It’s been weighing on my conscience to do a series on Conscience so here is #1
Rationalizing
Some say humans would not be moral without God, that that is where our conscience comes from. I don’t tend to believe that, I think many non-believers are quite more and conscientious. But I do think there is a basic understanding of right and wrong in most of us (barring mental illness for the most part) and that we know when we aren’t doing right. We may quickly rationalize not doing right, after all most of organized humanity has rationalized incredibly immoral behavior, but deep down we know what we are doing is wrong.
Guilty Before or After?
Not wrong enough to change mind you, but wrong enough that if you get caught you will immediately be repentant and contrite, apologizing profusely. Yes, you are doing all that because you got caught, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t feeling the immorality of what you did. It’s just that the switch was turned on for you to feel that immorality without the buffers and blinders of your rationalization.
Where?
So, where does our conscience come from? Is it inherent or learned, from a God / spirit being or society or?
What do you think?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote by H. L. Mencken, 1880-1956, American journalist and critic
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Incomplete thoughts, inspired by this post…
What if we’re not remorseful? We know what we’re doing is wrong, but not in and of itself. To us, it’s a morally gray area. We only feel guilt bc we know this act will offend a loved one’s sense of morality, not bc we truly believe the act is against our own code of ethics. What kind of person does that make us? It certainly makes us someone who believes morality is not universal. Indeed, there are societal pressures. But communities differ from one another around the world, in that regard. And so do the people within.
A person without blinders: A person whose only rationalization for their behavior is that their moral code differs from their neighbor’s. But is that not how criminals operate? Where is the line drawn? How? By whom?
We accept our decision as true and of the heart. We risk causing pain to others grasping for our shred of truth in the world. Intent. Shouldn’t that factor in? But judgment is reserved for the offended. It is subjective. And thus, so are our consciences.
Anon, a brilliant set of thoughts, thank you!
We all have played that game of appearing remorseful, or offended if we witness or hear about the transgression, in front of someone who does feel that a ‘sin’ has taken place. It’s not easy to pretend something is wrong when you know it is not but we do it anyway at times, maybe to keep the peace in a family, maybe to keep a job, maybe to keep a reputation. It’s not always wrong to do it. But it is too easy for people to design their entire life around other people’s morality instead of their own.
I draw the line with things that would hurt others, For example, I am not going to pretend that I think it is morally right to be sexist or racist. I am going to stand up against that, no matter if it doesn’t square with someone else’s morality.
I also draw the line when it is going to give someone a fundamentally untrue picture of who I am. For example, I am not going to pretend to be offended or think it is wrong to show nudity in art and photography.
In my experience, when it is at all possible, it is best to just say what it is you feel is right and wrong, permissible or not, and let the chips fall where they may.