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| photo courtesy of JaveFoto |
What is conscience?
Conscience
is the tool which enables man to discern morality – the distinction between
what is good/right from what is evil/wrong.
C.S. Lewis illustrates the
meaning of conscience with the following example:
Imagine
you suddenly hear a stranger’s voice crying for help.
At
that moment, you will probably feel two opposing impulses:
- First impulse is to run towards the stranger and help (herd instinct).
- Second impulse is to run away from the stranger for your own safety (survival instinct).
But
then a third voice comes into play, urging you to follow your first impulse and
ignore the second; this third voice is what we call the conscience.
Conscience
can then be defined as the calling within, to always do what is good/right despite
personal inclinations or feelings.
What are the
properties of conscience?
The
conscience is fallible
Earlier,
we defined conscience as a “tool which
enables man to discern morality”; and, like any other tool, improper use
can lead to serious damage. Indeed, the conscience is not always right and can
be mistaken. The conscience, man’s internal moral compass, is said to be broken
when it does not point to the “true
north” – that which is true and good. This can result from the deliberate
and habitual breaking of the moral laws. Within the Christian religious framework,
our conscience can be in a state of blindness by constant living in sin.
It
is one’s responsibility to ensure the development of a well-formed conscience. For
this reason, Christians are called to practice daily self-reflection and
examination of conscience; this is necessary as we are often distracted by life’s
trivialities. Christians use the Word of God as a guide to determining whether a
conscience is well-formed: if in conformity then it is; if in conflict then it
is not.
The
conscience is authoritative
Peter Kreeft observed that granting consciences may differ,
there remains an undeniable moral absolute: “never
disobey your own conscience”. Of course one can deliberately choose to disobey
one’s own conscience. But to do so is not without consequence. Indeed for some,
one time disobedience can lead to a lifetime of guilt. The reason for this is, while
the conscience is fallible, it is authoritative. Where
does its authority come from? For the same reasons as with morality, the
conscience’s authority cannot come from evolution, nature, or culture (man); its
only plausible source is God.
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