Conscience

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Conscience
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In the classic Disney movie, Pinocchio, Jiminy
Cricket is chosen by the Blue Fairy to be
Pinocchio's "official" conscience. He agrees to
his post as, "Lord High Keeper of the Knowledge
of Right and Wrong, Counselor in Moments of
Temptation, and Guide along the Straight and
Narrow Path."
Do each of us have a Jiminy Cricket as our
conscience to tell us right from wrong?
NO!! Conscience is NOT an inner voice within us
that is separate from who we areRather, it is a
reflection of our being
It is the operation of the intellect.
Conscience is not what we have, it is something
we are.
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Deep within his conscience man discovers a law
which he 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
mans most secret core and sanctuary. There he is
alone with God voice echoes in his depth.
Vatican II, Gadium et Spes
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To define and clarify
It is NOT an inner voice that goes untouched,
unexamined and undeveloped.
Conscience a judgment of reason whereby the
human person recognizes the moral quality of a
concrete act that he is going to perform, is in
the process of performing, or has already
completed.
Conscience IS molded by our environment, but must
be evaluated against TRUTH when making a decision.
Conscience IS NOT a feeling, it is an act of the
intellect and will that must be examined against
truth before final judgment can be made.
Conscience refers to our entire being as
creatures who desire to turn towards goodness and
truth.

• The Latin root for the word conscience means to
  know.
• It deals with our acts of judging based on our
  KNOWledge of right and wrong,

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Conscience vs. Consciousness

• Consciousness refers to a general awareness of
  ourselves, other people and our surroundings.
• Conscience refers to our awareness
  (consciousness) of right and wrong,

Again, Conscience is not a feeling it is a
practical judgment an operation of the intellect
that must be examined against TRUTH.
The job of the conscience is to evaluate whether
or not a particular act is good or evil, and to
advise accordingly.
Conscience enables one to assume responsibility
for the acts performed.
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Review of the Moral Act
There are three basic components for determining
whether an action is moral or immoral

1. The object chosen
2. The intention (the end)
3. The circumstances surrounding the action

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A morally good act requires the goodness of the
object, of the end, and of the circumstances
together. An evil end corrupts the action, even
if the object is good in itself (such as praying
and fasting in order to be seen by men). The
object of choice can by itself vitiate corrupt
an act in its entirety. There are some concrete
acts such as fornication that it is always
wrong to choose, because choosing them entails a
disorder of the will, that is, a moral evil. CCC
1755
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Conditions that Lessen Guilt

• Violence is an external force applied by one
  person on another to compel that person to
  perform an action against his or her will.

• Fear is a disturbance of mind resulting from
  some present or imminent danger.

• Concupiscence is the rebellion of passions
  emotions against reason. It is the tendency of
  human nature toward evil.

• Ignorance is lack of knowledge in a person
  capable of possessing such knowledge. There are
  two types of ignorance

- Vincible Ignorance is that which can and should
be dispelled. For example, if someone thinks it
might be wrong not to eat meat on Fridays in
Lent, but purposely never asks a priest or a
friend about it, then he still commits sin if he
eats meat on those days.
- Invincible Ignorance is that which cannot be
dispelled. In other words, someone is ignorant of
his own ignorance.
We can sum up by saying that invincible
ignorance eliminates the moral responsibility for
a human act vincible ignorance does not
eliminate moral responsibility, but may lessen
it.
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Divisions of Conscience
Certain vs. Doubtful

• Certain one which dictates a course of action
  in clear terms without fear of error

True (correct) vs. Erroneous

• True (correct) one which indicates correctly
  the goodness or badness of a moral conduct

• Doubtful one which leaves a person undecided as
  to the proper course of action

• Erroneous one which falsely indicates that a
  good action is evil, or an evil action is good

We must always follow a certain conscience!
A person with a false conscience may/may not be
guilty of an evil act depending on whether his
ignorance was vincible or invincible. Did he try
to know the truth and yet remained in error?-
invincible he is innocent. OR Was he negligent
in seeking the truth or tried NOT to seek the
truth?- vincible not innocent
Lax vs. Scrupulous

• Lax forms moral judgments on insufficient
  grounds may be persuaded that great sins are
  permissible

• Scrupulous when someone sees evil where there
  is none

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When our conscience is honestly and correctly
formed, we MUST follow it in every circumstance!
But, in order to follow our conscience, we must
always seek to FORM our conscience
Steps to help our conscience grow and be attuned
to Gods will.
1. Find the facts.
2. Examine your motives.
3. Think of the possible effects.
4. Consider alternatives.
5. What does the law have to say?
6. What is the reasonable thing to do?
7. What does your own experience and that of
other people say about the issue?
8. What would Jesus have done?
9. What is the teaching of the Church?
10. Pray for guidance.
11. Admit that you sometimes sin and might be
wrong.
12. After all of this, follow your conscience.
Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do
and does not do it commits a sin. James 417