Conscience
Conscience in the Teachings of the Catholic Church • The Catholic tradition believes that our conscience is much more than an ‘internal censor’ the regulates our conduct by using guilt • According to the Church our consciences acts in love, and responds to the call to commit ourselves to value. • It is the key to responsible freedom, or wanting to do what we do because we value what we are seeking.
Conscience and the Catechism CCC #1776 • Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which her has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. • Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. • For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. • His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. • There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.
Conscience and the Catechism • CCC #1777 • Moral conscience, present at the heart of the person, enjoins him at the appropriate moment to do good and to avoid evil. • It also judges particular choices, approving those that are good and denouncing those that are evil. • It bears witness to the authority of the truth in reference to the supreme Good to which the human person is drawn, and it welcomes the commandments. • When he listens to his conscience, the prudent man can her God speaking.
Theories of Conscience McCarty, M. (1992) Deciding: Moral Decision Making for Catholics. Dubuque, Iowa: Brown-Roa.
THE "HUNCH THEORY" • When asked whether a certain action or decision is right or wrong, many people respond: I just know it is or something just tells me it is. • However, when asked the reasons, they can't be specific. (McCarty, 1992)
"DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY" THEORY • Some believe we are born with a certain moral instinct that tells them right from wrong. • Therefore, if people just did what came naturally by instinct they would be doing the right thing according to their conscience. (McCarty, 1992)
"THE LITTLE VOICE " THEORY • A voice inside telling right or wrong. • To them it is the voice of a force or a power other than themselves who gives guidance. • When asked these people will often say: I just know that's what God wants or it’s God's will. • (McCarty, 1992)
"FOLLOW THE CROWD" THEORY • This group believe the majority can't be wrong. • If enough people think or feel that something is right then it must be, or wrong- it has to be so.
"THE FEELING " THEORY • Conscience for some is a matter of how one "feels" after the action is taken or a decision is made. • If you feel good - it was right, if you feel bad - it was wrong. • If a person feels bad, or guilty, then it was wrong. (McCarty, 1992)
"NO CONSCIENCE" THEORY • No conscience at all. • The idea is something that religions have made up to make people feel guilty about certain actions. • A person just does what they decide to do or does what they must in a given situation and that is all that should be expected or required of anyone. (McCarty, 1992)
"USING YOUR HEAD" THEORY • Conscience involves using our head - our ability to reason, considering all alternatives and aspects of a given situation while always keeping in mind which values and priorities are most important and which are not; and trying to do the most loving and least harmful thing for all concerned. • Number 7 is the teaching of the Catholic church. • We also believe that a person's conscience develops as that individual's ability to think, to reflect and to exercise clearer, more objective judgments matures.
Conscience as a capacity to recognize right and wrong • All people in all cultures have a general awareness that some things are right and others are wrong • Every human has a basic orientation towards the good • Conscience defines the essential identity of the human • The terms “sociopath” and “psychopath” refer to persons who have no conscience
Conscience as a process of moral reasoning • Conscience alone cannot help you choose right and avoid evil • You must also use reason to help you decide what to do in each situation (learn the facts and learn what moral values are) • Your conscience must be formed and informed (this means being educated about moral issues) • Sources of education include: your community, Church, Scripture, personal experience, moral theologians
Conscience as Judgment • After examining the facts, you need to make a decision and commitment to do what is right • Conscience makes a moral decision your own (it is something you need to do if you want to be true to yourself!) • You decision must be based on your personal perception and your understanding of the values that mean something to you
Six Symptoms of a Misinformed Conscience • Rationalization: Stealing may be wrong sometimes, but large stores can afford it because they are making huge profits. • Trivialization: It’s no big deal – everyone else does it. • Misinformation: My doctor told me that all teenage girls should take the birth control pill to prevent getting pregnant. • The ends justify the immoral means: I had to steal the chocolate bar – I didn’t have any money and I hadn’t eaten for 12 hours. I get sick if I don’t eat. • Means to and end: By dropping a nuclear bomb to end the war, we’ll end up saving lives. • Difficult to reason: Having been kicked out of his home and finding himself with no place to go, a teen acts without thinking. He breaks into an empty home to keep warm when he could have asked for help form the police.
