Conscience (U2)

Question 1

Importance of conscience?

Answer 1

Gaudiem et Spes, Matthew 16:26- ‘for what will it profit a man if they gain a whole world but forfeit their life’

Question 2

What is Gaudiem et Spes?

Answer 2

Calls conscience the voice that calls us ‘to love’
- Refers to conscience as law of God in our hearts, conscience is our core

Question 3

What is a moral conscience?

Answer 3

Capacity to differentiate between right and wrong based on church teachings, morality of community and voice of God within you
- Acts in love and service
- Key to responsible freedom/wanting to do what we want because of the value we speak

Question 4

What is superego?

Answer 4

We are good when we do what we’re told to do
- Stores ‘shoulds’/’have tos’
- Absorb in process of growing up under influence of authority figures
- Follow superego because of fear of reections from sources of love/approval

Question 5

What are the three dimensions of conscience?

Answer 5

Capacity, process, judgement

Question 6

What is capacity? (3 dimensions of conscience)

Answer 6

Capacity to know and do good and avoid evil
- Fundamental sense of value and personal responsibility
- Fundamental awareness there’s a right/wrong

Question 7

What is process? (3 dimensions of conscience)

Answer 7

Knowing how to perceive accurately and how to think correctly
- Moral disagreements=blindness/insight
- Conscience must be formed and examined (in a community)
- Seeks to know the truth and make it one’s own
- Searches for what right through accurate perception and reflection

Question 8

Conscience summary?

Answer 8

This is the conscience I must obey to be true to myself
- All people are bound to follow their conscience faithfully in all their activity so that they may come to God
- No one must be forced to act contrary to their conscience

Question 9

Symptoms of a misinformed conscience?

Answer 9

Rationalization, trivialization, misinformation, ends justifying immoral means, difficult to reason

Question 10

What is rationalization?

Answer 10

Finding ways to excuse immoral behaviour

Question 11

What is trivialization?

Answer 11

Suggesting because an immoral actions is small/common, it doesn’t matter/it isn’t actually immoral

Question 12

What is misinformation?

Answer 12

Basing a moral idea on incorrect info/lack of info/info without context

Question 13

What is ends justifying immoral means?

Answer 13

Suggesting the results of your bad actions justify it

Question 14

What is difficult to reason?

Answer 14

In difficult decisions, person can act without thinking, resulting in an immoral choice when better options where available

Question 15

What is the moral process of decision making?

Answer 15

Approaching decisions in an intentional/reasoned/reflective way, better choices are more likely to be make
- Rushing/not reflecting/not considering all options opens a door to errors and misinformed actions/conscience
- STOP

Question 16

What is STOP?

Answer 16

S- search, look for options, what actions you want to take, circumstances and reasons, intentions?

T- think, any other options, the consequences

O- others, impact on other people, the church’s teachings, objective decisions and wisdom from others?

P- pray, reflect and pray (look for God’s wisdom), calming and helps with focus to make better decisions

Question 17

What is the Conceptual Framework of Action?

Answer 17

Understanding of the human capacity to make things happen

Question 18

The morality of a person depends on…

Answer 18

The subject chosen, the end in view/intention, and the circumstance of the action

Question 19

What is moral sin?

Answer 19

A grievous matter, it is committed with full knowledge and with deliberate consent

Question 20

What is the ‘who’?

Answer 20

The agent: The person that makes things happen with intention
- Free choice with responsibility
- Intention shapes you
- Promises and commitments shapes the person you become in the future

Question 21

What is the ‘what’?

Answer 21

The action: what the agent does
- Actions shapes who you are (ex. gossiping, studying, shoplifting etc)

Question 22

What is the ‘why’?

Answer 22

The motive: reason for action
- Gives a reason for why things are worth doing (always appears to be good)
- Justifies action

Question 23

What is the ‘how’?

Answer 23

With what means: way of performing actions reflects the agent
- End/good outcome doesn’t justify means
- Gives quality to action

Question 24

What is ‘with/against whom’?

Answer 24

When one justifies actions, the agent seeks approval/prevents disapproval from someone
- Every action is an interaction with someone else (with, for or against someone)

Question 25

Under what circumstance?

Answer 25

Every action aggravates/mitigates circumstances
- Positive/negative circumstances reflect how much an action was in your control (impacts the responsibility)
- Taken into consideration when evaluating actions

Question 26

With what outcome?

Answer 26

Outcome of actions: intended/unintended, good/bad affects people