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THE FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE

"conscience" is a function of the human intellect making moral judgments. To be more specific, when the mind judges, on the basis of general principles (such as "Thou shall not steal"), that a particular action should be done or avoided, here and now, then the practical judgment of the mind is called "conscience".

Through reason and revelation the mind is conscious of many general, abstract principles, such as the Ten Commandments or the most general moral principle of all, "Do good and avoid evil."

Since man lives in time and space and must make decisions all day long in the here and now, he is constantly applying those general principles to concrete situations.

The application of the mind of those general principles to concrete cases is what "conscience" means

Generally, people link having a conscience with knowing the difference between right and wrong, being able to empathize with others, feeling remorse when causing another's pain, and having the capacity to inhibit behavior that is unlawful or unethical.

In other words, we can conduct ourselves according to the basic laws and social conventions of our society while at the same time promote the well being of our fellow man.

there are psychologists who focus more on cognitive (mental) development (Lawrence Kohlberg and Piaget) as the primary factor that influences moral development,

Carol Gilligan, who has conducted studies that show that there are differences in the ways in which boys and girls develop morally.

Boys are more focused on what is right or just girls focus more on the sense of human connectedness and caring as the key factors that guide moral decisions.

WHEN DOES THE ABILITY TO JUDGE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG COME TO BE?

Abstract thinking begins developing in early childhood, but gets into full swing around the age of nine and becomes more refined around the age of twelve.

The reason this is so important is that it allows one to consider ethical situations in terms of abstract ideas. In other words, we can see how what we learned during a previous experience might apply to another experience that is similar, but not exactly the same.

We can consider all the possible solutions to a problem and weigh them in our minds before making a decision. Most importantly, we can see how our own actions might affect those around us before we act. Abstract thinking provides the means for a fuller capacity to empathize with others because we can mentally put

ourselves in the other person's place and imagine what it would be like.

One's conscience is formed basically through three processes that take place during the early and middle years, and are refined during adolescence. These are the processes of identification with parents, instruction and training, and interactions with one's environment.

The Process of Identification

Identification is a subtle process that begins soon after birth. We're all familiar with the saying "Monkey see, monkey do."

In a rather simplistic way, this statement sums up what is meant by identification. it means the process by which the young child imitates and internalizes the characteristics of his or her parents during the formative years.

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the formative years begin at birth and extend up into adolescence during which time one forms a basic identity and sense of self.

The identity formed is usually a confluence of characteristics that come from the parents, extended family, school or educational setting, and community environment.

We can even say that the larger culture one is born into and grows up in has a significant influence on our personality development.

Identification is the method used to internalize and make one's own certain psychological characteristics ranging from the way we think about things to the way we relate to others, or even to the kinds of ideals we aspire to as we move toward the adult world.

As children move through childhood, the initial attachment expands into a more complex process of identification. It takes two different forms.

On the one hand, the child directly imitates the characteristics of the parents. Obvious examples are copying certain mannerisms, styles of speech, methods for doing things, or any kind of habitual behavior that is often experienced by the child through observation.

The second form of identification is more about how children experience their parents as opposed to how they imitate them.

It has to do with the way the parents relate to the child. For example, if parents are primarily attentive, respectful, and nurturing, the child will internalize these characteristics as the way in which he should relate to others.

The main things to remember in regard to the process of identification is that parents must spend adequate time with their child that is focused on enhancing their relationship, building good attachment, fostering a sense of belonging, and communicating love and caring.

Instruction and Training

This is the nuts and bolts of developing a conscience that builds on the foundation of a good attachment. It is equally important.

Children do not usually just develop a sense of right and wrong from hanging around their parents. parents must also give specific instructions and training.

How is this done? Very broadly, it begins by setting limits. More specifically, it is necessary to discuss in detail the differences between right and wrong as situations

present themselves. This should be done on a level the child can understand. For example, a four-year-old would simply need to be given a very concrete description of the expected

behavior with a very cursory statement about the reasoning behind it. As the youngster gets older, the discussions around why things are right or wrong, or just, can become more

elaborate. This is because the older child has a more developed cognition and can understand and think about these things.

Interactions with the Environment

As youngsters approach 8 ½ to 9 years of age, they begin to take some of their instruction from others in the environment such as teachers, coaches, friends' parents, and of course, their peers.

They are beginning to develop the capacity to discriminate more between the various shadings in ideas and behavior, and they notice that some of the more influential people in their environment have slightly different twists on morality.

With the development of hypothetical thinking, they can now test things out in their minds. Issues begin to have more than one side.

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The environment can also assist in reinforcing instructions and training given out by parents. For example, the school may reinforce that lying and cheating are not acceptable behaviors.

Or standards of behavior emphasized by a church youth group may reinforce the lessons regarding empathy that parents have worked to instill.

Conversely, the environment can also work in direct conflict with the definitions of morality offered at home. Certainly this is true of some of the offerings by the media whether it be television, film, or the internet. In this case, home instruction has to consider these influences and moderate them while also discussing them in detail.

As a rule, parents of younger children should be very selective about the media their children are exposed to, and spend a good deal of time examining the effects and counteracting them if need be.

For younger children, fantasy stories and fairy tales often promote moral lessons and empathetic behavior. These stories can be quite influential as they are remembered and repeated and often remain in the mind through adulthood.

CONSCIENCE: The little voice inside our minds The personal self that tries to make a

sound judgement about what one OUGHT TO BE and what one OUGHT TO DO.

Is the practical judgement of reason upon an individual’s action as either good and is to be done and evil and is to be avoided.

KINDS OF CONSCIENCE:1. Antecedent conscience:2. Consequent conscience3. Correct conscience4. Erroneous conscience

Culpable Inculpable

5. Certain conscience6. Doubtful conscience7. Scrupulous conscience8. Lax conscience

ANTECEDENT CONSCIENCE: is characterized by a pro active judgement It advises, permits, and commands the human person to execute an act which is good and prohibits or

forbids that which is evil It is a preventive judgement antecedent conscience is a judgment passed "before" the action is done. It is the voice within our inner

self that tells us: "Yes,do it"or "No,don't do it".. BEFORE we are going to take the action.. Deleting a cheat sheet someone e-mails you, because you know it is wrong.

CONSEQUENT CONSCIENCE: is characterized by a reactive judgement The conscience reacts after an action has been done It leads to feelings of inner peace from doing an act that is good or remorse after performing an evil act It is a moral judgement after an act is performed deciding that it was wrong to steal a DVD after you have already taken it.

CORRECT CONSCIENCE: sees rightly the goodness or badness of a human act

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It judges things as they are It sees good as good and evil as evil It is guided by and based on ethical standards and principles Correct conscience is the good judgement of the mind when it concludes correctly using the true

principles to determine whether some act is lawful or sinful. Correct conscience is also known as a morally certain conscience.

ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE: makes distorted judgements through the misinterpretation of ethical principles It can mistake evil as good and good as evil

INCULPABLE: the human person commits an error or fault due to an absence of knowledge of the goodness or badness of an act The first characteristic of an erroneous conscience is ignorance. Ignorance can occur if someone

bypassed an important point or was never taught the truth about a moral issue. A young person may never have been raised to know that stealing property that belongs to another is a serious moral issue.

This act is therefore done unconsciously or unintentionallyCULPABLE: the person commits fault or a wrongful act resulting from negligence, or lack of skill In this state, one is in error and is therefore responsible for such an erroneous state of

conscience. The person performing the act is aware of the goodness or badness of the act but because of

negligence, or lack of skill, ends up doing a wrongful act and is therefore held liable for his or her actions.

Let’s take the same scenario from above – a person who perpetually steals has turned into a thief. The stealing has become a habit and the person has no recompense to even correct the behavior. He will say – that’s what I do. This habitual sin leads to greater sins and will potentially destroy the individual.

CERTAIN CONSCIENCE: dictates a course of action in clear terms without fear of mistakes and errors. It stands firm on judgement on an act that is to be done for it is good, or for an act to be avoided for it is

evil.DOUBTFUL CONSCIENCE: it leaves the human person undecided as to the proper course of action

It suspends or holds judgement on an act due to uncertainty on its morality or immorality. a teen wondering whether it is OK to take his parents car without permission

SCRUPULOUS CONSCIENCE: dictates a person to see evil where there is none It is extremely strict in morals, is extraordinarily cautious, or fearful in doing and judging an act The person with this type of conscience is always scared to commit mistakes An overly scrupulous conscience is an exaggeration of healthy guilt. It is healthy to feel guilty about real

wrongs we have done that are not forgiven as this guilt prompts us to recognize we've done something wrong and to seek forgiveness and reconciliation and help us to want to correct our future behaviour

believing that killing someone is always morally wrong, even in time where there is absolutely no other alternative solution and you are acting in self-defense.

LAX CONSCIENCE: tends to judge acts to be good when in fact they are actually evil. It fails to see wrong where there is wrong It finds excuses for an evil act to be justified as not evil, but instead is good An erroneous conscience when the mind decides on insufficient grounds that a sinful act is permissible

or that something gravely wrong is not serious.

Conscience both precedes and follows concrete moral actions. Antecedently, conscience will urge one to do some good action or to avoid some evil action. The judgment of conscience following an action is either approving (when the action is good) or condemning (when the action was bad); the latter is said to be a "bad conscience" and is accompanied with a sense of guilt.

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Since conscience involves a judgment, it is said to be correct when the judgment corresponds with the objective norms of morality.; it is said to be erroneous when it is not. Subjectively, a conscience is said to be certain if an individual has no doubts about the morality of what he is doing; it is said to be doubtful if a person is undecided what to do. The ideal conscience, the one that is to be striven for, is a conscience that is both correct and certain.

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