Conscience Hath Many Tongues.Jayne Hoose, editor, Conscience in World Religions. Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame , Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press The University of Notre Dame Press is a university press that is part of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States. External link
This book contains papers about conscience. The first part is Christian, the second covers Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. The first paper (Costigane) is: "A History of the Western Idea of Conscience." Conscientia (Latin) from Greek syneidesis means reason and remorse. In Aristotle syneidesis matures with nous and phronesis. In St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery , conscience concerns justification and awareness of others' consciences. St. Jerome names the conscience which can never be lost as synderesis, and conscience which can be lost through disregard as syneidesis, a source of fundamental principles. (Recent authors have questioned interpreting Jerome as intending the distinction in this way -- Douglas Langston, Conscience and Other Virtues (2001).) Aquinas gives a syllogism syllogism, a mode of argument that forms the core of the body of Western logical thought. Aristotle defined syllogistic logic, and his formulations were thought to be the final word in logic; they underwent only minor revisions in the subsequent 2,200 years. : synderesis in the major premise major premise n. The premise containing the major term in a syllogism. Noun 1. major premise - the premise of a syllogism that contains the major term (which is the predicate of the conclusion) major premiss , reasoning in the minor, and conscience as the conclusion. Martin Luther regarded conscience (Gewissen) as adherence to the word of God in scripture. For Newman conscience provides knowledge of wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do and responsibility, and awareness of God as sovereign and judge. Conscience is a personal guide (Kierkegaard, Barth) and basic to destiny (Thomas More versus Henry VIII, Franz Jagerstatter versus Hitler). Community also has a role since conscience is not solely individual. The second paper (Leal LEAL. Loyal; that which belongs to the law. ) is: "Against Conscience: a Protestant View." The author argues conscience has been given a "far more elevated role in Christian moral thinking than it actually deserves." Not all our moral judgments are presented to the will by conscience. Faith is submission to a call. God causes individual good actions sanctifying, rather than overriding, the will. Evil choice would be given no consideration in the conscience of the holy person. There may be multiple sources for the so-called principles of synderesis: personal, cultural, and absolute. Skepticism about the absolute nature or possibility of knowing moral principles is widespread. Does the Genesis account of Adam and Eve Adam and Eve In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the parents of the human race. Genesis gives two versions of their creation. In the first, God creates “male and female in his own image” on the sixth day. mean salvation is restoration of the original relationship between God and man? A return to their status before knowledge of good and evil? As the voice of God, conscience must be obeyed. But conscience in an individual is not always unambiguously the voice of God. Discriminating right and wrong lies in a refusal to look elsewhere than to God's self-revelation to determine the best way to respond. What matters is unity with Christ. This makes conscience ecclesiological ec·cle·si·ol·o·gy n. 1. The branch of theology that is concerned with the nature, constitution, and functions of a church. 2. The study of ecclesiastical architecture and ornamentation. allowing a role for authority. The third paper (Hoose) is: "Conscience in the Roman Catholic Tradition." Hoose states the Catholic view is not monolithic from the magisterium mag·is·te·ri·um n. Roman Catholic Church The authority to teach religious doctrine. [Latin, the office of a teacher or other person in authority, from magister, master; see and natural law. Scripture, philosophers and theologians past and present, and psychology are involved. In scripture reciprocity of conscience is found, not just individualistic judgment. St. Paul does not make conscience ultimate. Natural law may have tended to make the "order of nature" dominant, but contemporary theology sees nature as not necessarily fixed. Recta rec·ta n. A plural of rectum. ratio can include experience, history, change and development. Vatican II Noun 1. Vatican II - the Vatican Council in 1962-1965 that abandoned the universal Latin liturgy and acknowledged ecumenism and made other reforms Second Vatican Council Vatican Council - each of two councils of the Roman Catholic Church declared the individual as h having God's law inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. on his heart. Christians search for truth in obeying their consciences. Gaudium et Spes Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, was one of the chief accomplishments of the Second Vatican Council. Approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 of the bishops assembled at the council, and was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December emphasizes both the freedom of the individual, and also reciprocity within community. Veritatis Splendor sees natural law as the light of understanding infused by God, but then depicts Jesus as teaching commands. Natural law is thus a code. Magisterium then becomes contentious about the exte nt to which it imposes a particular system of thought. Theologians disagree on the meaning of reciprocity. Psychological dynamics affect freedom but at a primitive level. Conscience, however, matures in the context of a person's life. The changes instituted at Vatican II seem less discernible in recent Church documents. The fourth paper (Thomas) is: "Conscience in Orthodox Thought." Syneidesis is used in scriptures and Byzantine theology and political philosophy. Orthodoxy sees scripture and the "Fathers and Mothers of the Church" as foundational. The Philokalia is the best source about conscience. Conscience is part of nipsis or watchfulness and involves discernment of oneself and of obstacles to union with Christ. It is not determination of right and wrong, but does lead to repentance (metanoia Metanoia (from the Greek μετανοῖα, metanoia, changing one's mind, repentance) is a rhetorical device used to retract a statement just made, and then state it in a better way.[1] It is similar to correctio. ). Conscience comes from natural knowledge, scripture, and baptism. Conscience is a moral sense that, according to Chrysostom, is able even outside Christianity to see the good. Even after the Fall, nature is not utterly darkened dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. and blinded. The fifth paper (Gorsky) is: "Conscience in Jewish Tradition." The Hebrew Bible has no word for conscience. It is a prompting of the heart but innately untrustworthy. A heart inclined to follow God's law within us is God's gift. Rabbinic Judaism speaks of two inner drives: good evil. The Bible, in contrast, only speaks of heart as undifferentiated. In the Middle Ages it was argued that good inclination comes from understanding. Our natural drives can be directed to the love of God. Maimonides rejected the natural moral law in favor of revelation. The Hebrew Bible has no word for nature in this sense. The world and humanity are intelligible only as created by God and sustained by God. Right action is inspired by apprehension of the divine will. This is conscience. Rabbinic rab·bin·i·cal also rab·bin·ic adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of rabbis. [From obsolete rabbin, rabbi, from French, from Old French rabain, probably from Aramaic rulings have traditionally been seen as something to be followed over one's individual conscience. Contemporary disagreements exist. The sixth paper (Greaves greaves cracklings, an edible raw fat from the meat trade. The skimmings from the preparation of this fat are also called greaves. They represent a low grade of meat meal. ) is: "Islam and Conscience." Conscience is about doing good and preventing others from wrongdoing. "Islam" means surrender to the will of Allah and, therefore, the self is not the judge of right and wrong. Conscience involves divine intervention in human affairs, since human interpretation cannot be trusted alone. God must guide us. Private judgments are not found in the Qur'an or the Prophet. Values are objective and can be known through reason, but they consist of what Allah wills. They are given also through revelation. Conscience in Muslim territories becomes a question of obedience to Muslim law. Other societies and religions have been based on an ideal of what is good for human nature. This is also a source of legislation, but not as perfect as Muslim law. The last paper (Chryssides) is: "Buddhism and Conscience." Conscience has no role in Buddhist ethics or religion. Buddhism is neither a revealed nor prophetic religion. There is no permanent substance supporting the universe or any inner substantiality in human beings. All is changing. The "self" is just a bundle of sensations. The teachings of the Buddha should not be accepted on authority, but should be seen and verified for oneself. Ethics are descriptive, not prescriptive, indicating which acts will bring about good fortune or misfortune. One must know how one's deeds do or do not bring one to nirvana. The Buddha is an example to follow not a law or divine will. Verifying teachings for oneself is not an appeal to individual autonomous conscience because what is verified is never subjective. Buddhism is not less concerned about ethics than other religions. There is a place for remorse and repentance and sanctions, especially internal, for bad behavior and rewards for good. Purifying the mind of evil is imp ortant. Buddhism is about consciousness, not conscience. In this volume, writers serve the main theme but do not achieve coordination. This is not necessarily a significant problem, but it runs counter to the stated purpose of this book. The editor wishes to highlight the "debate" within the Christian tradition and to further the "debate" by the Judaic, Islamic, and Buddhist material. The volume serves this purpose but is really not a debate. Each author presents material from one perspective with varying degrees of advertence ad·ver·tence n. 1. The quality or practice of being advertent; heedfulness. 2. The action of being attentive; attention or consideration. to other perspectives. They do not precisely argue points. The Protestant and Catholic pieces come closest to mutual argument, but are mostly expository despite some defensive argumentation in the Catholic piece. Much improvement would result from including some follow-up exchanges from at least Hoose, Leal, and Thomas, or by extended introductory or concluding material critically addressing points of concurrence CONCURRENCE, French law. The equality of rights, or privilege which several persons-have over the same thing; as, for example, the right which two judgment creditors, Whose judgments were rendered at the same time, have to be paid out of the proceeds of real estate bound by them. Dict. de Jur. h.t. and disagreement, answering objections, and offering judgments on the cogency of the arguments. William O'Neill is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Iona College. |
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