A Well-Educated Conscience, Freedom, And Morality

“It’s a free country; I can do what I want …”

A misbehaving grammar school classmate occasionally invoked this specious rationale to justify his mischief. We all knew he was out-of-line (so did he) but, in childish snit, he snarled this shallow, self-righteous rationale. Despite his preening insistence, we knew his logic was foolish, his excuse ridiculous, his reasoning absurd.

Since then, abundant research says that even children intuitively know freedom always comes with limits. These limits originate in human nature’s gift of conscience which extends into law and education, moral admonitions and social customs, cultural expectations and family traditions.

Laws of conscience are also codified in religion’s beliefs about good and evil. Some religions promote tranquility. Others preach condemnation and encourage violence. But it is obvious that God and humanity are best served by Christian Virtues such as Truth, Empathy, Kindness, Forgiveness, Civility and Justice.

Sadly, conscience’s call to Virtue doesn’t prevent massive abuse and violent polarization … often in the name of God, more often for the sake of errant vanity.

Human Nature

Nonetheless, even children know that no one has the “freedom” to exceed certain norms and restrictions or violate the dignity of others. From our earliest years, we know that freedom and rights are never unconditional.

• We know the proper exercise of freedom requires self-restraint.
• We know freedom is always contingent upon laws, traditions, responsibility and accountability, respect for customs, family, school, church and one another.
• We know that acting as if these factors do not exist is immature and, often, sheer arrogance.
• And we know (or should) that human dignity is based on acknowledgement of, and obedience to, conscience.

How do we know? For starters,

(1) Natural Law and Common Sense whisper to us in the earliest stirrings of youthful conscience and

(2) thereby proclaim the boundaries of moral right and moral wrong. Even in youth, we “know” that respecting the rights of others is essential for the Common Good. In fact, knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong, defines us as human beings.

Despite the voice of conscience, some people ignore legitimate restrictions, demean Virtue and reject self-restraint. They have no respect for family or community. They’re offput by Virtues which they see as confining, stifling, irrelevant. In the process, they deny (willfully or not) the authority of our Creator and reject the moral wisdom of a mature conscience which serves as a roadmap for moral action and civil behavior in every culture.

Note Well: Educated Conscience

We have a conscience because we are moral beings. We all possess (to some degree) the ability to (1) learn moral rules, and (2) respect the limits of the moral universe into which we are born.

So, some degree of moral clarity is rudimentary in every life. It is part of human nature. BUT… by itself, this rudimentary ability is insufficient for the adult demands of age and maturity.

Thus, from our earliest years, we possess the moral Common Sense to know the difference between good and evil. That’s conscience at work … BUT as we grow into adulthood, the moral demands of maturity and Right Reason are far more complex than in childhood.

Our society is a‘brim with lots of so-called “rights.” Some rights serve legitimate purposes. Other “rights” are ridiculous, unworthy of consideration. But, as we grow, moral education is crucial so that we know what’s morally right and what isn’t.

Maturity demands that we obey the admonitions of a rightly educated conscience and grow out of our childish urges.

Freedom Isn’t Free

Knowledge of, and attention to, moral responsibility is the work of an educated conscience, the mark of adult maturity.

A rightly educated conscience recognizes the need for a Final Authority, for a definitive source of Objective Truth Who determines (1) what is morally essential if human nature is to flourish, and (2) what is morally harmful to self and others.

Our Creator God is that Objective source in time and in eternity. God is the First Cause of our moral nature and the Final Cause of the moral universe. Our educated conscience knows and honors God’s Commands.

Our educated conscience tells us what is morally good and objectively right (not just subjectively satisfying). Our ensuing behavior determines our character (or lack of it) in the eyes of other human beings … and our standing with God.

Within this context, Guilt is intended to be an inspiration rather than a weaponized, debilitating emotion.

In addition, given our need for a stable moral system, the populist mantra of “spiritual but not religious” becomes a doorway to moral relativism … and we know the chaos which awaits therein.

Clearly, freedom is not free – and should not be. Without Divine guidance, we flounder. We must grow morally, intellectually and emotionally according to proven standards if we are to be mature adults who have no doubts about our status as children of God.

Relationships

The Christian life calls us to a relationship with God - and with our neighbors near and far. These relationships require the Virtues of Altruism, Empathy, Love, Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Justice and the best of our humanity.

We must not be imprisoned by our conceits or dodges. Moral and social maturity ask far more of us than shallow escapism or self-righteous denial.

Honoring the Christian Virtues is logical and reasonable. Why? Because the Virtues are our best guides for human behavior and for the Common Good. The Virtues nourish respect for one another and alert us to our own sins and errors.

Obviously, then, we must obey objective laws and limits. That’s why we need an educated conscience, which insists that:

• we follow God’s norms of good and evil,
• we exercise adequate self-restraint
• we choose goodness over indifference, and
• we avoid evil and choose the right thing.

Choosing Goodness is the role of our educated conscience.

Conscience And Choice

The word “conscience” is from the Latin word for “knowledge.” To be clear, conscience is a power of intellect, along with memory, judgment, perception, attention and other mental functions.

Conscience is enlightened - or distorted - by knowledge which may be correct or incorrect; by valid or erroneous information; by balanced or biased ideas; by truth or by lies; by history or by propaganda. In short, conscience can be influenced by truth and facts or by errors and distortions.

Thus, a badly-formed conscience may be seriously off the moral track. Even if we mean well, a seemingly good outcome does not justify an evil means to achieve it.

In addition, conscience is intended to inspire morally good choices. BUT conscience is also weakened by flabby willpower or by wayward emotions such as dread or conceit or meanness.

So, it takes (1) intellectual clarity and (2) courageous will to act with moral conviction and seek Goodness, especially when others are swayed to lesser paths or seduced by evil.

We can, therefore, see how crucial it is that we (1) obtain morally correct information from reliable sources, and (2) choose the morally right path ... choose Goodness.

In this context, “should” and “ought” make lots of sense.

The Right Information

The Christian moral code is most fitting and practical for human nature’s need for moral clarity. The Christian ideal rests on the example of Christ, and is spelled out for us in numerous sources, such as:

• The Ten Commandments,
• The Moral and Theological Virtues,
• The Parables (i.e., moral lessons) of Christ’s life,
• The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy,
• The ever-present command to Love God and Neighbor
• Centuries of trial-and-error,

… and countless ways which emphasize the Christian message of Forgiveness and Redemption, which are the bases of a morally educated and mature conscience … enlightened by Revelation and reinforced by Common Sense, which is Reason’s inner voice.

• Question

How about the person who “feels” something is right and follows that feeling? Isn’t he following his conscience?

Conscience is not merely a “feeling.” It is reliable knowledge based on objective facts, not subjective, personal urges. These facts have been proven trustworthy by history and experience, Scripture and Tradition over millennia. Feelings are subjective urges, fleeting wishes, self-centered concerns.

The educated conscience acknowledges that it is the province of God - not us - to decide what is moral in human affairs.

Conscience does begin with childhood sensibilities which translate into an intuitive “feeling” … but, as knowledge and experience accumulate, an educated conscience is gradually formed by the addition of objective truths from reliable sources.

The educated conscience reveals our Creator’s wishes, made known to us (as we say above) by many sources, starting with the miracle of the created universe in front of us - and with ourselves.

Some people ignore the grace (i.e., the gift) of Creation and its constant epiphanies around us. But Faith reminds us that it is folly to act as if we have unlimited control over our lives; to act as if we are not beholden to God; to act as if our behavior is without consequences; to act as if we are accountable only to ourselves.

Finally . . .

Given the mysteries with which life abounds, the power and logic of the phrase "Thy will be done" comes alive. For many people, this utterance becomes a personal prayer of Sincerity and Humility, qualities of mind and heart which do not flatter a preening ego nor promote evasions of Truth.

As created beings, it makes eminent sense that Faith is (or ought to be) our priority. Faith recognizes the need for an educated conscience and for the Divine guidance it offers. And, in the last analysis, an educated conscience inevitably leads us back to the salvific embrace of Faith.

• Faith is an act of our trust and our resignation-beyond-knowing.
• Faith reveals to us that the world is a constant epiphany, a panoply of miraculous events.
• Faith resolves curiosity about the mystery of Creation.
• Faith offers us the eternally comforting premise that (as Georges Bernanos says) God's grace is everywhere.

Finally, Faith and our educated conscience say to us, “You are loved. Be in peace…”

Daniel Boland PhD is a psychologist practicing in California.