome, Albert the Great, and Thomas Aquinas, with interpretations varying among scholars. The term is also relevant in psychiatric studies, particularly concerning psychopathy.

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Synderesis

In scholastic moral philosophy, synderesis (/ˌsɪndəˈriːsɪs/) or synteresis is habitual knowledge of the


universal practical principles of moral action. The reasoning process in the field of speculative science
presupposes certain fundamental axioms on which all science rests. Such are the principle of
contradiction, "a thing cannot be and not be at the same time," and self-evident truths like "the whole is
greater than its part". These are the first principles of the speculative intellect. In the field of moral
conduct there are similar first principles of action, such as: "evil must be avoided, good done"; "Do not do
to others what you would not wish to be done to yourself"; "Parents should be honoured"; "We should
live temperately and act justly". Such as these are self-evident truths in the field of moral conduct which
any sane person will admit if he understands them. According to the Scholastics, the readiness with which
such moral truths are apprehended by the practical intellect is due to the natural habit impressed on the
cognitive faculty which they call synderesis. While conscience is a dictate of the practical reason deciding
that any particular action is right or wrong, synderesis is a dictate of the same practical reason which has
for its object the first general principles of moral action.[1]

History
The notion of synderesis has a long tradition, including the Commentary on Ezekiel by Jerome (A.D.
347–419), where syntéresin (συντήρησιν) is mentioned among the powers of the soul and is described as
the spark of conscience (scintilla conscientiae),[2] and the interpretation of Jerome's text given, in the
13th century, by Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas in the light of Aristotelian psychology and ethics.
An alternative interpretation of synderesis was proposed by Bonaventure, who considered it as the natural
inclination of the will towards moral good.

The word synderesis is by most scholars reckoned to be a corruption of the Greek word for shared
knowledge or conscience, syneidêsis (συνείδησις), the corruption appearing in the medieval manuscripts
of Jerome's Commentary.[3]

The term is also used in psychiatric studies, with particular reference to psychopathy.[4]

Notes
1. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Synderesis" (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14384a.htm).
Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
2. Anonymous. "Synderesis | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy" (http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/s
ynderes.htm). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
" "Synderesis" is a technical term from scholastic philosophy, signifying the innate principle
in the moral consciousness of every person which directs the agent to good and restrains
him from evil. It is first found in a single passage of St Jerome (d. 420) in his explanation of
the four living creatures in Ezekiel's vision."
3. Douglas Kries in Traditio vol. 57: Origen, Plato, and Conscience (Synderesis) in Jerome's
Ezekiel Commentary, p. 67
4. Stout, Martha (2005). The Sociopath Next Door (https://archive.org/details/sociopathnextdoo
00stou). Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1582-8. (term synderesis in pages 27, 28, 29, 33)

External links
Medieval Theories of Conscience (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conscience-medieval/)
entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Synderesis&oldid=1265540352"

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