Conscience

THE SUBJECTIVE NORM
OF MORALITY
Conscience has the final
say in making moral
decisions.
Conscience is the inner voice in a man
that moves him to do good under any
circumstances and to avoid evil by all
means.
Conscience is a judgement of reason by

which the human person recognizes the moral
quality of a concrete act.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF
CONSCIENCE
1 Moral judgement that discerns what

is right and wrong
2 Moral obligation or command to do

good and avoid evil
St. Thomas
Aquinas
St. Thomas
Aquinas
Conscience is the natural ability of people to understand
the difference between right and wrong
Conscience is fallible and might guide us wrongly

A person’s conscience could go wrong through incorrect use of reason
Conscience is the mind of man making moral

judgements.
When confused about making a moral decision you should

go to church and the church will interpret our reason
Conscience is a force for good, and he is certain that it has
not got anything to do with God
A person’s super-ego/conscience develops in their early

years at about the age of five
A conscience is a psychological construct associated with

religion/secular authority
MIN
ID SUPER-EGO
the D mind
unconscious/i controls
rrational self; established
derives, EGO by outside
repressed the
memories influences
conscious/ra
tional self,
perceived
by the
outside
world
We assess and evaluate our own behavior
Our conscience judges how successful we are as

people and leads us to realize our potential
Submission to authority
Different Kinds of
Conscience
CORRECT/TRUE
• Corresponds to objective moral values and precept
ERRONEOUS/FALSE
• Mistakenly judges something as morally good which
is objectively evil
Different Kinds of
Conscience
ANTECEDENT
• Conscience which discerns
CONCOMITANT
• Conscience in action
Different Kinds of
Conscience
CONSEQUENT
• Conscience which reviews, evaluates an action which
has already been done
GUILTY
• Disturbed conscience trying to restore good relations
with God by means of sorrow and repentance
Different Kinds of
Conscience
CERTAIN
• Subjective assurance of the lawfulness or unlawfulness
of certain actions to be admitted
DOUBTFUL
• Suspends judgement on the lawfulness of an action
and therefore the action should be omitted
Different Kinds of
Conscience
SCRUPULOUS
• Constantly afraid of committing evil that result of a
stubborn character
LAX
• Tends to follow the easy way and to find excuses for
mistakes
1 INSTINCTIVE LEVEL
-dominated by fear of punishment and desire for
approval or reward
2 NORAL/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
3 CHRISTIAN LEVEL
-one’s faith illumines. It places moral striving as
a personal call to wholeness and holiness
WORKS OF CONSCIENCE
 Conscience, a natural and human faculty of reason, has these

roles to play in your life:
1 It reminds you to do good and avoid evil.
2 It judges all decisions and choices you make and actions
you have taken in any given situation.
3 It bears witness to all the good and evil you have
done.
TAKE NOTE:
However, that conscience does not determine what is right or
wrong but makes a judgement on whether what you are
contemplating is in accordance with what is right or wrong
(good/evil) based on the moral law as taught by Christ and His
Church.
Ways by which our
conscience is formed Family
upbringi
ng
School Influenc
trainin e of
g friends
Parish
social catechi
contact st/religi
s on
WORDS OF WISDOM
One of the most important acts of

life is to examine our conscience
-Maria Montessori
A peace above all earthly dignities, a

still and quite conscience
-Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Never do anything against conscience

even if the state demands it
-Albert Einstein
What good health is to the body, good
conscience is to the soul . There is inward
satisfaction of conscience when a good
action is done , when virtue is practiced ,
when you lead a virtuous life
-Swami Shivananda
There comes a time when one must take a

position that is neither safe , nor politic,
nor popular, but he must take it because
conscience tells him it is right
-Martin Luther King Jr

Conscience

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Conscience

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THE SUBJECTIVE NORM

Conscience is a judgement of reason by

1 Moral judgement that discerns what

2 Moral obligation or command to do

Conscience is fallible and might guide us wrongly

Conscience is the mind of man making moral

When confused about making a moral decision you should

A person’s super-ego/conscience develops in their early

A conscience is a psychological construct associated with

Our conscience judges how successful we are as

 Conscience, a natural and human faculty of reason, has these

One of the most important acts of

A peace above all earthly dignities, a

Never do anything against conscience

There comes a time when one must take a

-Martin Luther King Jr

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