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    Conscience is the faculty that allows humans to discern between right and wrong in their actions. It applies moral norms to particular situations and commands us to do good and avoid evil. For Christians, conscience is formed through prayer, study of scripture and church teachings, and listening to the Holy Spirit. An informed conscience helps us make moral judgments that are in line with God's will.

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    Conscience is the faculty that allows humans to discern between right and wrong in their actions. It applies moral norms to particular situations and commands us to do good and avoid evil. For Christians, conscience is formed through prayer, study of scripture and church teachings, and listening to the Holy Spirit. An informed conscience helps us make moral judgments that are in line with God's will.

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    35 views26 pages

    Conscience PDF

    Uploaded by

    Anna
    Conscience is the faculty that allows humans to discern between right and wrong in their actions. It applies moral norms to particular situations and commands us to do good and avoid evil. For Christians, conscience is formed through prayer, study of scripture and church teachings, and listening to the Holy Spirit. An informed conscience helps us make moral judgments that are in line with God's will.

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    CONSCIENCE

    The Subjective Norm of Morality


    a practical judgment
    of human reason
    WHAT IS concerning the
    CONSCIENCE? moral goodness or
    evil of an action.
    Through conscience man perceives &
    recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law.
    An act of the human intellect. Therefore subject
    to the shortcomings of our intellect.
    Through conscience, persons become aware of
    themselves as subject relating to other subject.
    It is the inner voice
    summoning us to
    love the good and
    avoid evil, by
    applying objective
    moral norms to our
    particular acts, and
    thus commanding:
    do this, do not do
    that.
    BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING
    PAULINE CONCEPTION
    or NOTION OF
    CONSCIENCE

    Paul refers to his


    conscience as “good”
    “clear”, “blameless, his
    values and standards in
    conformity with God’s
    standards; conscience a
    faculty to evaluate good
    and evil.

    (Phil 3)
    BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING
    PAULINE CONCEPTION
    NOTION OF CONSCIENCE

    • God’s law in the heart (Rom


    2:14-15)

    • Witness to Truth (Rom 9:1)

    • Guide to conduct (2 Cor 1:12)

    • Servant to individual’s value


    system (Rom 14, 1 Cor 8)

    • A universal endowment of
    human beings (Rom 2:14-ff)
    SOME PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS
    Bonaventure

    CONSCIENCE is a rational faculty of the human


    person which guides human actions. It is also
    connected to the will and the emotion

    SYNDERESIS - is found in the affective part of


    the person for it stimulates us to do good.
    (human person desire to do good - spark of
    conscience)

    TWO PARTS OF CONSCIENCE


    An innate and unerring part - all person have the
    capacity to know the universal truth even the
    person is corrupt.

    An innate yet can err part - misapplication due to


    ignorance and imperfect faculty of reasoning
    PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS
    Thomas Aquinas

    CONSCIENTIA - Application of
    KNOWLEDGE to activity

    SYNDERESIS - the natural


    disposition of the human mind by
    which we apprehend without
    inquiry the basic principles of
    behavior. (KNOWLEDGE of first
    principle)

    PRUDENCE - the practical virtue


    which is involved in the application
    of these principles to particular
    circumstances
    MOMENTS

    ANTECEDENT
    (Discernment)

    CONCOMITANT
    (Simultaneous)

    CONSEQUENT
    (Assessment)
    Conscience is the faculty which
    manifest moral obligation in a concrete
    situation.

    The SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL


    declares that in the depths of our
    conscience, we detect a law which we
    do not impose upon ourselves, but
    which holds us to obedience.

    MORAL CONSCIENCE
    LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE

    INSTINCTIVE LEVEL
    Dominated by fear of punishment &
    desire for approval or reward.
    (Natural level - normal for children)
    MORAL / PHILOSOPHICAL
    Operates on the ethical level, that is,
    not just on what is commanded by
    some “authority” but now from
    awareness of the inner good or evil
    of an act.
    LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE
    CHRISTIAN LEVEL
    Our Christian Faith illumines,
    clarifies & deepens what we
    perceive as truly worthy of being a
    person. It places moral striving as a
    personal call to wholeness &
    holiness.
    We become conscious of the
    healing & liberating grace present
    in our very moral struggle &
    striving, as we are called to greater
    & fuller conversion into the
    persons that God has created us to
    become.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    the degree of voluntariness:

    FREE - characterized by one’s


    personal choice to do one
    ought to do

    UNFREE - slave to external


    dictates of conformity and
    sinfulness
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE

    Conscience with reference to


    objective moral norm:

    TRUE CONSCIENCE when it


    deduces correctly from the
    principle that the act is lawful,
    or it conforms to what is
    objectively right. (Correct)
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    objective moral norm:

    ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE
    when it decides from false
    principles considered as true
    that something is unlawful.
    Conscience errs because of
    false principles or incorrect
    reasoning. (FALSE)

    (Vincible and Invincible)


    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    the degree of certainty:

    CERTAIN CONSCIENCE
    the person has no doubt about
    the correctness of his/her
    judgment. A conscience can be
    certain but at the same time
    erroneous. A conscience is
    NOT necessarily RIGHT; it
    excludes all fears of error about
    ACTING RIGHTLY
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    the degree of certainty:

    DOUBTFUL CONSCIENCE
    It fails to pass a moral
    judgment in the character of
    the act due to a fear or error; if
    the person is unsure about the
    correctness of his/her
    judgment.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE

    Conscience with reference to


    moral attitude

    SCRUPULOUS CONSCIENCE
    one that for little or no reason
    judges an act to be morally evil
    when it is not, exaggerates the
    gravity of sin, or sees sin where
    it does not exist.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    moral attitude

    PERFLEXED CONSCIENCE
    judges wrongly that sin is
    committed both in the
    performance or omission of an
    act. One fears that sin is
    committed whether it was
    actually done or not.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Conscience with reference to
    moral attitude

    LAX CONSCIENCE
    judges on insufficient ground
    that there is no sin in the fact,
    or that sin is not as grave as it
    is in fact, or it is insensitive to a
    moral obligation in a particular
    area.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE

    Conscience with reference to


    moral attitude

    PHARISAICAL CONSCIENCE
    minimizes grave sins but
    maximizes small ones.
    CATEGORIES
    OF
    CONSCIENCE

    Conscience with reference to


    moral attitude

    CALLOUS CONSCIENCE
    feeling no emotion; feeling no
    sympathy.
    FORMATION OF
    CONSCIENCE
    Certain principles that form or govern conscience:
    A person is obliged to form a right with an unerring conscience.
    Everyone is obliged to follow his/her conscience.
    An individual is not permitted to follow erroneous conscience.
    Only the CERTAIN and TRUE Conscience is the correct guide to
    moral behavior.
    If a person with a perplexed conscience finds it impossible to
    ask for answers , he/ she should choose the lesser evil. He/she
    should follow the reflex principle.
    FORMATION OF
    CONSCIENCE
    REFLEX PRINCIPLES
    These are general rules that help reach a
    solution based on what is most common and
    probable, which can be safely presumed to be
    the truth. Thus, all reflex principles can be
    summed up as follows: “In case of doubt,
    what is presumed stands.”
    INFORMED CONSCIENCE
    CHECKLIST
    • Have a pure intention
    • Consult the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament, of the
    Prophets, Moses, and St. Paul.
    • Answer the question: how will this action measure up to the
    yardstick of love?
    • Consult the people of God where Christ and His Spirit reside.
    • follow the current debate on the great moral issues.
    • pray for God’s grateful guidance in all actions.
    • Be sorrowful for your sins, confessing them fully and
    humbly, asking for God’s help in the process.
    HOW DO WE FORM A
    CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE?
    • Personal & ecclesial PRAYER LIFE
    • Studying the WORD of GOD & the Teachings of
    the Church (Seek the moral guidance of the
    Church)
    • Responsiveness to the indwelling Holy Spirit.
    • Examination of one’s conscience. Critical
    Reflection on our concrete moral choices &
    experiences in daily life.

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