In Reply to: What is "conscience"? posted by Oldtimer on February 18, 2004 at 13:10:22:
This is a great discussion topic. I tend to equate conscience with empathy, which is the ability to understand how another person may feel as a consequence of my actions. I act or don't act based on my assessment of the damage I am likely to do another person.
IMO, it is irrelevant what I think my motives are when I behave in a way that affects another person. People can be so self-deluded about their motivations. Like I could say my behavior is loving, when it's actually self-gratifying lust. What really matters is whether my action toward another person is likely to result in injury, NOT what I think my motivations are.
Sometimes we take actions that hurt others and that injury can't be helped, because there is a principle of self-preservation at stake. I'm mostly into nonviolence, but if I saw the need to defend myself against a personal attack--whether physical or verbal--I may very well hurt the person who threatens me.
I think there are certain rules of ethical reasoning, and that applying these rules to decisions about what is right and wrong is an important thing to do. One of my decision rules is simply this: Can I accept responsibility for the consequences, or will I make excuses for my action?
Example: Is abortion always a wrong action, or in certain circumstances can it the lesser of two evils? Would my conscience allow me to do it if I believed my life were threatened? There are a couple of ways to reason this out. Bottom line is, I will have to live with myself regardless of what decision I make.