CONSCIENCE

The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics (1997) defines Conscience as inner awareness of right and wrong, good and evil.  According to Blackwell, persons said to ‘have conscience’ manifest three characteristics:

 

They evaluate actions, motives and states of character to determine if these are appropriate from a moral point of view.

 

They experience feelings such as guilt or satisfaction that are consistent with moral judgments that they have made.

 

They are disposed to act on the basis of their moral perceptions. 

 

Evaluation requires reflection, probably ‘deep reflection’ or ‘intense reflection’ and it also requires one hold and understand his/her moral point of view.  Then, or in concert with this evaluation, one experiences certain feelings – actually feels them in his/her being – ‘guilt’ or ‘satisfaction’ [versus say ‘shame’ or ‘pride’].  These feelings are consistent with the ‘moral judgments’ – not just any judgments.  Finally, ‘evaluation’ and ‘experiencing certain feelings’ are not enough; conscience is incomplete without ACTION.  Not any action, but action rooted in the first two, ‘their moral perceptions.’ 

 

So, ‘conscience’ is ‘Evaluation + Experience of Feelings + a Disposition to Act.’  Martin Luther King, Jr. caught this, I believe, when he wrote that: ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.’ 

 

When have I been silent about things that really matter?

 

When have I compromised my conscience?  Why did I choose to do so?

 

What has called my conscience forth and how did I respond?

 

Do I believe that those I most vehemently disagree with act from this definition of conscience?  Do I dismiss them by labeling them as ‘having no conscience’ or by demonizing them [a common posture in our culture today].

 

I am no Patrick Henry.  ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’ does not attract me today.  I could go to ‘Give me liberty or send me to my room!’

 

Patrick Henry and Martin Luther King, Jr were, to me, persons of conscience.

 

For you, dear reader, who are persons of conscience?  When has your conscience been called forth – and how did you choose to respond?

 

One more thought, perhaps ‘evil’ occurs or is invited in, when one does not respond to the call of conscience.