Conscience as an act of the Intellect (Judgment of Reason)
Prepared by: Reo Paolo M. Uri

Traditional manuals in Moral theology (following the scientific tradition), generally define conscience as a practical judgment of the intellect upon man's specific acts in the moral order. Specifically ,conscience is viewed as "an act of the practical judgment of reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be performed or as evil and to be avoided " (Parizo 1964: 63; of Glenn 1968: 83-84).
In the above definition, conscience is treated not as a distinct and separate moral faculty "but as a particular instance of the operation of reason.... [It] is the process in which the general norms of the moral law are applied to a concrete action which a person is about to perform or has performed, telling the person what his obligation is here and row or judging his past acts [In this sense], conscience is a herald which vioces the objective law and a deputy which applies it to be concrete, individual situation. Conscience accrodingly is [there] considered [as] a judgment of the partical reason" (Peschke 1985: 203).

As a judgment of reason,conscience arrives at a certain judgment of a particular act in a specific situation through a "reasoned conclusion." Hence, the operation of conscience, as a judgment of reason is based on principled things known with certainly with which are compare things or acts (Glenn ,ascited in Gualdo 2000:53).
Although the term conscience as Monsinger Paul Green puts it is, also employed to refer to the "act of reasoning out the right and wrong of a situation "before deciding what ought to be done, it is more properly employed to "signify the judgment which is the conclusion of the very act of reasoning." which requires, according to him, some sort of a priciple or set of principles (that are moral in nature, which is known as 'syntheresis' which is the starting point of the reasoning process which ends in the judgment of concsience), from which the process of reasoning proceeds (Glenn 1986: 84-85).

On what has been said so far, it appears that conscience,"does not apply to any other faculty of man except the intellect. Only the intellect, not the will nor the body, can discern the rightness or wrongness of our actions. Conscience is not a special faculty apart from the intellect nor a consequent of some kind instinct, nor a super-power behind our back. If conscience were such, then our individual acts would be non-rational underserving of man whose essence is rationality" (Baldemea et al. 1984: 97).

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Conscience as Man’s Guide to Moral Acts

Prepared by: Reo Paolo M. Uri

CONCEPT AND NATURE OF CONSCIENCE

Meaning of Conscience

The word conscience is derived from the Latin Word cum (together) and scientia (to know). Ethymologically speaking, therefore, conscience can be translated as “to know together” or “to know with”.

According to Babor (1999: 171), the word conscience is taken from the latin phrase “com alia scientia,” which is English, would roughly translate to “man’s application of knowledge “or “acting with knowledge.”

Karl Peschke defines conscience as the “moral faculty which tells people subjectively what is good and evil and which manifests their moral obligation to them “(1985:203). He also likens conscience to a sign post or some sort of a marker on the road where people as travelers are guided and directed-for them to be able to reach their goal and destination.

But according to him, the same presence of this signpost would not suffice to truly aid people on their journey. People still need a “sense” to perceive the sign of signs. “[T] o select from among them the relevant ones, and also help them where there are none” (Peschke 1985:203). This particular “sense” according to him, is a person’s conscience.

Hence, in order for man to arrive at his final and ultimate end as a moral agent (with intellect and will) he needs the guiding light of this moral faculty as he conducts himself in conformity with the objective norm of morality. It is through the use of conscience whereby man can discern within himself (subjectively) what is good that he has to do and what is bad that he must avoid, which, in turn, form his moral obligation to himself. To others and to God which is his final and ultimate end.

Moreover, conscience is considered as the second norm of morality. It is the immediate and practical subjective norm that man employs to render moral verdict on a given situation. “ It is [his] moral tool… to pass judgment on actions and things “ (Gualdo 2000: 53). Thus, when faced with a particular moral dilemma, man then makes use of conscience to know what ought to be done and avoid with such a situation.

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