SJ Chapter 2 Test Terms

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• Conscience: inner sense of right and wrong that allows individuals to discern moral choices freely 

• Lax Conscience: insensitivity to right and wrong, too little guilt

• Legalistic Conscience: when people are so caught up in obeying the rules perfectly, that they cannot see the real matters of a situation

• Wrongly Formed Conscience: people are sometimes given information and assumptions about right and wrong, that are mistaken

• their immoral actions begin to seem less wrong to them

• does not excuse people and make them less acccountable for their actions

• External sources do not totally determine our sense of right and wrong: some people although taught in a morally wrong environment, have an inner idea of right and wrong

• Healthy Guilt: guilt helps people learn from an immoral experience, and teaches them to not do it again

• Guilt vs Shame: guilt tells us that we were uncomfortable with our own behavior, which can be healthy, while shame is always destructive to the other person

• Listening to your conscience ultimately means listening to...  your head/mind, heart, and the fullness of reality

• Shame: destructive critiscism

• Guilt = Conscience: lax; they know what they're doing is bad, but they feel immune to guilt because they're so used to sin. lax conscience = low guilt legalistic conscience; their guilt gets out of proportion, because they feel the need to stay in order, they feel secure following the rules. legalistic conscience = high guilt

• Should I always follow my conscience?

• YES, you should always follow your conscience, BUT, you must always make a sincere effort to FORM your conscience rightly and honestly

• "I''m just obeying my conscience." an excuse for their wrongdoing, and to not change

• If something immoral was thought by many people (society/culture) , to be right at one time, that does not mean it used to be right, and now it is wrong... it means that people's consciences were wrongly formed in the past. Culture and people can have shifting moralities over time.

• Final Analysis: you and only you, are responsible for your own decisions