About Life (137) – “What is Conscience?” – 12/8/2016

   It is a friend that you can’t escape during your life. Some said that it is “The compass of man”, “A candle in man’s heart, its heat may hurt yet enlightens his road”. “A beam of light reflected on man’s deep soul”, “An alert”, “the power of the intelligent distinction of good and evil”, it is conscience.

   The Arabic meaning of “Dameer” in Arabic or conscience according to Mu’jam al-Ma’any  al-Jama’a, the Arabic lexicon, is a psychological aptitude to recognize and  differentiate between the good and evil actions, words and ideas, favoring the good and condemning the evil ones. The professional conscience is known in the Arabic lexicon as the accuracy, honesty, care and uprightness of doing work duties. Pang/prick/ or twinge of conscience, defined as a feeling of torture or remorse for making a mistake or behaving in a wrong way. The honest person is described to be having a clear conscience or conscientious unlike the bad or uneasy conscience. The human or moral conscience is known as a feeling experienced by all humanity that leads them spontaneously to behave according to moral values and principles and support the weak and wronged.

   Scholars and thinkers had different points of view about meaning of conscience and whether its judgment tends to be right or wrong. Some defined it as the ability of distinction between right and wrong or good and evil. Regret arises when man’s deeds contrast with the moral principles he believes in and on the contrary he feels contentment and happiness when he acts in harmony with his values. According to that definition, moral values are the real judge of his emotions of satisfaction, comfort or regret. Thus, definition of conscience differs according to the moral background of each person and the way he was brought up that constitute the true meaning of morals for him. In the modern age, Psychologists, neurologists and humanitarians defined conscience as “Emotions, feelings, principles and values that control a person” as well as” the sensible and judgmental ability of distinction between right and wrong and self-direction of doing what is ought to be right”.

   Philosophers introduced their understanding to conscience as a composition of emotional experiences based on human understanding of the responsibility held toward society and a consideration of behaviors toward others. They think that forming conscience during man’s interaction with his society and the atmosphere in which he was raised up. Psychologists think that conscience is a psychological internal component that is affected by man’s vision of his self and others’. This vision is based on his whole personality not a mere side of it.  Man’s conscience doesn’t judge the past but the present and future actions as well.

   Psychologists stressed that human consciences are varied between the good and the bad with different degrees. For example… to be continued

Anba Ermiah,

General Bishop& President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center