Conscience: A Deep Dive into Moral Decision-Making PDF

WHAT IS CONSCIENCE? Etymology: con (with) + scientia (knowledge) [From scire (to know)]. The word “conscience” derives from the Latin cum (together) and scientia, scire (to know). Conscience is our lived knowledge of good and evil, our judgment about how we should act, and our commitment to do s...

WHAT IS CONSCIENCE? Etymology: con (with) + scientia (knowledge) [From scire (to know)]. The word “conscience” derives from the Latin cum (together) and scientia, scire (to know). Conscience is our lived knowledge of good and evil, our judgment about how we should act, and our commitment to do so. A moral faculty or feeling prompting us to see that certain actions are morally right or wrong. Conscience is the person’s moral faculty, the inner core and sanctuary where one knows oneself in confrontation with God and with fellowmen. (Bernard Haring, CSsR) “An inward moral impression of one’s actions and principles… as the inward faculty of moral judgment… as the inward moral and spiritual frame” (Analytical Greek Lexicon) Images of Conscience  “our most secret core and sanctuary” where we encounter God; our heart (Catechism#1776).  a law inscribed in our hearts by God and recognized as our own; its voice calls us “to love and do what is good and avoid evil” (Catechism #1776; Romans 2:14- 15).  For man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.(9) Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, Whose voice echoes in his depths.(10) Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, #16 For persons have in their hearts a law written by God. To obey it is their very dignity; according to it they will be judged. The source of our conscience is GOD. To obey it is our very dignity as true images of God. Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of all persons. There they are alone with God, whose voice echoes in their depths. ” the core or sanctuary where God speaks to us/ meets the person as a free and intelligent being who has the capacity to make choices. our moral compass that directs us to good or evil. our moral sensory faculty: capacity to see, feel, hear, smell, and touch the good; moral appetite us as we judge moral questions (whole person includes intellect, feeling, imagination, and will). Conscience as a practical moral judgment: the “dictate of conscience” Conscience is a practical moral judgment (ultimate practical judgment) on the morality of a particular action commanding to do what is good and to avoid what is evil. When in doubt to obey or not Inferential reasoning using principles of natural law Connecting link between law and individual acts  Example: It was the night before their final examination. Cherise prepared a “kodigo”. She earnestly desired to get a high grade in the exam and to impress her classmates as well. However, on the day of the exam, she felt a growing uneasiness deep within herself and gave up her plan.  The feeling of uneasiness - result of conscience which made her realize her moral obligation to be honest, which led her to give up her plan to cheat. Therefore if conscience tells us that this act is cheating and therefore is bad, it is a moral judgment which expresses that we are morally bound not to do the act. If we go ahead and do not follow my conscience, we sin. As a practical moral judgment: the “dictate of conscience” Two basic elements of conscience: 1. Moral judgment that discerns what is right or wrong 2.Moral obligation or command to do the good and avoid the evil.  Work of Conscience To judge the good or evil of an act, by deciding on its three essential aspects: the nature or object of the act our intention as agents or doers of the act, and the circumstances which affect the morality of the act CFC 728  Types of Conscience 1. Correct or true Conscience – corresponds to objective moral values and precept A good and pure conscience is enlightened by true faith, for charity proceeds at the same time “from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith” (CCC 1794) 2. False or erroneous conscience – one which mistakenly judges something as morally good which is objectively evil CFC 727 FALSE PERCEPTION OF CONSCIENCE Misconception 1: Conscience is individualistic  For some people, following one’s conscience is simply doing things his or her own way without considering the good of others. For these people, the most important value is oneself, even at the expense of fundamental human values like truth, justice, and life.  “Malinis ang konsensya ko. Wala akong pakialam sa iba.”  The individualistic notion of conscience, collapses before the truth that we are all relational beings. We become truly free as persons in community only by fulfilling our moral obligations towards one another.  Misconception 2: Conscience is God’s Voice Within Us  God can never be confined to any individual’s conscience because from experience we know that our conscience can sometimes be a serious error. This means that, sometimes, our conscience can mistakenly judge something objectively evil to be good or something objectively good to be evil. February 2022 Misconception 3: arch 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 Conscience is Our Feeling of Guilt Understanding Creating a Creating Design Procurement Project project details enovation the design Presentation & and construction installation and checklist revisions its components  We must not equate our guilty feelings with February 2022 arch 2022 conscience. April 2022 May 2022 To doJulyso June 2022 2022 is reduce conscience to a feeling that results from our personal temperament, upbringing, or maturity and not from an actual objective moral judgment. It limits Understanding project details Creating a enovation Creating the design Design Presentation & Procurement and construction Project installation and our conscience to “judgments” its components checklist revisions simply based on the good or guilty feeling following a particular moral act.  Misconception 4: Full Service Full Service Individual Service Media’s Depiction of Conscience as an external Reality is Accurate Films and advertisements usually depict human conscience in very entertaining, but misleading ways. Amidst all these confusing and often conflicting notions, we must turn to the wisdom of human experience and the teachings of the Church to understand what conscience is and how it operates. REMEMBER! Conscience is the function of our human reason through which (a) we discern and judge the moral goodness or evilness of a particular act (b) with the feeling we ought to do what is good and avoid what is evil. ACTIVITY  Based on the discussion, discuss and critique this statement: “Talagang walang konsensya ang taong iyon.” THANK YOU