Conscience

In Latin

The root meaning of conscience is

with knowledge.

Therefore, conscience refers to an

action based on knowledge, or
judgment.

3 Dimensions of
Conscience
Awareness of Right and Wrong - educated and
instructed in moral truths
Discernment - thinking and praying about
what is the right thing to do - inward reflection
Judgment - making the rational and right
choice - may not always be correct but you
learn from mistakes - conscience grows and
becomes further informed

Types of
Conscience
x

Lax Conscience

Erroneous Conscience

When a person does not employ a process of conscientious decision

making not thinking about the morality of actions that he/she
performs

When a person follows a process of conscientious decision making but

makes a wrong choice.

Informed Conscience

A conscience that is educated and developed through constant use and

examination

Belief, Truth, &

Knowledge
The Challenge of Skepticism

Beliefs
Beliefs are your map of reality - they are
the lenses through which you perceive
the world.
your beliefs are the most important
part about you
beliefs have started wars, bridged
communities, ended slavery, and so
forth

Which centre circle is

bigger?

What do you see?

Beliefs
We all see things differently - especially morality
Senses can deceive us and lead us astray
Beliefs + Desires = Actions
Problem: there is such thing as False Belief
we want our beliefs to be true - connect us to
reality
Philosophers have encouraged us to therefore
examine our beliefs

List 5 things that you truly believe

about reality/life/the world etc.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

BUT WHAT IF.?

What if

The universe was created five minutes

ago? (five minute hypothesis-Bertrand Russell)
This is all a dream? (Descartes)

Belief Conservation
principle of inflicting the least damage upon ones
already held framework of beliefs
For any proposition, P: If
1.Taking a certain cognitive stance toward P (for example, believing it,
rejecting it, or withholding judgment) would require rejecting or
doubting a vast number of your current beliefs,
2.You have no independent positive reason to reject or doubt all those
other beliefs, and
3.You have no compelling reason to take up that cognitive stance toward P,
then it is more rational for you not to take that cognitive stance toward
P.

Knowledge
Knowledge is an attainment concept
Ex: In basketball we shoot in order to score. Shooting
is the activity; Scoring is the attainment intended
In life, we believe in order to know. Believing is the
activity; Knowledge the intended attainment
Knowledge = Properly Justified True Belief
You cannot know something unless you truly believe
it.
Belief alone isnt sufficient for knowledge - you cant
believe something that is false either.

Truth

Truth is our anchor in the world.

believing a truth is like hitting the target whereas
a falsehood is like missing the mark
How do we find truth? With Reason.
Reason connects us to reality and as we will see
there are two different ways of reasoning Empiricism & Rationalism

Relativism

The Philosophy of Relativism claims that all so-called

truth is relative - no absolute truth
Very seductive because it can often serve as a very
persuasive excuse for very bad behaviour

Skepticism,

the foundation of
Relativism

Skepticism is based on the attitude of doubt.

True knowledge is uncertain, therefore there is no
absolute truth.
Religions (not God) determine right & wrong and
all concepts of right & wrong are invented by
humans.
Better to use inquiry - all questions lead to
discovery.
Doubt is the vestibule which all must pass, before they can
enter into the temple of truth.
Charles Caleb Colton

Empiricism
Empiricists believe that all knowledge is
attained through sensory experience.
(Think empirical data)
What is the problem with this idea?
Things that cannot be experienced by
the senses cannot exist
Senses can be wrong/mislead us

Rationalism
Belief is inevitable in human life and it is Rational.
Rationalists believe that all knowledge is rooted in
reason.
Rationalist statements are true without the
use of senses. (If A is greater than B, and B is
greater than C, then A is great than C)
Cause and Effect - (yes remember Aquinas) - rock
hitting window - we dont see the cause yet we
believe it happened.

Back to: Belief, Knowledge and

Truth
We believe that humans have the ability to form their
conscience according to moral principles of right and
wrong, which will then lead them to make rational
reasonable judgments.
At the foundation of this is the belief that:

We are rational beings.

We have the ability to reason.
We have the ability to make decisions freely.
There is such a thing as right and wrong.
We have the ability to know what is right and wrong.
It is better to do what is right rather than what is
wrong.

Lets Practice!
1. Rationalism ____
2. Skepticism ____
3. Empiricism ____
4. Moral Relativism ____

A. all knowledge is rooted in

sensory experience.
B. all knowledge is rooted in
reason and cause and effect.
C. a philosophy of doubt.
D. a philosophy which
claims there is no absolute
truth.

Why does this all

matter?
Conscience is formed and
developed based on our beliefs.