Chapter 4 Conscience Morality It means the rightness or wrongness of human acts or the quality in human acts by which we call them right or wrong, good or evil. It takes into account or include both its objective or subjective aspects. It is the standard of society used to decide what is right or wrong behavior. An example of morality is: You finding a random bag lying in the ground and then searching for that bag's owner instead of stealing it because you believe that it is wrong to take what doesn't belong to you, even if no one would know. Conscience Is the part of the practical intellect that judges what is good or bad. It guides us. It is a voice telling you what to do or what you ought not to do. It is anchored on or consistent with what is morally good or bad. Therefore, it can be defined as the practical judgement of reason upon an individual act as good or to be performed or as evil and to be avoided the term conscience is applied to the following: 1.The intellect as the ability to form judgements about right and wrong individual acts 2. The process of reasoning that the intellect goes through to reach such a judgement 3. The judgement itself which is the conclusion of this reasoning process. Kinds of Conscience 1.Antecedent conscience- it is when you appeal or examine your conscience prior to the act. It either commands or forbids, counsels or permits the performance of an act. Example: you want to cheat in an exam but you appeal to your conscience and it discerns or tells you that cheating is bad, so you will not cheat 2.Consequent conscience - you examine your conscience after you perform the act. It is a conscience that reviews or evaluates an action which has already been done. It either approves the act thus promoting a sense of peace, wellbeing and spiritual joy. On the other hand, it could also disapprove an act resulting to feeling of remorse or guilt. Example: you cheated in the exam but after you cheated and then examined your conscience, it disapproved of the action and then you felt guilty. 3. Correct conscience- it is when your conscience decides that the acts is good and it is really good or if it is bad and is really bad. It tells us when something is a good choice or a bad choice and that this decision is in agreement with what that thing. Example: it is correct conscience that killing is bad, it is correct conscience that using or taking something without the consent of the owner is bad. 4. Erroneous conscience- it is the opposite of correct conscience. It judges incorrectly that what is bad/ evil is good or what is good is bad Example: It is erroneous conscience that tells a student to bully others or skip classes to play because it is a "cool" or funny thing to do. or doing drugs thinking it will make you truly happy. Error in conscience comes from the following factors: (a) Mistake in inferential thinking such as deriving a wrong conclusion from given moral principles (b) Ignorance of the law (c) Ignorance of the fact and other circumstances modifying human actions; (d) Ignorance of future consequences, especially those dependent on the free will of others. An erroneous conscience whose error is not willfully intended is called inculpable conscience. It is inculpable conscience operating in a person, who unaware of it, pays for grocery with “bogus” money. (Ignorance of the fact) An erroneous conscience whose error is due to neglect, or malice, is called culpable conscience. It is culpable conscience which believes that cheating is good since it helps us pass the exam and everybody does it anyway. To determine whether it is correct or erroneous conscience, depends entirely on what standard or norm you are subscribing or upholding (you must have a certain standard to follow). 5. Certain conscience- following conscience with certainty. Judges without fear that the opposite may be true. Example: Deciding to fight back against bullies by hitting them even if you know that they might end up getting hurt, but you did that out of self defense and that your mind is certain that if you don’t fight back, you end up getting hurt yourself You are sure in discerning that cheating in an exam has negative effects and is bad so you decide not to cheat. 6. Doubtful conscience- you have doubts when doing an act, unable to perform an act with certainty. Example: you have doubts whether cheating in an exam is a good thing or a bad thing to do. 7. Perplexed conscience- belongs to one who cannot make up his mind. this type of erroneous conscience where one is confronted with two alternatives, a person fears sin in whatever choice they take. 8. Scrupulous conscience- torments its owner by rehearsing over and over again, doubts that were once settled. Striving for certainty and wants incontrovertible proofs before doing an act. Example: worrying over and over again, even if you think that it is already a good decision but you still think that it is not good enough. How do we follow our conscience? There are 2 ways: 1. Always obey a certain conscience. 2. Never act with a doubtful conscience. Always obey a certain conscience A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. But he is avoiding moral evil as far as he can because obeying a certain conscience comes with thinking what is good and what is best for him. We must always act on the command of a certain conscience whether it commands or forbids some action, not only when it is true but also when it is in invincible error." Never act with a doubtful conscience If one has reason to believe that the intended act may actually be wrong and yet is willing to go ahead and do it anyway, this person acts without care for the rightness or wrongness of acts. Even if the act turns out to be objectively right, this is only accidental. Therefore, one must never act with a doubtful conscience. GUIDE QUESTIONS How does your conscience determine whether an action is good or bad? How do you examine your conscience? Do we do an act with certainty or with doubt?
