Transcript Conscience - St John Brebeuf

Conscience
What is Conscience?
How do you define Conscience?
What is Conscience?
Voice “inside” our head – i.e. Angel & Devil on shoulder
i.e. Dog owner story
“… is the place where we hold our own selves in our hands.”
– St. Thomas More
“... Is the place where man discovers law not laid down by
himself.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church
Conscience
We believe…
- each of us is born with a conscience
- that we have responsibility to develop our conscience
- gives us the ability to reason and judge right action
Conscience: 3 Senses
1. Capacity
2. Moral Reasoning
3. Judgment
Conscience: 3 Senses
1. Capacity:
Ability to know right from wrong
Orientation of person towards good
i.e. Sociopath is a person with silenced or even no
conscience
Conscience: 3 Senses
2. Moral Reasoning:
… is our responsibility to search for the right in each
situation.
Inform our conscience
Cannot rely solely on our own thoughts i.e. Children –
Morality
Many sources to draw on for moral wisdom – i.e. Women!
Conscience: 3 Senses
3. Judgment:
Conscience is incomplete until you act on it
We are called to action to do what we believe is right
We are bound to follow our conscience
- If not  Dishonesty, no integrity, no character,
… no ‘you’.
Psychology of Moral
Development
Moral behavior is developed. Our responsibility to
develop it well.
Sometimes we can misinform or malform our
conscience 
Learning the wrong things (choice that lacks goodness)
Or through faulty reasoning (illogical arguments)
Examples of faulty reasoning
1. Rationalization – End justifying the means – Means
to an end
i.e. the Apple company makes tons of $$$ so its ok to
take company property while working.
i.e. Hey, they left the phone sitting there, this will teach
them a lesson.
i.e. Nuclear bomb to end war and save lives
Examples of faulty reasoning
2. Trivialization –
It is no big deal, everyone does it and nobody really
cares.
i.e. Download movies/music illegally
i.e. Cohabitation/hook up
i.e. Using phones while driving
Examples of faulty reasoning
3. Misinformation –
So and so told me this is what I should do. So I’m not
guilty.
i.e. My parents, friends, told me…
i.e. Your examples?
Conscience & Sin
3 conditions for a sin to be mortal or “deadly” – kills
our relationship with God and kills our ‘dog’
1. Full knowledge
2. Full consent
3. Free will – Freely chosen and not coerced.
What is the opposite of love?
Examination of conscience
1. All commandments – the heart of all “thou shall not’s” is
on Love of God and love of neighbour.
Personalism – the only acceptable way to behave towards
another human person is love. (nature)
 a person can never used as a means to an end! This is the
opposite of love.
i.e. “Have I used anyone today? Have I allowed myself to be
used today?”
Examination of conscience
“Anyone who treats a person as the means to an end
does violence to the very essence of the other, to what
constitutes his natural right. We must demand from a
person, as a thinking individual, that his or her ends
should be genuinely good”.
“God has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of
every woman”.
- St. John Paul II -