Conscience
• St Jerome (347-420AD) believed “the spark of conscience” was power to
distinguish good from evil. This power = an ability to be disruptive to the
system, but allow individual to decide for themselves what they think they
ought to do.
• Mark Twain: “I have noticed my conscience for many years, and I know
that it it’s more trouble and bother to me than anything else I started
with.”
References to Conscience:
• “Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be watching”
- Mencken
• “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still small voice
within me. And even though I have to face the prospect of being a
minority of one, I humbly believe I have the courage to be in such a
hopeless minority” - Gandhi
• “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.” - MLK
Biblical Teaching of the Conscience:
• Term ‘conscience’ does not appear written in Old Testament, closest word
is “heart”
• “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within
me” Psalm 51:10
• “My heart does not reproach me for any of my days” Job 27:6
• This use of ‘heart’ translate to the New Testament and Jesus: “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God” Matthew 5:8
New Testament - Romans:
• “When Gentiles, who do not possess the law do instinctively what the law
requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They
show that what the law requires is written on their hearts.”
• This suggests that the conscience is God-given and within us innately.
A Weak Conscience:
• Despite being God-given, doesn’t mean that the conscience is always
strong.
• “But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their
conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” 1 Corinthians 8:12
• Clarifies that a conscience is not made strong or weak by God, although
it’s given by Him
,St Jerome:
• Developed idea of conscience beyond biblical teachings.
• Used word Conscientia when he translated syneidesis from the Greek
translation of Bible
• Syneidesis can be translated to conscience, but literally means “to know
with.” Before Jerome, this was used more retrospectively - an action was
done and conscience was used to judge it, rather than it guiding action.
• Jerome’s Conscientia was already used at the time to mean having a
private ethical feeling against the backdrop of public expectations.
• It served the self and the Church.
St Augustine (354-430):
• Believed the conscience was the voice of God which spoke to the
individual in solitary moments.
• Brings us to God and helps us observe God’s law as when we listen to it we
are hearing true morality.
• “Return to your conscience, question it… Turn inward, brethren, and in
everything you do, see God as your witness”
• Having a conscience is something that all humans have, however, he felt
have one is not enough. Must be coupled with the grace of God.
Augustine’s 3 Main Ideas of Conscience:
1) God implants knowledge of right conduct in humans and these can
be understood through examination of the conscience.
2) A person cannot rightly act (as opposed to knowing what is right)
without the Grace of God. (God’s love for all things)
3) The motive has to be right. Only good acts where love is the motive
are praiseworthy.
Position of Conscience:
• Augustine made it the most important + central element to Christian
ethics + decision-making.
• Followers even argue that an Augustinian view places it higher than
teachings of the Church.
• Martin Luther was Augustinian and this led him to breaking away from
the Catholic Church. His conscience would not let him follow such a pope.
Criticisms of Augustine:
• Infallibility of Augustine’s conscience = a problem considering the
unquestionable voice of God is within many.
• Many who follow their conscience are often seen as un verifiable/self-
delusional when they go against teachings of Church
• If 2 people have consciences that say 2 different things - does God
contradict himself?
• Augustine’s beliefs about the conscience are developed later by Aquinas.
, Joseph Butler - Conscience comes from God:
• Anglican priest and philosopher said that the crucial difference between
man, woman and beast was the faculty of conscience + reflection.
• Derived that being human was being conscious and reflective.
• “There is a principle of reflection in men by which they distinguish
between approval and disapproval of their own actions… this principle in
man… is conscience.”
• Conscience held a powerful position within human decision-making
because it “magisterially exerts itself” spontaneously “without
being consulted.”
• The conscience became authoritative and automatic with the final say
in moral decision making coming from it.
• “Had it strength… it would absolutely govern the world”
• Human nature = hierarchy, at base are drives for food/companionship
without care for consequences, above are 2 impulses:
• Impulse for self-love: this is not selfishness, it is wanting well being for
the self
• Impulse for benevolence: wanting wellbeing of others.
• Butler shared belief of many others that the conscience came from God.
The conscience was a person’s God-given guide to right conduct and
its demands must always be followed.
• He never attempts to analyse whether the conscience is based on reason,
or feeling or a mixture: he simply believed that it has to exist, it comes
from God + must be obeyed.
• Did not view mistakes made by the conscience as a serious problem, as he
believed that any moral dilemma most people will see intuitively
what is the right thing to do.
• However, he considers it wicked to blind ones conscience to clear the
way for a wrong action. One can convince oneself all sorts of wrongs are
right, this corruption of conscience by self-deception is worse than
the evil action that results from it.
• Thinks that your conscience will tell you to watch out for interests of
others.
• Important ideas of Butler:
• The consequence of an action is not what makes it wrong or
right, as that has already happened.
• The purposes of conscience is to guide a person into a way of life
that will make him happy.
• Conscience will harmonise self-love and benevolence - this may
take some sorting out, and hence in moral dilemmas we may be
uncertain of what to do.
• Conscience controls human nature.
St Thomas Aquinas:
