Conscience Theories
This chapter discusses 6 components of developing a working conscience.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
The Importance of Others
The Importance of Having Direction in Life
The Importance of Communication and Language
The Importance of Character and One’s Body
The Importance of Conscience
The Importance of Development of One’s Conscience
I will try to summarize the main points of each, but of course feel free to supplement
this with readings of your own.
A. The Importance of Others
- As Levinas outlined, other people are our responsibility. In Western culture we
see less importance placed on our role as “our brother’s keeper” and more on
individual motivation and gain. In developing our conscience however, it is
important that we make decisions and choose actions that are not harmful to
other people in the benefit of ourselves. We need to consider how our actions may
affect others and try to do the least amount of damage.
- Page 43 has a short account of the myth of Narcissus which is interesting
- Create a visual representation (drawing, collage, symbol, etc.) that
depicts one or more of the values one needs to have in order to accept
the role of being his/her brother's/sister's keeper. Send me a copy
(email me a photo, file or link).
B. The Importance of Having Direction in Life
- In the last chapter we discussed the idea of “you are what you do” and having
direction in life builds on this. The commitments you make and the stands that
you take in life are ways that you show others your values and stay loyal to what
you believe. As you take sides on controversial/ethical issues or even explore
sides, you start to form your conscience. When you stand up to bullying, you are
forming your identity around values of equality and fairness. A common quote
that is used in this context is Malcolm X “If you don’t stand for something you
will fall for anything”. In this time in your life as you are figuring out your values
and identity, this is important to consider. It is good to see both sides of an issue
and be compassionate to both, but understanding both does not mean that you
need to agree with them. As you solidify who you are/want to be as a person, you
will strengthen your resolve on certain issues and people will be able to tell a lot
about you by what you believe to be right.
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-
As you approach the end of high school and the rest of your life (no pressure) you
might be thinking about what direction to take. In reference to the Malcolm X
quote above, having no direction is generally seen as a negative thing. Set goals
for your future, make commitments aimed at achieving those goals, and then
work hard to honour those commitments; shaping your identity and conscience
into the person you want others to see you as.
Complete the statement: "I am a..."
o Can you determine your values from how you identify yourself?
C. The Importance of Communication and Language
- In this section, emphasis is placed on your language groups – people you talk to
that impact your understanding of good or bad or that you share a particular
language with. This doesn’t mean just other English speaking people, but people
like your friends with whom your common language is different than with other
people, with inside jokes and special meanings to common words that the general
population wouldn’t know. Your family would be another language group, one
that influenced you from early on. Think of values or preferences that you have in
common with your family members. Is your love of watching hockey on tv a
result of your older brother (insert whatever program/sport and sibling/parent
reference that works for you) placing importance on it while you grew up?
- As a result of your religious background, words like Trinity or Eucharist have
different meanings for you than for others with a different background. Your
Church family is another language group that impacts your identity and the way
you think about things.
- Of particular relevance to ethics and moral behaviour, think about words you use
and their different meanings to you. Is there a difference between stealing and
finding, taking and borrowing? Is plagiarizing work from the internet cheating or
researching? What do these differences say about your conscience?
D. The Importance of Character and One’s Body
- I like the analogies that are made in this section between your physical body and
your character. The imagery of building muscle through repetitive motions is
likened to building character through repeating right actions. By making good
(morally right) choices over and over and carrying out good actions, you
incorporate these values into your identity (character). People start to recognize
you as a certain type of person by observing your actions. If you want to be a kind
person, then do kind things. This might not come easy to everyone right away. I
have to put effort into thinking of others and not being selfish, but the more I do
that, the easier it gets as it becomes a part of who I am.
E. The Importance of Conscience
- Three parts of conscience are described here, conscience as capacity, process and
judgment.
- Capacity refers to your innate ability to recognize morally right and wrong
behaviour, as opposed to animals or people without consciences (sociopath,
psychopath)
- Process is how you determine what is right or wrong through research. Now
research doesn’t mean googling “what is the right thing to do”, but everyday
awareness of what your leaders (teacher, priests, parents) are teaching you about
right and wrong. In some situations, you may need to do some googling if you
don’t feel comfortable asking people outright about issues. What are the pros and
cons about cloning or genetically modified food, check out what your church
teaches about it (Catholics have the catechism that explains all sorts of beliefs
and teachings) or what leaders in the industry on both sides of the situation say.
Be wise and discerning in the information and opinions you consider. Not
everyone in a position of authority on a subject will lead you the “right” way.
- Judgment is how you carry out the decision you made as a result of process. If
you decide that you think abortion is wrong, what impact does that have on your
life now? What actions might you take or how does this affect the sort of person
you become?
F. The Development of One’s Conscience
- Developing your conscience and ideas about right and wrong behaviours, is a
long journey impacted by several different facets in your life. Page 58 in your text
uses a compass as a visual for these different influences. Part of the influence is
the role of religion and the teachings of the Church as you listen to priests and
other leaders and study the messages in the Gospel. Another way your conscience
forms is from making mistakes; using your personal experiences to reflect on
lessons you can learn. The last part of the compass is prudence, which is much
like conscience as process from above, gaining wisdom from teachings in the
community and the world at large.
- Page 57 includes “Symptoms of a misinformed conscience”. As you reflect on
decisions you’ve made, have you relied on any of these reasonings to make you
feel better about your choices? Do you know deep down that the decision doesn’t
feel right, but the feeling can be explained away by things like rationalization or
means to an end?
- Discuss misinformed conscience and these questions in your
formative assignment.
Formative Assignment: The bolded instructions under Others, Direction and
Development of Conscience. Send me a copy by sharing a google doc or through google
classroom.