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Very Average Joe

On the Conscience

The conscience in many cultures is something interior that guides one on right and wrong. It may even compel one to act rightly and/or to avoid acting wrongly. It is not a mere subjective feeling.


In Christian thought, it can be generally described as “the voice of God speaking to the soul”. This is referring to the source, that is, God’s side of things.


It is also said, without any contradiction to the above, that our conscience can be “misinformed” or “deformed” or “defiled” through sin (Titus 1:15). In other words, we can be wrong and this is referring to our side of things.


St Thomas Aquinas, consistent to those before him, goes further on our side of things, that the conscience is not a power but an act as it is “the application of knowledge”. It can be an act in three ways: to recognize the right or wrong of something done or not done; to incite something that should or should not be done; to assess whether something was done well or not. (Summa, I:79:13)


There are, to my knowledge, no dogmatic definitions of what the conscience is or how it works precisely. The above tells us that God does something, it implies some sort of interface between God and man, and then we act or not based on that.


On the Conscience

I offer the following as an opinion based on what is traditionally accepted.


To use the crude analogy of telecommunications, “the voice of God speaking to the soul” can be considered a signal from God. It is safe to assume that His signal is perfect, whatever and however much or little that may be.


However, upon reception of said signal, our processor—that is, the three powers of the soul: memory, intellect and will—does not process it perfectly due to our fallen state. We may, given our free will, pretend we didn’t get the signal or accidentally-on-purpose selectively process mere parts. It is presumably also for this reason that St Thomas Aquinas states that the conscience is not a power since it “can be laid aside” whereas “a power cannot be laid aside”. (ibid.)


Whilst it is obvious our processor and therefore processing is not perfect, there is the question of whether our receiver and therefore the reception of God’s signal is perfect. How this interface works is unclear.


To rephrase the question: Despite our fallen state, does God ensure that we receive His signal perfectly?


I asked a priest and although he is uncertain (as there is no dogmatic definition), it is his opinion that we do not necessarily receive God’s signal perfectly. Either way, it typically takes time to process whatever is received. So, just as our conscience can be misinformed, it can also be formed or reformed for the better. In this sense, it can mature but it takes time.


Without going into technicalities, this signal is a grace and can be considered as part of something like sufficient grace. Even if we do not receive God’s signal perfectly, He does ensure we get something. Common experience supports this as our sense of right and wrong may not always be clear or intensely forceful but it is undeniably there. (That may be all God intends in some cases.)


If God’s signal is considered part of sufficient grace, then it is necessary to cooperate and correspond (Matthew 25, Luke 19); that is, listen to it and make good use of it. Although our conscience can be misinformed or deformed, as a matter of practicality, the commonsensical approach is to be conservative and not go against one’s conscience.


Either way, God may reward the effort by helping one better receive and process His signals. To look at this from another angle, as an act, it can become a habit—a habit can be defined as “a disposition towards a certain operation” and virtue is a good habit—so through habit one can be more in tune to receive and process God’s incoming signals going forward.


Also, on a related note, St Thomas Aquinas calls “synderesis” the habit of knowing first principles and to “incite to good, and to murmur at evil”. (Summa, I:79:12,13)

Now all the habits by which conscience is formed, although many, nevertheless have their efficacy from one first habit, the habit of first principles, which is called “synderesis.” And for this special reason, this habit is sometimes called conscience…

I read that as the habit of obeying one’s conscience helps form other good habits which in turn helps further form the conscience.


It should be noted that insofar as God permits, others can also broadcast. Even if the demons cannot directly interfere with God, they may be permitted to interfere with us. Angels, particularly our guardian angels, can do likewise for our benefit.


Spiritual warfare is another topic but it suffices to state that all these signals from different parties can cause confusion. This is our lot in this life given our fallen state. Even if we cannot control what signals we receive, we can control how to process them. It requires discipline, prayer and staying informed (that is, learning what the Church and Tradition teach).


In short, it requires grace from God and effort by us, and this also applies to the formation of children, it takes time and effort to make sure their conscience is properly formed.

 

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