LESSON 12

The Role of Conscience in Moral Dilemma

One may ask what other ways we do when we are confronted with moral
dilemmas? The answer is CONSCIENCE. Conscience is innate within us that always
seek the good. Look at our individual experiences. When we commit sin, we are always
bothered by our conscience. How to go away with it? Drugs, vices, etc. that make our
conscience numb but temporarily. Remember, we are created good by God, there is
innate goodness within us. That is why we cannot tame our conscience to go with our
sinfulness. It means that we cannot let our conscience consent or agree with wicked or
sinful acts.
The natural moral law is nothing else but the law of conscience binding man to
do what is good and to avoid evil. While the conscience absolutely binds us in doing the
good and avoiding evil, conscience is also absolutely tasked to be given information. It
can be mistaken but it does not exempt the human person from liability. If a person is
able to know but fails to act in his obligation to do so, then he is not free from blame and
responsibility for what he has done.
Given such tendency to commit error, can we then disobey the dictates of our
conscience? Absolutely not, St. Thomas answered. Therefore, it is very important to
educate our CONSCIENCE. In other words, education is crucial for moral living.

Definition of conscience

Conscience as a moral faculty of man tells him subjectively what is good and evil
and manifests to him his moral obligation and impels him to fulfill it. But, conscience as
a practical moral judgment, tells man in the concrete situation what his moral obligation
is.

Development of Conscience-based Morality

1. Conscience develops normally under the influence of the morally important

impressions gained in human experience from birth onward.
2. The judgments, standards and values of beloved persons such as parents,
become incorporated internally with the gradual development of the child’s personality.
3. The conscience in children is predominantly an authoritarian one or a “must-
conscience,” that is, “follow-the-rules-conscience” and some punishments accompany
this command. While the mature and adult form of conscience is called an “ought-
conscience”, that is, a conscience based on obligation or duty.
4. As the child grows towards adulthood, the “must-conscience” must be
replaced by the mature “ought-conscience” which is no longer based on fear of
punishment, but based on one’s moral obligation. There are still many “musts” in
adulthood, but they emerge now from a sense of duty and responsibility.
5. There are also many dangers and defects in this transition to maturity such as,
psychological development of paranoia, unhealthy guilt feelings, compulsive and
fanatical anxiety which may lead to a distorted judgment on moral issues.
 6. Malfunctioning of psychological development can develop a total lack of
conscientious moral response, sometimes called moral insanity or case of the so-called
sociopath.
7. Proper development of conscience depends largely on moral instruction,
especially through formal and informal religious education, both at home and in school.
8. There are many stages possible to get to conscience-based moral decision.
One is the perfect maturity of conscience as realized by saints which is rare and cannot
be done by an average Christian.
9. Another is by following what the law can provide as a correction of one’s own
views.
10. Once man has sufficiently gathered solid information to form certain
conscience he must rely on it and follow it. St Paul says that “whatever does not
proceed from faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). He means that every action which is not
performed with the certain conviction of its rightfulness is sin.
11. The adult Christian conscience should not depend on the mass trending or
mass frenzy or emotion, nor on the pressure of family influence and parental value-
systems, or on an externally imposed code-morality.
12. Self-conviction is the ultimate goal of moral judgment. Each person should be
encouraged to experience the joy of genuine Christian freedom in discerning moral
issues through his mature “ought-conscience.”

Kinds of Conscience

1. It is called antecedent conscience if the judgment on the morality of the act and
the obligation to do or omit it is passed before the act is done. It commands,
permits, or forbids.
2. It is consequent if it evaluates an act already done or omitted. It approves,
excuses, or accuses.
3. It is right if the moral judgment agrees with the objective norms of morality.
4. It is erroneous conscience if the moral judgment disagrees with the objective
norms of morality.
5. A vincible erroneous conscience is liable but its error could be corrected. But it
cannot be followed as a legitimate rule of action.
6. If a man thinks that his moral judgment might not be good or he is aware of being
careless and irresponsible in his decisions it is vincible conscience. So he is not
allowed to act.
7. With vincible erroneous conscience a person is advised to remove first his
doubts by searching for truth. If it is not possible to do it he must postpone the
action or must follow the safer life of action. For example, if you doubt whether
you are obliged to go to Mass or not, the safer life of action is to go to Mass.
8. Associated with vincible erroneous conscience is the lax conscience which is
inclined to judge a thing to be lawful but is not. In this sense, a person does not
mind the gravity of his moral obligation.
9. A special kind of lax conscience is the pharisaic conscience which attaches
great importance to small things but makes little importance to serious matters.
1. A person with lax conscience has a great obligation to reform his state of
mind
2. But if the person with lax conscience is truly unaware of his state of
conscience and does not honestly recognize the malice of an action or his
duty to investigate, his conscience must be regarded as invincibly
erroneous and he would be excused from guilt.
3. The exact opposite to lax conscience is the tender or delicate conscience
which is characterized by a clear and vigilant judgment of the good.
4. Scrupulous conscience is always and unreasonably afraid of committing a
mistake or sin.
5. Temporary scrupulous. Scrupulosity may be caused by temporary
crises. There are some critical periods or events in life which can raise
temporary emotional unrest and exaggerated fear of conscience. This is
temporary and may melt away as reorientation of life is achieved.
6. Compensatory scrupulous. This is a disturbance or disorder of
conscience. It gives more importance to small and innocent details of
morality to stay away from one’s real responsibility or obligations.
7. Obsessive-compulsive scrupulous. This is psychic disease built up in
early childhood. A) In some instances, the person has a general anxiety
that he could sin or actually has sinned in all kinds of actions. B) In other
instances, the anxiety of committing mistakes is fixed to certain areas
such as, in matters of faith, in praying, to responsibility for others, or to
chastity. This type is caused by severe or inconsistent moral and spiritual
education during upbringing of the child. So, the person feels perpetual
guilt about his passions and urges and feels obligated to make
reparations for these instincts he sees as evil when in reality it is not. So,
he feels a constant need to go to confession and repeatedly recites his
“sins.” C) In other instances, the person is always suspicious. He seeks
advice but eventually turns to the adviser or counselor or priest charging
them that they have misinterpreted his case and violated his confidence.
This emotionally disturbed person may turn hostile towards authority
figures and even God.
8. An invincible erroneous conscience occurs when the person is not aware
of the possibility of error.
9. invincible erroneous conscience must be followed. So, if you think that
today is Sunday but do not go to Mass you commit sin, even if it is not
Sunday.
10. A certain conscience passes judgment without fear of error. But an
absolutely certain conscience can still be erroneous.
11. A certain conscience must always be obeyed when it commands or
forbids. Every action which is not performed with the certain conviction of
its rightfulness is sin.
12. The certainty of judgment may not be a strict moral certainty, but a wide
moral certainty is enough.
13. Strict moral certainty excludes any reasonable fear or error, example,
people will not kill indiscriminately. It means anything that does not
contradict the normal behavior of rational beings.
14. Wide moral certainty is accompanied by a slight yet negligible fear of
error, example, the assumptions that doctors will act responsibly and with
competence or that drivers will respect traffic rules. Wide moral certainty
is enough for licit or acceptable operation in general conditions of life.
15. The doubtful conscience is uncertain about the morality –goodness or
badness- of an action. So, it suspends its judgment, or it passes judgment
but with reasonable fear of erring.
16. The doubt may either concern the existence of the law and moral
principle (dubium iuris) or the existence of a fact (dubium facti). Example:
you doubt if therapeutic abortion is lawful is a doubt about the principle
while the doubt about the growth in the uterus of a sick woman is a tumor
or a child is a doubt about a fact.
17. Speculative and practical doubt. Speculative is concerned with
theoretical truth of an ethical doctrine (the doctrine that the use of atomic
bombs may sometimes be lawful).
18. Practical doubt deals with the lawfulness of an action to be performed
here and now (decision to use an atomic bomb against the enemy here
and now in a definite war.)
19. In a practical doubt about the lawfulness of an action one should not do
the act. The action must be postponed until certainty can be reached.
20. The best way to attain certainty of the lawfulness of an act is to consult
the experts.
21. If the doubt cannot be solved directly we may attempt to gain practical
certainty indirectly by the application of the so-called reflex principles.
22. Reflex principle indicates where in cases of unresolved doubt the greater
right is usually to be found and the lesser evil to be feared.
23. If there are no actual evidences the reflex principles will at least
guarantee that in majority of cases injustice is avoided and the rights of
those concerned are safeguarded.
24. Rules of reflex principles: a) In doubt,, the condition of the possessor is
the better b) In doubt, favor the accused c) Crime is not to be presumed
but to be proven d) In doubt, presumption stands on the side of the
superior e) In doubt, presumption stands for the usual and ordinary
(follow daily and ordinary experience) f) A doubtful law does not bind
because presumption stands for freedom g) In doubt, stand for the
validity of the act (validity of the matrimonial consent)