In everyday speech, we use the word "conscience" most often when we are not satisfied with someone's behavior or attitude towards ourselves. It is its lack or absence that attracts our attention. When we list the positive qualities of a person, we will rather use concepts such as decency, responsibility, or simply "a good person." I wonder why it happened?
Instructions
Step 1
If we try to understand the essence of this quality of human nature, then first of all the answer will come at the level of feelings. Deep down, all people understand what it is about when they hear from someone: "I have completely lost my conscience." But when we describe conscience in words, we involuntarily begin to name different characteristics of human behavior.
Step 2
Conscience manifests itself, first of all, in the ability to evaluate actions, both one's own and those of others, from the standpoint of good and evil. It is not the mind that is responsible for this moral consciousness, but the soul of a person. The one who lives by the behest of the heart has more conscience.
Step 3
According to the explanatory dictionary of V. I. Dahl, conscience is "innate truth, in varying degrees of development." It turns out that we all come to this world conscientious, but we are just working on its development, each in his own way. And, although an individual person has his own sense of truth, it is conscience that is the common measure of truth for all people.
Step 4
When we judge someone, we can say that we are ashamed. Feelings of shame are our indicator of moral behavior in the family and in public life. Moral principles are brought up from childhood, cultivated at school. But, nevertheless, not all of us equally follow the voice of conscience. Yes, and this voice is loud and clear for someone, while for another person it is completely quiet.
Step 5
There is another aspect of this concept. It refers to a person's faith in God. The phrase "freedom of conscience" means the absence of restrictions in the choice of religion or in the denial of a religion. Consequently, conscience is directly related to a person's personal freedom and, at the same time, is responsible for his harmonious existence with other people.
Step 6
When we think about conscience, we understand that it is something personal, directly touching the soul. Therefore, we rarely use this word in describing a person's character, which is natural in the current time of increasing conventions in communication between people.
Step 7
Apparently, it is precisely because the presence of conscience is the primary condition for good relationships with others that we react so sharply to shameless behavior. And we take its presence for granted. And yet, before rushing to critically evaluate another person, it would not hurt us to look more often into our own soul storage. Checking how clear our own conscience is and how often we are guided by its prompts.
