Moral Conscience and Human Freedom

Study Notes

Conscience

Conscience applies the moral law in our personal lives through our actions, guided by our rational and relational nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God.

Understanding Conscience

Conscience is often seen as an inner voice that summons us to love the good and avoid evil, and is our divine center where we are addressed by God.
According to Thomas Aquinas, conscience is a practical judgment of reason upon an individual act as good or evil.
Judgment is a conclusion drawn from an act of reasoning based on moral principles.

Etymology and Definitions

The word "conscience" comes from the Latin "con" (with) and "scire" (to know), literally meaning "with knowledge".
Peter Kreeft defines conscience as "an intellectual power that gives awareness to the moral dimension (goodness or badness) of the human act".
Conscience is the power of knowing, rather than feeling, although it is aided by right feeling.

The Role of Conscience

Conscience is a personal pedagogue that leads us to God, and is the interior place where dialogue between God and man takes place.
Judgments of conscience are enlightened by faith and are not merely natural insights.
Conscience is a moral faculty that is distinct from reason, will, and feeling, and is situated at the depth and center of our being.

Characteristics of Conscience

Conscience possesses a religious dimension and is the place where we are called to responsibility before God.
It is the voice of God, making known to us our moral obligations and urging us to fulfill them.
Disobedience to its voice entails the guilt of sin.
Conscience draws its criteria and formulates its judgments from the eternal, objective, and universal Natural Law.

Types of Conscience

Antecedent conscience judges an act as good or evil before action is taken, commanding, exhorting, forbidding, or permitting.
Consequent conscience evaluates an action already done or omitted, judging with approval or disapproval.

Division of Conscience

Certain or doubtful conscience: when it passes judgment without fear of error, it must always be obeyed as it tells us our moral duties.
Wide moral certainty or prudential certainty is needed rather than strict certainty.

Description

This quiz explores the concept of moral conscience and its relation to human freedom, highlighting its dependence on the truth of our being rational and relational beings created in the image and likeness of God. It also delves into the idea of conscience as an inner voice guiding our actions. Test your understanding of this complex topic!