THE SUBJECTIVE NORM OF

MORALITY

CONSCIENCE

Feeling of guilt, worry, dissatisfaction,

restlessness or a feeling of hiya when
they do something wrong.
Sincerity: to be true to ones 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.

As a practical moral judgment

(synderesis): the dictate of conscience
Conscience is a practical moral
judgment on the morality of a particular
action commanding to do what is good
and to avoid what is evil. This
description of conscience pertains to all
persons.

Conscience is the subjective

or proximate norm of morality.

It is proximate because it is
what directly confronts an
action as good or bad.

Its function is to examine,

judge, to pass a sentence
by way of moral actions.

The word is derived from the

Latin conscientia which
means trial of oneself both in
accusation and in defense.

Conscience is the law written by

God in our hearts.
To obey it is our own very dignity,
according to it we will be judged.
GS. 16

Conscience is the most secret core

and sanctuary of man.
There he is alone with God whose
voice echoes in His depths. GS. 16

Conscience according to St.

Augustine is the place of loving
colloquy between God and the
human person, and therefore is the
voice of God.

Thus, conscience is but an

extension of the Natural law which
guides man to seek the good of his
nature.

The main function of conscience is

to determine what ought to be done
in a given situation.
After the commission of an act, it
assumes the role of approving or
reproaching.

SYNDERESIS
ACQUIRED EQUIPMENT OF MORAL PRINCIPLES
INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE OF RIGHT AND WRONG

THE STARTING POINT OF THE REASONING PROCESS

WHICH ENDS IN THE JUDGMENT OF CONSCIENCE

WHEN WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH POSSIBLE COURSE OF ACTION

WE COMPARE IT MENTALLY WITH MORAL PRINCIPLES
D ARRIVE AT A CONCLUSION WHETHER THE ACT IS GOOD OR BA

It was the night before their final examination. Nilo

prepared a kodigo. He earnestly desired to get a high
grade in the exam and to impress his classmates as well.
However, on the day of the exam, he felt a growing
uneasiness deep within himself and gave up his plan.
The feeling of uneasiness was the result of Nilos
conscience which made him realize his moral obligation to
be honest, which led him to give up his plan to cheat.
Therefore if my conscience tells me that this act is
cheating and therefore is bad, it is a moral judgment which
expresses that I am morally bound not to do the act. If I go
ahead and do not follow my conscience, I sin.

that discerns what is right or wrong

to do the good and avoid the evil.

Conscience belongs to the person as a human being.

The faculty which makes known to man his moral
obligations and urges him to fulfill them. It is a faculty
distinct from reason, will and feeling, situated at the very
depth and center of the human person which gives to man
an understanding of his meaning and destiny, an
awareness of the divine purpose behind the world, a
perception of his personal calling within Gods plan
and an experience of the imperative character of this
calling (Peschke).

1.) Conscience in the Process of Time: Antecedent,

Concomitant, Consequent

2.) Conscience in Relation to Certitude: Certain,

Doubtful
3.) Conscience seen according to the Objective
Norm: Right, Erroneous (perplexed, lax, scrupulous,
compensatory)

*Antecedent conscience helps us to

sort out the data and examine the
morality of an act before we perform
it.
*It permits or forbids.

*Concomitant conscience refers to my actual awareness

of being morally responsible for the goodness and the
badness of the particular act while I am doing it.
*Scolding or disapproving (as in the case of habitual sins:
kupit, saying bad words, answering back, etc.) or
approving (as in the case of good habits).

*Consequent conscience is the process of looking

back to review and evaluate the morality of what
we have done.
*It approves or accuses.

A conscience that passes

judgment without fear of error.

*In other words, it is purity of intention. My moral

actions are not for show but arise from a sincere
intention to do what is right.
*It is acting according to my convictions.
*However, this conscience can be wrong
(erroneous) and present as good something which
is objectively bad or vice versa.

A conscience that is uncertain concerning

the morality of an action therefore it
suspends is judgments; or it passes
judgments but with reasonable fear of
erring.

A conscience that agrees with the

objective norm (natural law).

A conscience that is mistaken, i.e., does not agree

with the objective norm.

Invincibly erroneous: It is the type that is not due

to my own fault. There was no awareness of my
error.
Vincibly erroneous: My error is due to my own
fault. It often happens when I am doubtful and I do
not take time and energy to find out what is truly
good and bad.

a.) Perplexed conscience: This type of

erroneous conscience fears sin in whatever
choice it makes (conflict of values). This
usually occurs in individuals who are less
acquainted with moral norms.

b.)Lax conscience: It is inclined to judge a

thing to be allowable when objectively it is not
or considers something to be a light sin when
actually it is a grave one. This is a result of
being lukewarm in the service of God (see Rev
3:15-20).

c.) Scrupulous conscience: It is in constant

dread of sin where there is none, or of grave sin
when there is only venial sin (a rarity nowadays
due to the elimination of legalism in moral and
ascetic theology).

d.) Compensatory conscience: This type of

scrupulous conscience is preoccupied with the
small and minute details of morality. It is an
attempt to conceal a fundamental lack of
generosity in the spiritual life (scruples of the
tepid).

1.) A certain conscience must always be obeyed

when it commands or forbids.

2.) The certainty required for the judgments of

conscience generally need not be a strict moral
certainty, but a wide moral certainty is sufficient
(reasonable certainty).
3.) The invincibly erroneous conscience must be
followed in the same way as a certain conscience
that is right.
4.) The vincibly erroneous conscience cannot be
followed as a legitimate rule of action.

5.) Before a person with a vincibly erroneous conscience can

act, he must first remove his doubtful state by searching after
the truth.
6.)If he is not able to do so for the moment, he must postpone
the action, or he must follow the safer line of action.
A.) Direct removal of the doubt: through reflection on the
case in the light of general principles, through consultation
of experts and pertinent books, through clarification of the
facts, etc.
B.) Indirect removal of the doubt: through the application of
the reflex principles
7.)A person who is of lax conscience has the general and grave
obligation to reform this state of mind since it exposes him to
the danger of sin.

8.) In instances of a perplexed conscience, one must

first postpone the action in order to obtain
information and deliberate on it.
9.) If the decision cannot be postponed, one must
choose what appears to be the lesser evil, or if this
is impossible to settle either of the alternatives
(impossibility and lack of freedom rule out sin)
10.) Supposing that the moral gravity of conflicting
precepts is approximately the same, the precept of
natural law ordinarily precede the precepts of positive
ecclesiastical and civil law.

A. True Conscience (Correct)

when it decides from true

principles that some acts are
lawful and others are unlawful.
It judges what is good as good
and what is evil as evil.

B. False Conscience (Erroneous)

when it decides from false

principles considered as true that
something is lawful which in fact
is unlawful.
It judges incorrectly that which is
good is evil and what is evil is
good.

1. Scrupulous Conscience

which for useless and almost

ridiculous reasons judges, or
rather, fears that an act is evil
when in fact it is not.
It is rigorous conscience
extremely afraid of committing
evil.

It is meticulous and wants

incontrovertible proofs
before it acts.

2. Perplexed Conscience

which sees sin both in the

performance and in the
omission of some act.

3. Lax Conscience

which judges in insufficient

grounds that there is no
sin in the act, or that the
sin is not so grave as it is
in fact;

The worst form of this type of

conscience is the hardened
conscience which as the
result of a long-established
habit of sinning; regards all
or at least some sins to be
of little importance.

C. Certain Conscience

is a subjective assurance of the

lawfulness or unlawfulness of
certain act.
This implies that the person is
sure of his decision. Certain
conscience should always be
followed.

D. Doubtful Conscience

is a vacillating conscience, which

is unable to form a definite
judgment on a certain action.
Doubtful conscience must first be
allowed to settle its doubts before
an action is performed.

A certain conscience must always

be obeyed when it commands or
forbids. It may always be followed
when it permits something.

A person who is of lax

conscience has the general and
grave obligation to reform this
state of mind, since it exposes
him to the danger of sin and
since it must, as a rule, be
considered as vincibly
erroneous.

A lax conscience is usually the

result of lukewarmness in the
service of God, as depicted in the
book of Revelation 3:15-20.
Christ counsels the lax members of
his church to buy from him the
remedies for lukewarmness.

These remedies are

1a

re-vitalization of religious life and

faith in God,
2the probing of conscience and
3repentance, and zeal in doing
good works.

The Basic Principle

In a practical doubt about the
lawfulness of an action one may
not act.

The reason is that by acting with a

doubtful conscience, a person
would expose himself to the danger
of injustice and sin, and that itself is
injustice and sin.

The action must be postponed until

certainty can be reached. Practical
certainty can be gained directly by
solving the doubt
1through

reflection on the case in

the light of general principles,

2through

consultation of experts
and pertinent books,
3through

clarification of the facts.

CONSCIENCE

SINCERITY CORRECTNESS
It is not enough to be
sincere.
It is important to be correct.

FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE:
TO FORM ONES CONSCIENCE MEANS TO GET RID OF DOUBT
AND ACHIEVE CERTAINTY

O REASON OUT THE RIGHT AND WRONG OF A GIVEN SITUATION

MORAL CERTITUDE IS SUFFICIENT AND REQUISITE
FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE CONSCIENCE-JUDGMENT

IT IS POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE MORAL CERTITUDE

DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY

DIRECTLY:
BY STUDYING THE ACT ITSELF AND ITS MORAL
DETERMINANTS
AND HAVING A CLEAR KNOWLEDGE OF THE QUALITY OF
THE MORAL ACT AS GOOD OR EVIL

INDIRECTLY:
BY APPLYING THE REFLEX MORAL PRINCIPLE
WHICH MEANS THAT A DOUBTFUL LAW DOES NOT BIND.

LEVELS OF CONSCIENCE
1. INSTINCTIVE LEVEL
Dominated by fear of punishment & desire for
approval or reward.
Natural level, normal for children.
Operates on the instinctive level
Focuses :
- on the command,
- on the material breaking of the
command,
- on escaping punishment, and
- on being restored to the good graces of
the authority figure.

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.
The inner good or evil is judged in
terms of the value of the human person
in community.

3. CHRISTIAN LEVEL
My 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.
operates on the religious level
Not some separated area but the
whole of our daily lives,
It is strengthened and illumined by
Christs revelation and grace
METANOIA

 We become conscious of the healing &

liberating grace present in our very moral
struggle & striving, as we are called to
greater & fuller conversion into the
persons that God has created us to
become.

HOW DO WE FORM A CHRISTIAN

CONSCIENCE?
Personal & ecclesial PRAYER LIFE
Studying the WORD of GOD & the
Teachings of the Church (Seek the
moral guidance of the Church)
Responsiveness to the indwelling Holy
Spirit.
Examination of ones conscience.
Critical Reflection on our concrete moral
choices & experiences in daily life.

aLet

us remember that
conscience is not independent
of external law and authority.

Its function is to apply the law.

Therefore, the guiding hand of
conscience is the law.

The first step to take in order to

educate our conscience is to
overcome ignorance and error by
applying ourselves to the study of
our moral, civil, and Churchs laws
and regulations.

bThe

second step in the

education of conscience is to
overcome doubts in moral
matters by forming good habits
of reasoning or by consulting
prudent and virtuous persons.

The S in the STOP sign stands for

Search.
We should always begin our
process of deciding what is right
and wrong by searching out the
facts.

Reporters always ask certain

questions in the following reality
they are reality-revealing questions.
The questions are the five ws and
the h: what, why, who, where,
when and how.

WHAT? An excellent starting point

in moral decision-making is to
know what you are talking about.
What is it you propose to do?

For example, suppose a

person is involved in an
unwanted pregnancy and is
contemplating an abortion.

Certainly, before that person

should rush into an abortion, she
would be wise to know what an
abortion is, she would be
prudent to realize some basic
fats about a fetus.

WHY? In morality, why is an

extremely important question to ask
because it gets at the motives of
the person performing the action.
Motives can make all the difference
in morality.

Our legal system recognizes

this reality.
Motives are very important in
morality.

In the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus called his followers to
have only the loftiest intentions.
He wants only good motives
from his disciples.

WHO? In judging moral cases,

one should consider the people
involved in the situation because
they often play a significant role
in determining right and wrong.

For example, smoking marijuana is

a what to consider; but an airline
pilot (the who) smoking up will
greatly affect the quality of ones
judgment of that what.

It stands to reason that you

would not want a pilot to get
high while embarking on a
flight and entrusted with the
lives of other people.

WHERE? But place can often

affect the morality of an action.
For example, there is nothing
inherently wrong with practicing my
golf swing, but if I do it in a
crowded room of students, I face
the possibility of being charged with
assault and battery.

WHEN? Timing, as well as place

and who is involved, need not
always be a key factor.

Practicing ones trumpet in an

apartment house at 3am is
distasteful, if not outright cruel.

HOW? The how refers to the

means used to bring about the
desired effect.

Killing an innocent person is evil;

thus, injecting air bubbles into veins
even with the good intention of
shortening a very painful terminal
illness would be considered
wrong under this solid principle
morality.

Dealing with frustration by taking

it out on the family would also be
an example of using improper
means to bring about a desired
outcome.

The T in the STOP sign means

Think.
CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVES.
Human creativity and inventiveness
can usually discover multiple ways
of approaching the same issue, the
same problem.

As a matter of fact, human

intelligence demands that we at
least look at different approaches
to a given problem.
When confronted with difficult
decisions, a good way to get the
courage to decide is to look at the
problem from many different
angles.

EVERY ACT HAS CERTAIN

CONSEQUENCES.
Some of them can be foreseen;
others cannot.
A reflection on the consequences,
the results of our actions, is a
powerful help in judging the
rightness or wrongness of those
act.

In the STOP sign, O stands for

other people.
One undeniable fact about
human life is that humans are
social beings.

We are dependent on others for

our very life, for our education,
for our employment, for most
aspects of everyday living.

HOW OUR ACTIONS AFFECT

OTHERS.

Take a simple example like smoking

cigarettes.
Few people would consider this
moral issue.
Are they correct? What might be the
effect of my smoking on others?

CONSULTING OTHERS.
The wise person rarely goes it alone.
Even the experienced writer asks
some competent persons to check
his or her work.

Doctors often get a second or third

opinion in the diagnosis of an
extremely difficult medical case.

Other knowledgeable people do

the same.
Making moral decisions is no
different.
At times, it is very prudent to
discuss ones decision with
another.
We do not live in a vacuum.

It is the humble person who can

admit that he or she does not
have the Wisdom of Solomon
and is willing to dig deeper for
other points of view.

The P in the STOP sign signifies

prayer.
When the sweat and hard work of
searching, thinking considering
others is completed, in a sense,
ones task is really only half begun.

For the Christian, prayer is a

powerful way to get Gods help in
searching out His will for us.
In its simplest form, prayer is
putting oneself consciously in the
presence of the Lord.