UNIT IV
WHAT ARE MY GUIDEPOSTS TO
KNOW WHERE I AM GOING?
B. CONSCIENCE
Objectives. At the end of the lesson the
students will be able to:
1. Understand the concept of
conscience and its Types,
2. Value in life conscience formation,
3. Realize in life the essence of a
true/real and honest conscience in
accord to God’s will.
CONSCIENCE
Subjective Norm of Morality
It is the practical judgment of reason over
an act as good and therefore to be
performed and as evil and therefore to
be avoided
It is an “ïnner voice” which tells us what is
right and wrong
Four (4) Categories of Conscience
1. True conscience- when it deduces correctly
from the principle that the act is lawful, or it
conforms to what is objectively right
2. False or erroneous conscience- when it
decides from false principles considered as
true that something is unlawful. The
conscience errs because of false principles or
incorrect reasoning.
3. Certain conscience- when without any prudent
fear or error, it decides that the act is either
lawful or unlawful; the person has no doubt
about the correctness of his/her judgment
4. Doubtful conscience- when it fails to pass a
moral judgment in the character of the act due
to a fear or error; or if the person is unsure
about the correctness of his/her judgment
Four Classifications of False Conscience
a. Scrupulous conscience- one that for little or
no reason judges an act to be morally evil
when it is not, or exaggerates the gravity of
sin, or sees sin where it does not exist.
b. Perplexed conscience- judges wrongly that
sin is committed both in the performance or
omission of an act. One fears that sin is
committed whether it is actually done or not
c. Lax conscience- judges on insufficient ground that
there is no sin in the fact, or that the sin is not as
grave as it is in fact, or it is insensitive to a moral
obligation in a particular area
d. Pharisaical conscience-minimizes grave sins but
maximizes small ones
Three Christian Moral Principles
1. A person who follows an erroneous conscience without
causing injury to others should not be prevented from acting,
unless the person objects unreasonably against his/her own
welfare, like in the prevention of suicide or of an injury to
one’s health
2. An individual who follows his/her erroneous conscience and
injures others should be prevented from performing his/her
external deeds. The civil authorities may lawfully impede to
defend the common welfare of the citizenry.
3. A person may not morally coerce or persuade another to act
against his/her conscience.
If an individual remains convinced of a certain course of action
despite all arguments to the contrary, he/she should follow
his/her conscience and not to be impeded.
Principles for the Formation and
Development of Conscience
1. A person is obliged to form a right and
unerring conscience
2. Everyone is obliged to follow his/her
conscience
3. An individual is not permitted to follow
erroneous conscience. The error must be
corrected before he/she acts upon it.
4. Only the certain conscience and true
conscience are the correct guide to moral
behavior.
5. If a person with a perplexed conscience finds
it impossible to ask for an advice, he/she
should choose what seems to be the lesser
evil. He should follow the reflex principles.
Reflex Principles
Reflex Principles are rules of prudence which
do not solve doubts concerning existence of a
law, moral principle, or fact by intrinsic or
extrinsic evidence. Instead, they only indicate
where, in cases of unresolvable doubts, the
greater right is usually found and the lesser
evil is feared, and which side, therefore, is to
be favored as long as the doubt persists.
The following are the reflex principles:
a. In doubt, the condition of the possessor is
the better
b. In doubt, favor the accused: crime is not to
be presumed, but to be proved
c. In doubt, presumption stands on the side of
the superior
d. In doubt, stand for the validity of the act
(validity of the matrimonial bond) or the
validity of an examination or an appointment
to an office; however, doubtful contracts are
not usually upheld by civil law
e. In doubt, amplify the favorable and restrict the
unfavorable
f. In doubt, presumption stands for the usual and
the ordinary (or follow the daily and ordinary
experience)
g. In doubt, favor the customary and hitherto
approved
h. A doubtful law does not oblige (i.e.
presumption stands for liberty)
An “adult” form of conscience “interiorizes”
the external voice of the objective norms
directing or constraining an individual.
Everyone is obliged to use serious diligence in
order to have a true conscience on every
occasion
The proper cultivation of the integrity of
conscience includes:
1. The awareness of the spirit
2. Careful knowledge of the norms
3. Removal of obstacles or sins
Two Main Principles of Conscience
Formation
Principle 1
Conscience is supreme. In moral decisions, we
must follow our conscience, even if it is
wrong.
Two points should be emphasized here:
1. Because a person is ultimately responsible
for his/her actions, nobody else can be
blamed for them.
2. Saying that conscience is supreme does not
mean that an individual is superior to God,
the Church, or other people. True, a person is
responsible for one’s actions, but these are
not done in isolation from others.
Principle 2
Though a person must always follow his/her
conscience, he/she has the duty to develop
continuously an informed conscience
Steps to help a person arrive at an informed
conscience that enables one to act correctly
and morally:
1. Have a pure intention. c. Is the course of your
Sincerity is important. action taken for the
The following sake of others?
questions will help you d. Will this action benefit
determine a “pure you or will it help you
intention”: grow?
a. Why do you resort to e. Have you considered all
this course of action? the data, or are you just
b. Is your motivation acting on impulse?
selfish?
f. Consult the teaching of Jesus in the New
Testament, of the Prophets, Moses, and St.
Paul. Ask yourself: Am I aware of the “ethical
teachings” of Jesus? The Ten
Commandments? The position of the Church?
g. Answer this question: How will this action
measure up to the yardstick of love? For
Christians, every authentic response to God
and neighbor is a response of love – a love
that is not watered down, but a real self-
sacrificing attempt to meet others and God.
h. Consult the people of God where Christ and
His Spirit reside. What are the teachings and
beliefs of the bishops, theologians, holy and
learned individuals, and the fellowship of
believers? Do you even bother to ask other
Christians for their opinion?
i. Follow the current debate on the great moral
issues. E.g. What are the pros and cons
regarding abortion, mercy killing, RH Bill and
premarital sex? What is the position of the
Church on these issues?
j. Pray for God’s graceful guidance in all actions.
Ask God’s Spirit to bring a culture of love.
Doing the right thing with God’s help brings
calmness and peace.
k. Be sorrowful for your sins, confessing them
fully and humbly, asking for God’s help in the
process. God understands all your
weaknesses. He simply wants you to admit
that you failed to live as His child. Read
“Parable of the Prodigal Son” (Lk 16:1ff)
Freedom of Conscience
Human beings have the right to freedom of
conscience. Our dignity demands that we
should act according to a knowledgeable yet
free choice.
Vatican II declares that an individual “ is not to
be forced to act in a manner contrary to his
conscience. Nor is he to be restrained from
acting in accordance with his/her conscience”
(Dignitatis Humanae No. 3)
In our moral decisions, we should be fully free,
not driven by coercion but motivated by a
sense of duty. We should not be influenced by
a mere blind, instinctive warning, but by an
authentic personal self-realization and self-
donation – a response of love in answer to a
call of love.
From this use of freedom, the moral principle
of personal and social responsibility springs.
When we realize that the dictates of our
conscience are in conflict with the rights of
others or with the common welfare, we will
automatically suspect and conclude that our
conscience is erroneous and needs re-
visioning.
The Principle of Double Effect (PDE)
It is also known as the Voluntary Indirect
Principle (VIP)
It is most often used in the analysis of the moral
aspect of controversial human acts and
commonly called upon to evaluate medico-
moral problems
There are times when we never know what
particular effect will be caused by our action;
this is referred to as unintended and
unforeseen consequences
Whether foreseen or unforeseen, these
consequences are called indirectly voluntary.
In this sense, even if they are not willed, they
are the offshoot of a directly willed action.
Example 1
One switches on the light, and in so doing, sets the
house on fire because of faulty wiring or a short
circuit.
The setting on fire –has never been foreseen or much
less intended.
Example 2. Foreseen but unintended consequences
A person smokes because of pleasure he/she derives
from it and because he/she claims that smoking
relaxes his/her nerves
He knows that smoking is hazardous to health and
experience later the negative effects of smoking
There is actually no moral responsibility for
the unforeseen and unintended
consequences.
But is there any responsibility for unintended
but foreseen consequences?
Can a person morally justify an action in which
the main and direct consequences is
something good but at the same time results
in some unintended evil consequences?
Four conditions for a valid application of
PDE
1. The action itself
must be morally
good or at least
indifferent
2. The good effect
must precede the
evil effect or at
least simultaneous
with it.
3. The intention of the agent
should be directed
towards the good effect,
never to the evil effect.
4. Proportionality: the good
effect must be more
important than or at least
equal to the bad effect.
The Principle of Totality
The principle of
totality rests on
the proposition
that the whole is
more important
than its parts.
The Principle of Epikeia
Epikeia is an
interpretation of the
human law not
according to its letter
but according to its
spirit for border cases
which have not
sufficiently been taken
into consideration by
positive law.
Some Moral Maxims
Right reason is a true law, in accord with
nature, diffused among all men,
unchangeable, eternal
One who acts through an agent is
himself/herself responsible
No one is obliged to betray himself/herself
In doubt, one may do what is generally done
No one can give what he/she does not have
The end does not justify the means
No one is a judge in his/her own case
If one is willing to cooperate in an act, no
injustice is done
