What is Conscience Anyhow?

A good place to begin a discussion on ethics and morality is conscience, where the moral law impinges on us personally. In the New Testament the word "conscience" occurs twenty times. In Greek philosophy where the concept originated it means an experience of self-awareness in forming moral judgments. Since the fifth century BC the word referred to a consciousness of one’s bad behavior. The Latin equivalent is conscientia (knowing with) from which we derive directly our English word "conscience."

St. Paul says that everyone has a conscience in which the law of God is interiorized, even Gentiles. See Rom. 2:14-16; II Cor. 1:2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, "Deep within his or her conscience human beings discover a law which they have not laid on themselves but which they must obey…. For humanity has a law inscribed on its heart by God….Conscience is humanity’s most secret core and sanctuary. There humanity is alone with God." (CCC #1776; 1795)

How does conscience arise? One of the better answers to that question, comes from St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas teaches that the human mind concerns itself about two different kinds of objects: (1) being or existence and (2) goodness. When the mind concerns itself with existence Thomas calls it speculative reason. It is based on the fundamental truth that there is a difference between existence and non-existence, that we cannot affirm something and deny it at the same time. On this basic idea, called the principle of noncontradiction, all our reasoning about the world is based.

The second sort of reasoning in which the mind engages is about acts that we perform, something that Thomas calls practical reason because it concerns practice. In these instances the mind is concerned with goodness. The reason for this is that everyone who performs any voluntary act does so for an end or goal that is perceived under some aspect of goodness. We do not perform any voluntary acts unless we perceive some good in it for us. Even when we do harmful or sinful things we seek the goodness in the act. Thus if we commit adultery we seek the good of sexual pleasure or if we commit suicide we seek the goodness of relief from problems. As is the case with speculative reason practical reason is guided by a fundamental principle that is expressed as "good is to be done and evil is to be avoided." All commands in what we call the natural law are based on this principle. As theoretical reason is concerned with is questions, practical reason is concerned with ought questions.

Not many would quarrel with the principle, "Do good, avoid evil." The problem begins with the question, What makes something good or evil? Humanity has generated much controversy in answering that question. There has been much argument in the past about the morality of cannibalism, slavery, and human sacrifice. Controversies still swirl over such questions as the morality of premarital sex, abortion, contraception, recognition of homosexual marriages, capital punishment, etc. Our awareness of disagreements about moral norms should not blind us to the tremendous amount of agreement there exists among human beings of different times and cultures about what is good and evil. The Buddhists have a list of commandments whose content parallels the Judaeo-Christian list. The ancient code of Hammurabi antedated the Mosaic formulation of the commandments and was quite similar to it. Egyptian pharaohs boasted in their tomb writings about their adherence to moral principles that we accept in our own lives. Paul was aware that the Romans recognized the general outlines of the Law even though they were never instructed in it. All humanity is agreed on the general outlines of morality, do not kill, commit adultery, steal, lie, etc. even though there are quarrels about particular applications of these principles. Most persons recognize that there is a higher law to which all human law must conform if it is to be just. What is the source of this unanimity?

Once again Thomas Aquinas gives us the answer. Those things to which human beings have a natural inclination and are apprehended as being good are things to pursue and their contraries must be avoided. The commands of what are called the natural law (since it is based on human nature) follow the order of the natural inclinations of humanity. Thomas gives us three examples, not meant to be exhaustive, of what he means by the natural inclinations of humanity or the basic human goods.

• Every substance seeks to preserve its own being and so "whatever is a means of preserving human life and of warding off its obstacles, belongs to the natural law." These are things to pursue. They include such things as food-seeking, self-defense, avoidance of murder and suicide, taking reasonable care of health, etc.
• Every animal nature seeks preservation of its own being and in virtue of that inclination such things as sexual intercourse, education of offspring, etc. belong to the natural law. (Incidentally, the reason that contraception is evil is that it is a direct attack on the good of procreation and therefore against a fundamental principle of the natural law.)
• "There is in man an inclination to good, according to the nature of his reason, which nature is proper to him: thus man has a natural inclination to know the truth about God, and to live in society: and in this respect, whatever pertains to this inclination belongs to the natural law; for instance, to shun ignorance, to avoid offending those among whom one has to live…."

Since practical reason operates according to the principle, "Do good, avoid evil" this list of things that belong to the natural law are obligatory. Following the basic goods or human tendencies brings us to the goal that God has intended for humanity. When God gives us a certain nature he implicitly expects a certain kind of behavior from us. We may not eliminate one basic good for the sake of another. For example, we may not kill for love. Each new commitment to a basic tendency makes us better whereas actions against them makes one worse. Each act against a basic tendency confirms one in evil and makes reformation more difficult.