What Conscience Is – The Nature What Conscience Is – The Nature of our Conscienceof our Conscience

1.1.Conscience is subjective:Conscience is subjective:o Every person has his own conscience – Every person has his own conscience –

every person has the capacity to discern every person has the capacity to discern the good from the evil.the good from the evil.

o All persons have a conscience – we all have All persons have a conscience – we all have the human capacity to use our reason the human capacity to use our reason (1)(1) to discern and judge the moral goodness to discern and judge the moral goodness or evil of a particular actor evil of a particular act (2) (2) with the with the feeling of being morally obliged to do what feeling of being morally obliged to do what is good and avoid what is evil. is good and avoid what is evil.

2.2. Conscience is acted upon by the Conscience is acted upon by the Holy Spirit, giving us an ability to Holy Spirit, giving us an ability to know what the Lord wants us to know what the Lord wants us to do:do:

o Our conscieence enables us to discern the Our conscieence enables us to discern the acts by which we can concretely live out acts by which we can concretely live out being a Christian: to love God and to love being a Christian: to love God and to love others.others.

o Christ Himself taught and showed by His Christ Himself taught and showed by His very life the core of Christian moral living: very life the core of Christian moral living: loving God and loving ithers. loving God and loving ithers.

3.3. Conscience may indeed result to Conscience may indeed result to the feeling of guilt when we do the feeling of guilt when we do wrong, and the feeling of peace wrong, and the feeling of peace when we do good:when we do good:

o Conscience is often described as leading to Conscience is often described as leading to feelings of feelings of remorse when a human commits  when a human commits actions that go against his/her actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of  and to feelings of rectitude or  or integrityintegrity when  when actions conform to such actions conform to such normsnorms..

o Hence, the feeling of guilt is an outcome of Hence, the feeling of guilt is an outcome of the realization that the person had done the realization that the person had done something wrong. something wrong.

4.4. Conscience is objective:Conscience is objective:

o Our conscience is formed and informed by the Our conscience is formed and informed by the environment, therefore, it is relational.environment, therefore, it is relational.

Example: Example: As teenagers - our friendships, exposure to media, and religious education continue to shape our moral formation.

o Our conscience is formed by the universal Our conscience is formed by the universal values and norms we learn from others.values and norms we learn from others.

Example: Example: Only through our interaction with others do we understand the fundamental human values and objective norms that guide our conscience in making moral judgments.

What is What is conscience?conscience?

ConscienceConscience is an  is an aptitude (natural aptitude (natural ability)ability), , facultyfaculty, , intuitionintuition or judgment of  or judgment of

the the intellectintellect that distinguishes right  that distinguishes right from wrong.from wrong.

Essentially, conscience is a Essentially, conscience is a practical judgment that evaluates practical judgment that evaluates whether an action, word, whether an action, word, thought, desire, or omission is thought, desire, or omission is good and to be consented to or good and to be consented to or evil and to be avoided. evil and to be avoided.

The Relation of Conscience to Values and Moral Laws

Values •Are attitudes/virtues/characteristics to which we give importance, which we prize as significant.•Protect our basic human needsMoral Laws•Protect human values which spring from our basic human needs•Simple life rules that protect promote and protect our values.

ValuesValues(protect basic human needs -

Are attitudes/virtues/ to which we

give importance,

which we prize as significant)

Simple Life Simple Life RulesRules

(moral principles that are formulated that promote and protect values -

specific application of the universal

moral laws)

Moral LawsMoral Laws(objective/

universal moral laws - like the

Ten Commandments)

ConscienceConscienceguided by the

objective moral laws, judges

whether a specific act is moral or not

Basic Basic Human Human

NeedsNeeds (food, shelter, clothing, dignity)

The Relation of The Relation of Conscience to Conscience to

Values and Values and Moral LawMoral Law

Examples to illustrate the relation:Examples to illustrate the relation:Example One:Example One:

Basic NeedBasic Need: Shelter: Shelter

ValueValue: To give importance to an owning : To give importance to an owning property property ((the value that has the value that has

developed because developed because of that need of shelterof that need of shelter))

RuleRule: No one must take away from you : No one must take away from you without without consent that which you own consent that which you own ((simple life-rule simple life-rule formulated in order to protect that formulated in order to protect that valuevalue) )

Moral LawMoral Law: You shall not steal : You shall not steal ((a moral law a moral law that that formalized and universalized that rule)formalized and universalized that rule)

Examples to illustrate the relation:Examples to illustrate the relation:

Example Two:Example Two:

Basic NeedBasic Need: :

ValueValue: :

RuleRule: :

Moral LawMoral Law: :

Examples to illustrate the relation:Examples to illustrate the relation:

Example Three:Example Three:

Basic NeedBasic Need: :

ValueValue: :

RuleRule: :

Moral LawMoral Law: :

Examples to illustrate the relation:Examples to illustrate the relation:

Example Four:Example Four:

Basic NeedBasic Need: :

ValueValue: :

RuleRule: :

Moral LawMoral Law: :