HOW TO GET TO THE
HIGHEST LEVEL,
CONSCIENCE-BASED
MORAL
DECISIONS
Artieda, Aprilynne Giane A.
Ayohan, Lynvel R.
VARIOUS NOTIONS OF CONSCIENCE
• Feeling of guilt, worry, dissatisfaction,
restlessness or a feeling of “hiya” when
they do something wrong.
• Sincerity: to be “true to one’s self”: “I can
do anything as long as it does not hurt
anybody”
• What “authorities” tell them to
do: the laws of the government,
the Church, the parents, the
“barkada.”
CONSCIENCE: THE SUBJECTIVE
NORM OF MORALITY
As a subjective norm of morality,
conscience has the final say in making
moral decisions. It helps a person make the
final judgement on how to act in a given
situation.
Along with LAW, which is the objective
norm of morality, conscience helps a person
determine whether one is doing the right or
the wrong.
CONSCIENCE
Itis the inner voice summoning us to love
the good and avoid evil, by applying
objective moral norms to our particular
acts, and thus commanding: “do this, do
not do that”.
Basic tendency toward the good.
Conscience is man’s most secret core, and
his sanctuary. There he is alone w/ God
whose voice echoes in his depths
• Conscience is a JUDGEMENT OF
REASON by which the human
person recognizes the moral quality
of a concrete act
• Through the process of reasoning,
based on moral principles,
conscience judges an act as good or
bad.
TWO BASIC ELEMENTS OF
CONSCIENCE
1. Moral judgment that discerns
what is right and wrong.
2. Moral obligation or
command to do good and
avoid evil.
MOMENTS
Antecedent - Conscience which
discerns. (Before the act)
Concomitant- Conscience in
action.“Am I doing the right thing?”
(During the act)
Consequent - Conscience which
reviews, evaluates an action which has
already been done. (After the act)
LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE
1. Instinctive Level – Dominated by fear
of punishment & desire for approval or
reward
Natural level, normal for children.
2. MORAL / PHILOSOPHICAL -
Operates on the ethical level, that is, not
just on what is commanded by some
“authority” but now from awareness of the
inner good or evil of an act.
3. CHRISTIAN LEVEL – One’s Christian Faith
illumines, clarifies & deepens what we perceive as
truly worthy of being a person. It places moral
striving as a personal call to wholeness &
holiness.
WAYS BY WHICH OUR CONSCIENCE IS FORMED
Through the natural education agents
of family upbringing
Our school training
Parish catechist
Influence of friends and social
contacts
TYPES OF CONSCIENCE
Correct or true Conscience – corresponds to
objective moral values and precept
A good and pure conscience is enlightened
by true faith, for charity proceeds at the
same time “from a pure heart and a good
conscience and sincere faith”
False or erroneous conscience – one which
mistakenly judges something as morally
good which is objectively evil
WORK OF CONSCIENCE
To judge the good or evil of an act, by
deciding on its three essential aspects:
the nature or object of the act
our intention as agents or doers of the
act
the circumstances which affect the
morality of the act
“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but
is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits. “
-Thomas Jefferson
THANK
YOU!
Sources
https://www.slideshare.net/arvi_bernardo/
conscience-9319884
http://ugochuks.blogspot.com/2010/03/co
nscience-and-its-role-in-moral-life.html?
m=1
https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Article/
TabId/563/ArtMID/13751/ArticleID/1034
1/What-Is-Conscience.aspx
