What Makes A Conscience?

The way the human mind operates is a mystery to all. Through thinking that the mind is something that can be comprehended humans have created the art of psychology and psychiatry, where the inner machinations of one’s mind are turned into nothing more than phrases and terms. Between every person there lies a sense of morality, no matter who. The sense of morality is not the same though, as children we learn to feel pain and suffering as others do, and to put the shoes of others on. In the end, it seems, that almost all people brought up well as children, turn out to be the people considered to have a strong sense of morality and can feel what pains some must endure. Though the way being brought up does not define a

Each person is in control of their actions in life. Although conscience may make each individuals actions seem honorable, the truth is they might be.

In “Vices of Inattention,” Kathie Jennie wrote of the ways in which humans help facilitate or do terrible things, that clearly violate their morals, not necessarily by intentionally committing a physical act, but by inattentively allowing it to occur. She then divides the concept of inattentiveness into two categories: systematic self-deception through selective attention and willful ignorance, and that of what she refers to as “simple” inattention resulting from an unmotivated lack of focus. She asserts that we have duties to be attentive to morally significant matters, but as can be evidenced by many real-world examples, we often fall short of those obligations.

According to Dr. Karen Wynn, humans are in fact born with an ingrained sense of morality. In the classic experiment where a baby sees two scenarios, one with a helpful puppet and one with a mean-spirited one, over 80% choose the kind character when presented with both of them. From primates that roam jungles to dolphins that traverse oceans, even animals have this instinct in their brains. We are all created with this inner sense, so the question is, how does it change in certain people? If all creatures start off with a clean slate, a sympathetic spirit, there must be something that causes them to

“I WILL NOT PERMIT considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;” (WMA 1). The previous statement is an excerpt from the Declaration of Geneva, or the Physician’s Oath. The Physician’s Oath was adopted in 1948 by the Word Medical Association at Geneva. This oath is taken by most physicians as a guideline for their duties as an expert in any medical field. However, there is a clause that undermines this known as The Conscience Clause. The Conscience Clause is a clause that made its place in American history around 1973 as the decision in the case Roe V. Wade. The Conscience clause enables someone to refuse to do a specific thing involving their line-of-work if they believe it infringes on their religious beliefs. The conscience clause was enacted after the Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade in 1973. This clause was put into place in medical, and pharmaceutical fields as a means of protecting someone’s ethical and moral beliefs. The conscience clause should be abolished because it can inflict serious harm to those who need a live-saving treatment or medication. The clause can also be used as a means of discrimination and give some people a reason to just not do their jobs.

Conscience is a sense of what a person believes to be right and wrong. To form a mature conscience, people must communicate with others, that are considered to have moral wisdom, within communities. According to Richard M. Gula in his book Reasons Informed by Faith, “A criterion of a mature moral conscience is the ability to make up one’s mind for oneself about

“Fear is only as deep as the mind allows” (Japanese Proverb). Fear does not exist. It is a state of mind. In which our minds control our fears. Just as fear, our mind also controls our conscience. Both either lead you to doing the right thing or both will lead you to do what is wrong. The Crucible successfully demonstrates that there are characters whose fear paralyzes them from doing what is right and characters who follow their conscience, rather than following society.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines conscience as, “ a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed” (CCC, 1778). There are other dictionary definitions of conscience, but they do not take Catholic morals into consideration. While conscience can be affected by many deteriorating factors like peer pressure, the Catholic Church provides methods on how a conscience should act. There are many examples of ethical problems people face in their everyday lives, and techniques like the SEER method help them get through those moral dilemmas. There are many things people assume a conscience is and is not. The Catholic

Cultivating Conscience is a book in which the author, Lynn Stout, debates the effectiveness of using material incentives in law as a way to lessen the amount criminal activities performed in modern society. Material incentives, according to Stout, are only part of the complex equation that is behavior. Throughout the book the author gives examples of research-based theories that prove there are many other ways to lessen delinquent activities that do not involve punishment or prison. These tests have proven that there are three main factors needed to influence human behavior and in turn, cultivate conscience. These factors, according to Lynn Stout, when implemented into the American legal system can change American’s views and actions for the better.

Where I stand on this topic is that all human beings are very individualistic. We have the ability to choose and act based upon our free will. We may choose to do something that isn’t always responsible or for the benefit of others ,but those are some of choices we choose to make. We are incapable of choosing the worst thing possible for ourselves. We act upon what we feel is best for us at the moment or in the future, even though we aren’t always right. Although we are raised in a society were there are morals, norms, and rules we tend to ignore them at times and do things that are irresponsible and immoral. As humans we perform these irresponsible or immoral acts even though we know the consequences that come with our actions. No

Humanization prevents moral growth by diminishing feelings of guilt that people have for past transgressions. Once humanized, experiences are revisited without any psychological consequences. To a murderer, the memory of a triple homicide becomes merely “A vivid melodramatic memory, like a movie you saw a few hours ago” (Haldeman 203). Reliving these experiences—with the accompanying emotion of guilt—leads to refined moral judgement. Consequently,

Conscience, in modern usage, term denoting various factors in moral experience. Thus, the recognition and acceptance of a principle of conduct as binding is called conscience. In theology and ethics, the term refers to the inner sense of right and wrong in moral choices, as well as to the satisfaction that follows action regarded as right and the dissatisfaction and remorse resulting from conduct that is considered wrong. In earlier ethical theories, conscience was regarded as a separate faculty of the mind having moral jurisdiction, either absolute or as a representative of God in the human soul.

Many things can contribute to what you think is morally right or wrong. Religion, for example, may create a barrier on to what extent you do something. Some religions set rules, or guidelines on which they limit what people do. Cultures, as well, contribute to people’s decisions. Many times our values and ethics disagree with different people who hold different

Ethics has developed as people have reflected on the intentions and consequences of their acts. From this reflection on the nature of human behavior, theories of conscience have developed, giving direction to much ethical thinking. Each individual

Evaluation of the Claim that Conscience is a Realiable Guide in Ethical Decision Making In order to decide whether or not our consciences can be relied upon, we must first examine what we mean by conscience. In order for conscience to be consistently and absolutely reliable, infallible, it must stem from an infallible source - God. Alternatively, conscience might have a potential of ultimate reliability, if the faculty of conscience was dynamic and capable of solving problems i.e. if it was an innate part of human nature. Conscience could even be totally fallible - an arbitrary by-product of experience and biology.