Being True to Ourselves

What does it mean to “follow your conscience?” How do you know that following your conscience is the right thing to do?

 Who is a hero?  Hero – someone who follows his or her conscience in the face of difficulties, sometimes even at the risk of losing one’s life.

 What is the meaning of the word “conscience” ?  Con – science; with – knowledge  Conscience - “to know” - has to do with knowing, refers to an action rather than a thing

 Conscience: a moral decision- making ability, or action, centering on what a person has already done or ought to do.

 Popular, inadequate understanding of conscience:  An inner voice  Our upbringing  Feeling

Popular Descriptions of Conscience An inner voice (?) Remember the definition of conscience – it has to do with knowledge, not with an inner voice or opinion.

 Popular Descriptions of Conscience  Our Upbringing (?)  Our upbringing may influence conscience but it is not our conscience

 Popular Descriptions of Conscience  A feeling (?)  Again, conscience cannot be confused with emotions or feelings. One may feel “good” about something that is wrong or evil.

Please go to p. 63 and complete the Group Talk assignment at the bottom of the page Got to p. 64 and complete Reflection at the bottom of the page. Go to p. 66 an answer questions For Review 1, 2 and 3.

 Con – science: with knowledge  Popular, INADEQUATE understanding of conscience:  An inner voice  Our upbringing  Feeling

 Three Dimensions of Conscience  AWARENESS  DEVELOPMENT  JUDGMENT

 AWARENESS  Conscience involves a basic awareness of right and wrong and our inclination toward the good.

 DEVELOPMENT  Forming a correct conscience includes everything we do to develop our awareness of truth and goodness.

 JUDGMENT  acting upon our decision  the result of our development  choosing the best course of action known to us  making a moral judgment

WE ALWAYS FOLLOW OUR CONSCIENCE!

 The exception is a psychopath  a person who lacks any sense of right and wrong  not to have a sense of right and wrong, is a mental sickness, a distortion of one’s humanity.

 INFORMED CONSCIENCE  a conscience that is educated and developed through constant use and examination  conscience seeks more knowledge, greater refinement, deeper sensitivity.

 How do we form an informed conscience ?  Prayer  God’s Word in the Bible  The teaching of the Church  The advice of significant adults  Other reliable sources

After doing all this, is it still possible to make wrong decisions?

 LAX CONSCIENCE  When a person does not employ a process of conscientious decision making  A lazy conscience

 ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE  When a person follows a process of conscientious decision making but unwittingly makes a wrong decision.

 1. Conscience is a sacred capacity that can never be mistaken. FF  2. Like morality in general, conscience has a community dimension. TT  3.Conscience requires awareness that there is right and wrong. TT  4.All human beings actually follow their conscience. TT FF

 5.“Ignorance is bliss” is actually a good description of conscience. FF  6.We can take steps to develop our conscience. TT  7.Conscience means doing what one feels like doing in a particular situation. FF  8.Two people can follow their conscience and still arrive at different judgments. TT

 9. When people follow their conscience, they always doing the morally right thing. FF  10. People should NOT always follow their conscience. For instance, instead of following their conscience people should…

Con – science: with knowledge Popular, inadequate understanding of conscience:  An inner voice  Our upbringing  Feeling Three Dimensions of Conscience:  Awareness  Development  Judgment

 PSYCHOPATH  INFORMED CONSCIENCE  LAX CONSCIENCE  ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE  CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF CONSCIENCE

 Please go to p. 71 and answer questions For Review 1-4  Also read p and answer questions For Review 1-4 on p. 76.

In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from if." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. 1. Should Heinz steal the drug? Why? 2. Does Heinz have a duty or obligation to steal the drug? Why? 3. If Heinz doesn't love his wife, should he steal the drug for her? Does it make a difference in what Heinz should do whether or not he loves his wife? 4. Suppose the person dying is not his wife but a stranger. Should Heinz steal the drug for the stranger? Why? 5. Is it important for people to do everything they can to save another's life? Why? 6. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Heinz to do? Why?

 Look at the statements about conscience and state why you agree or disagree with them. Give examples to illustrate your position.  No one can judge other people’s conscience and say whether they are right or wrong.  In moral decisions, sincerity of conscience is all that matters.  Give an example to illustrate the relationship between heroism and conscience.