Considering the impact of diet on physical, mental, and aesthetic well-being, the author sought to create a comprehensive picture of Dietetics - the art of living - through four books. However, as he wrote, it became clear that something important w...
What we study: What are the characteristics of a fake conscience and what is an authentic conscience?
What's new: What is the role of conscience and why is it important to avoid guilt?
What we will learn: How can we hear the voice of an authentic conscience, and when is it most accessible?
1. "Conscience" is an overseer assigned to a human himself. It forces him to act by the desires and goals that he considers his own, while in fact, they are an internalization [transition from outside to inside, ed., author] of external social demands. It drives him roughly and cruelly, forbidding his joy and happiness, turning his life into atonement for some mysterious sin (Fromm E. 2021) [1].
2. If a fake conscience is an internal overseer, then an artificially introduced sense of guilt is an internal executioner. This is a brilliantly devised way to manipulate people and anonymously control every step of a person to promote the interests of the Western way of life (Author).
3. What is the danger of a counterfeit conscience? Counterfeiting is dangerous because a human expects from it those properties that are inherent only to the original and thus becomes deceived by trusting it. What is the counterfeit when a human shares values with others? The counterfeit is that a human trusts this conscience as his own and this is where the deception lies, but in fact, it is the introduction of external social demands into the preconscious and unconscious program of a human [1, 2]. Therefore, it is important to learn to distinguish the voice of external social demands or moral standards from the voice of your conscience (see Epigraph 1). How to distinguish the voice of a counterfeit conscience? By signs.
4. What are the signs of a fake conscience?The signs of the voice of a fake conscience manifest in disregard for a human's individual natural needs. This alien voice does not take into account heredity, environment, private circumstances, individual abilities, and possibilities of a human when it imposes its values or moral standards. In the process of education, a voice is formed that suppresses our ego or "I" (V fr. 5. 4).
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5. Suppression of our "I". Having become the superego or "Super-I", which means an overseer of a human's private life, it "drives him roughly and cruelly, forbidding his joy and happiness, turning his life into atonement for some mysterious sin" [1, 3]. Being a voice alien to the interests of a human, the "Super-I" puts forward demands that are impossible to fully fulfill, which is then felt as a feeling of guilt.
• "Violation of superego standards, or even an impulse to do so, creates anxiety - initially, it was the fear of losing parental love. According to Freud, this anxiety is mainly unconscious, but can be experienced as a feeling of guilt" (author's italics) (Atkinson R.L., et al. 2003) [3].
Sigmund Freud pointed to fear and anxiety as the initial feelings that arise with the intention of or already violating society's standards. When a person realizes that he has violated specific moral standards of society, then he experiences this as a feeling of guilt. How does guilt manifest itself?
