University of San Agustin

General Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines

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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

LESSON 5
THE HUMAN CONSCIENCE

A grace-filled day! Welcome to Module 5!

This module covers the teachings of Augustine on

its Subjective norm. It concludes the human
conscience and introspection, types of
conscience, the way of forming the human
conscience, as well as the acquisition of
knowledge and cultivation of charity.Furthermore,
it also includes the proper understanding of the
decalogue and its role in forming the conscience.

SO, RELAX, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND ENJOY THIS

LESSON 5! GOD BLESS!

14

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Week 5/6 hours

The learner puts into practice the process of

decision-making in whatever situation they are
in and recognizes their need for God through
prayer in forming their conscience.

At the end of the lesson, the learners will be

able to:

1. Discover the role of conscience and its

need for formation.
2. Practice the process of decision-making
in a particular situation.
3. Express the need for God through
prayer in forming their conscience.

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 University of San Agustin
General Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines
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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Email: crs@usa.edu.ph | Tel. No.: 0999-997-1485 | Fax No.: (033) 337-4403

 University of San Agustin
General Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines
www.usa.edu.ph

CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

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A. Conscience and Introspection

Man is guided by the dictates of one’s own conscience telling man to do what is
good and to avoid evil. The word “conscience” derives from the Latin term
“conscientia,” which in turn comes from the preposition “cum” (“with”) and the verb
“scire” (“to know”) –etymologically means “with knowledge.” Ancient Greek thought
already espoused its own notion of conscience (called “syneidesis” in Greek). This
word appeared prominently only in the late Hellenistic period when it became an
item of colloquial talk (Braun: 277). It was introduced into Christian literature by Paul
(cf. 2Cor 4:2; Rom 2:15). The original term (syn-eidos) involves the act of sharing (syn)

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knowledge or a way of understanding things, interpreting ideas, etc. (eidos) with

one’s self. When a person judges a past action, the person becomes both the judge
and the one being judged. The popular Greco-Roman view held that every person
possessed a natural inner law and a consciousness of it enabling one to make moral
judgment (Braun:278). Conscience is fundamentally an act of self-judgment, a
reflexive act of man which presupposes introspection. Augustine was a very reflective
thinker and underwent an act of introspection. In Augustine’s search for God
beginning from the outside world, then entering into the “self” seeking for God’s
images in the soul, and finally transcending to the self (cf. Conf. 10.6.9). It was
only then that Augustine encountered God – the Truth by which all things are judged.
“Do not look outside; return to yourself; in one’s interior where the truth resides; go
inside where the light of reason is illumined” (On True Religion 39.72). P. Cary
comments: “Augustine looks first at the cognitive powers of the soul. Ascending
through these faculties, from senses through memory to intellect or mind, Augustine
finally recognizes that the Truth the mind sees is above the mind itself” (Cary: 455).

Conscience is a practical judgment enabling the person to recognize whether

the concrete act in a particular situation is good or evil. (Diaz, 2019) Conscience is a
judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a
concrete act that he/she is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has
already completed. (CCC 1778)

B. The Types of Conscience

The types of conscience are lax, doubtful, certain, scrupulous, erroneous, and
true.
1. Lax – conscience is lax when there is a lack of effort in judging the morality of
the act, manifested in being lenient and loose, resulting in a poor sense of
what is good or evil.
2. Scrupulous – conscience is scrupulous when we judge a simple act to be evil,
or a lesser evil to be grave resulting in an inordinate feeling of torment and guilt
for no good reason.
3. Erroneous – a conscience is erroneous when we judge the act that is really evil
as good and that which is really good or indifferent as evil. The Church points
out some of the causes of erroneous judgment. Ignorance of Christ and His
Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one’s passions,
assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the
Church’s authority and her teaching, lack of conversion, and of charity: these
can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct. (CCC 1792)

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4. True conscience – is the kind of conscience where we make a correct and

moral judgment on the quality of the act. We come to judge an evil act as evil
and a good act as good.
5. Certain conscience – when the person is sure of the evilness or goodness of the
act, it is called certain conscience.
6. Doubtful conscience – when he/she is not sure, it is called doubtful conscience.

C. Formation of Conscience

The act of judging oneself (actions and intentions) presupposes some point of
reference. Augustine speaks of the Holy Spirit as the author of both the “law of fear”
written on stone and the “law of love” written on our hearts (cf. TeSelle: 436; Daley:
132). Such law is the standard of judgment. Man’s exercise of free will (liberum
arbitrium) presupposes the existence of conscience and the ability to judge and
discern things. The possibility to make erroneous judgment – when one perceives
something intrinsically evil as good or judges something unjust as just – remains. It is
important to form one’s conscience properly.
Christians are expected to form their conscience according to the teachings
and examples of Jesus Christ as contained in the Scripture (especially in the Gospel
accounts), and according to the teachings of the Church. From the time of
Augustine’s conversion onwards, had always had a very high regard and esteem for
the Catholic Church. Augustine even put it on a higher level compared to the
contents of the Bible itself up to the point of saying that Augustine would not believe
in the gospel unless the authority of the Catholic Church moved him to do so (cf.
Against the Letter of Manichaeus called Fundamental 5.6), Considering that the
Church was the one who decided on which books should be considered as
“canonical” and should be part of the Bible; it was also the Church that tried to
faithfully preserve it and defend its contents throughout the centuries against heretics
and schismatics. It was also the Church that provided its proper interpretation.
Christians are expected to live up to the teachings and examples of Christ that would
be according to how the Church interprets them. It is the Church that should guide
one in the formation of his/her conscience.
Acquisition of knowledge is indispensable when one talks about formation of
conscience. It needs familiarity with the contents of the Sacred Scripture and with the
teachings of the Church as well as good critical thinking in discerning what is true and
false, what is good and evil, what is just and unjust, what is acceptable or not, and so
forth. Looking at the life of Augustine, one sees how Augustine’s way of thinking and

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judging things fell under various influences along the course of time. Augustine’s
interest also changed gradually moving away from worldly concerns to spiritual
matters. Monica, Augustine’s mother, tried to imbue Christian teachings during
Augustine’s tender years, but was already in early thirties when Augustine embraced
the Catholic faith. From that time on the truth revealed in the Bible and the Church
became Augustine’s point of reference in judging things. A careful examination of
one’s conscience reveals a person’s true interests, desires and aspirations, etc. In
other words, it indicates what type of a person one is.

D. Process of Decision Making

The process of coming to a moral judgment includes three stages: discerning,

demand, and judgment/decision stage.

1. Discerning Stage
Based on CFC 835, this stage includes the pedagogical STOP formula:
S – search for possible solutions or means
T – think of reasons
O – (consult) others who are knowledgeable and expert and have a good
spirituality
P – pray for the Spirit of knowledge, wisdom, and love so that whatever is
being searched and thought of, is motivated by God’s Spirit.
2. Demand Stage
In the demand stage, we bring the pertinent moral norm for the use of our
conscience. Conscience works with the accepted moral norm to judge this or that is
good or evil, there must be a basis, a moral norm. “Our consciences always work on
accepted moral norms. They never act as a law unto themselves. Likewise, moral
norms and commandments touch us only through our consciences” (CFC 836).
3. Judgment/Decision Stage
This “simply refers to the judgment of conscience we make on the morality of
any proposed action, and our consequent decision to follow this dictate of our
conscience or not” (CFC 837).

INSTRUCTION: Please see the video below.

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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Exemplary Competent Developing

Rubric Categories
5 3 1

Content

Creativity

Punctuality

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 University of San Agustin
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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

● Conscience is fundamentally an act of self-judgment, a reflexive act of man

which presupposes introspection.
● The types of conscience are lax, doubtful, certain, scrupulous, erroneous, and
true.
● Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes
the moral quality of a concrete act that he/she is going to perform, is in the
process of performing, or has already completed.
● Christians are expected to form their conscience according to the teachings
and examples of Jesus Christ as contained in the Scripture (especially in the
Gospel accounts), and according to the teachings of the Church.
● The process of coming to a moral judgment includes three stages: discerning,
demand, and judgment/decision stage.

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 University of San Agustin
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CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

● Alvarez, Czar Emmanuel & Cabahug, Reo. “ASF 3: Augustinian

Ethics”. Unpublished.2021
● Diaz, Jade. “Signs of the Times, Obey My Commandments”.Rex
Book Store, 2019
● ECCCE (2005) Catechism for Filipino Catholics. Word & Life
Publications, Manila, Philippines.
● Miller, M.(tr)(2011). YOUCAT (Youth Catechism of the Catholic
Church). Ignatius Press, San Francisco.
● ECCCE (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Word & Life
Publications, Manila, Philippines.
● Holy Bible. The New American Bible (2006). Philippine
Bible Society

● Ditua, Leni, Hubag, Flor, Onday, Ma. Luisa. “Resource Guide

Theology 104 Moral Theology. Theology Department of the
University of San Agustin, 2011.

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 University of San Agustin
General Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines
www.usa.edu.ph

CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Email: crs@usa.edu.ph | Tel. No.: 0999-997-1485 | Fax No.: (033) 337-4403

 University of San Agustin
General Luna St., 5000 Iloilo City, Philippines
www.usa.edu.ph

CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Email: crs@usa.edu.ph | Tel. No.: 0999-997-1485 | Fax No.: (033) 337-4403