In this work, we try to find answers, in clear and simple language that agree with the common sense of most people, to questions such as: What are the basic aspirations of human being? What are goods and values? Can we aspire to find truth, beauty, goodness, love and happiness? Is there a commonly accepted concept of good and evil? What are the motivations that move human beings to do good? Are there universal moral laws? Is man good by nature? Does the problem of moral and social evils have a solution? What is conscience? Can ethics offer a solution to current human problems?

1. Conscience

2. 1. Innate conscience
2. Acquired conscience
3. Preservation instinct and conscience
4. Growth and formation of the conscience
5. Individual conscience and moral relativism
6. Individual, family, social, national and
universal conscience
CHAPTER 6 CONSCIENCE

3. As Fromm says, throughout
history conscience has been
the most powerful force that
has driven human beings to
fight against injustice and
uphold the principles of human
equity, justice and fraternity.
Let us begin by
discriminating between two
types of conscience or similar
phenomena to which is
commonly assigned the same
name of conscience.
«There is no prouder statement man can make than to say: “I
shall act according to my conscience.”
Throughout history men have upheld the principles of justice,
love, and truth against every kind of pressure brought to bear
upon them in order to make them relinquish what they knew
and believed.
The prophets acted according to their conscience when they
denounced their country and predicted its downfall because, of
its corruption and injustice. Socrates preferred death to a
course in which he would have betrayed his conscience by
compromising with the truth.
Without the existence of conscience, the human race would
have bogged down long ago in its hazardous course.»
Erich Fromm, Man for Himself, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1949, p.
141.
CONSCIENCE

4. The first type is an innate and intuitive
conscience, which Rousseau calls the innate
principle of justice or divine instinct, which
every human being possesses in the depths
of the soul, by which he judges his actions
as good or evil, regardless of his own beliefs
or opinions.
«There is in the depths of our souls an innate
principle of justice and virtue by which, in spite of our
own maxims, we judge our actions and that of others as
good or evil, and it is to this principle that I give the
name of conscience. (...)
Conscience!Conscience! Divine instinct, immortal
and heavenly voice; reliable guide of an ignorant and
limited, but intelligent and free being; infallible judge of
good and evil, who makes man resembling God; you are
the one who makes the excellence of his nature and the
morality of his actions; without you I feel nothing in me
that elevates me above animals, except the sad
privilege of losing myself from error to error with the
help of an understanding without rule and a reason
without principle.»
J. J. Rousseau, Emilio, o De la educación, Alianza Editorial, Madrid,
1990, p. 390, 393.
INNATE CONSCIENCE

5. Mencius, in almost identical
terms to Rousseau, also defended
that man has a good innate heart
that drives him to compassion, to
be ashamed of himself when he
does something bad, and to be
indignant at injustices.
«All men have a [good] heart unable to bear the sufferings of
others.»
«When I have affirmed that all men have ever experienced
compassion for others, I have wanted to express the following:
Suppose someone sees a child who is about to fall into a well;
however wicked the man may be, he cannot avoid a hidden
feeling of fear and compassion within him; he will experience
these feelings in a spontaneous way, without thinking of obtaining
the gratitude of the parents of the child, nor in the congratulations
and compliments of his friends and fellow citizens, nor in avoiding
the repulsion of public opinion.
From this it can be deduced that whoever has never felt
compassion towards others is not really a man.»
Confucio, Mencio, II,VI, 1, Los cuatro libros, Alfaguara, Madrid, 1981.
Confucio, Meng-Tsé, III, 6, Los cuatro libros clásicos, Ediciones B, Barcelona, 1997.
The “good heart” of Mencius

6. This innate conscience is a notion very
similar to the mysterious origin of duty,
on which Kant so poetically asks himself,
that without our knowing why, it urges us
unconditionally to respect the moral law.
The innate conscience is also the origin
of these moral intuitions, which are
spoken by many Kantian philosophers
and defenders of human rights.
Duty!Thou sublime and mighty name that dost
embrace nothing charming or insinuating, but requires
submission, and yet seeks not to move the will by
threatening aught that would arouse natural aversion or
terror, but merely holds forth a law which of itself finds
entrance into the mind, and yet gains reluctant
reverence (though not always obedience), a law before
which all inclinations are dumb, even though they
secretly counter-work it; what origin is there worthy of
thee?
And where is to be found the root of thy noble
descent which proudly rejects all kindred with the
inclinations; a root to be derived from which is the
indispensable condition of the only worth which men
can give themselves?»
Kant, Crítica de la razón práctica, Ediciones Sígueme, Salamanca
1995, p. 110.
The mysterious origin of duty of Kant

7. Sun Myung Moon, in many of his public lectures, often refers to this innate conscience or original
mind, emphasizing its function and the great value and importance it has for human beings.
«God's creation is truly mysterious and
profound. God created us as His children, to
be the lords of creation.
To this end, He gave each of us the highest
and greatest gift: a conscience. We receive
this special gift of a conscience as a compass
to guide us through life in this earthly world.
(…)
Regardless of who we are, from the
moment of our birth to the moment we die
we cannot escape the influence of our
conscience. (…)
Our conscience acts as a true parent, true
teacher and true owner on behalf of God,
guiding our life and educating us from the
moment of birth.
Our conscience functions as a guide,
keeping watch over our every action at
every moment.
Its awareness of our every word, thought
and deed precedes that of our parents, our
teachers and even God.»
Sun Myung Moon, Cheon Seong Gyeong 2014, Book
13, Ch. 2, Sec. 3.9.
“Our conscience acts as a true parent, true teacher and true owner on behalf of God”

8. It is a widespread opinion to think that the
innate conscience is pure fiction and that the
only conscience that man has is that acquired
through education or acceptance of beliefs or
customs.
That is, we judge ourselves and others
based solely on the moral laws we have
accepted. If we lived in another culture with
different customs and beliefs, or if we
changed our beliefs, our conscience would be
different.
Many have even doubted that man has the
capacity for self-judgment or choice thinking
that the human conscience is a simple
product of the social pressure of the society
in which he lives.
«The law of conscience, which we consider as the
companion of human nature, is also born and has its
origin in custom; each one respects and venerates
the habits and ideas received and approved around
him, and does not know how to let go of them
without remorse, or practice them without
applause.»
Montaigne, Ensayos I, libro I, cap. 22, Aguilar, Madrid, 1962,
p. 150.
ACQUIRED CONSCIENCE
It is classic this quote of Montaigne that expresses
this type of opinions that go back to the Greek sophists.

9. If human conscience were so conditioned by the
customs of the social environment, why have religious,
and social reformers in all ages and cultures always
confronted the traditions, laws and established social
conditions of their environment because they considered
them unjust, and fought to change them and establish
new ones?
Why, in almost all known cultures,
despite having lived isolated and distant
from each other, has it been considered
reprehensible to commit incest and
adultery, to lie, to kill, and to steal?Why
has human conscience not conformed to
customs such as human sacrifices,
cannibalism, class privileges, slavery and
exploitation, massacres and wars, and has
always sought freedom, equality, respect
for the dignity of all human beings?
The most reasonable explanation for all
this is that human beings have always
possessed an innate conscience that has
tirelessly driven them —in an intuitive
way, without knowing clearly why— to
establish ever more fair laws and to
achieve greater good or happiness for all.
Nevertheless, Montaigne himself, in this other quote,
admits that there is a good conscience or inclination to do
good in humans:
«There is a who knows what inclination to do well, that
produces an intimate enjoyment and a generous pride
that accompanies the good conscience; a decidedly
vicious soul may, perhaps, have a degree of self-
assurance, but will never attain such complacency and
satisfaction.»
Montaigne, Pensées diverses, cit. en F. Palazzi y S.S. Filippi, El
libro de los mil sabios, Dossat 2000, Madrid, 1995, c.1164, p. 151.

10. In the universe, it can be seen that the smaller
individual entities, while maintaining its internal
cohesion, are united with each other by reciprocal
interactions of forces, thus forming larger entities. So
the most reasonable thing is to suppose that all the
entities of the universe possess at the same time two
basic purposes; one would be the urge to preserve one's
own existence, and another would be the impulse to
form part and preserve the existence of a larger whole.
Why do all beings and things possess this impulse to
form part of larger groups? Figuratively speaking you
could say that they sense that it is something that will
benefit them, they will be more secure and protected,
and its value will increase. By becoming a part of a
larger whole, its value could be equated with the value
of the whole.
A planet better preserves its own
existence by rotating around a star than if it
were isolated and wandering adrift through
the cosmos.
A simple screw, which isolated would not
be worth much, becomes very valuable if it is
part of, for example, a sophisticated space
station.
Therefore, the desire to acquire greater
value and to feel useful, important and loved
by others is what stimulates people to form
larger units of individuals, and to do things
that benefit their families, societies, nations
or the whole humanity.
PRESERVATION INSTINCT AND CONSCIENCE

11. We could say, then, that human beings have
two instincts or innate impulses; an instinct of
individual preservation and conscience, which is
like the instinct of preservation of the whole.
As Rousseau said, conscience «s to the soul
what instinct to the body.» For example, when
we are near a precipice, we instinctively feel
fear and insecurity. Similarly, when we are
about to do something that may damage our
relationship with a loved one, we also feel an
instinctive brake.
J. J. Jacques Rousseau, Emilio, o De la educación,
Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1990, p. 387.
Let us suppose that despite the warning of our
conscience we commit marital infidelity, then we
will feel fear and insecurity, and may feel feelings
of guilt or remorse.
This phenomenon is analogous to what
happens when one day we abuse a food that we
like.We will feel discomfort and stomach pain,
since we have caused a deterioration in the
interaction between different organs of our body.
Both conscience remorse and stomach pain
are signs that something is not right, they are like
the red light that lights up on a car dashboard
when something goes wrong.
Conscience is like the instinct of preservation of the whole

12. This warning function of conscience can be compared
figuratively to the function of an internal traffic light, which
sometimes indicates that you have to brake and others that there
is clear path.The conscience intuitively feels that if we violate the
moral law, a degradation of our relationships, position or value
will take place within our families, society, nations and in the
universe as a whole. For this reason, it also warns us when we do
not fulfill promises, pacts or laws of our society.
However, this is not the only function of conscience, it also
indicates the correct path that we have to follow, a function that
figuratively speaking resembles a compass, prompting us to
establish stable affective relationships with other people, forming
part of larger groups and preserve the stability of these, and
perfect ourselves by doing things for others in an altruistic way.
Conscience is like the internal traffic light and compass

13.  The awakening of the conscience
 The cultivation of moral judgment
 Conscience is of crucial importance
in solving the problem of moral evil
 Obeying one's conscience does not
exclude receiving advice from
others
GROWTH AND FORMATION OF THE CONSCIENCE

14. According to the conclusions of Piaget's
work on moral development, the moral of the
child is a heteronomous moral.The good
thing for the child is to obey his parents and
the bad thing is to do the things that are
forbidden.
For the child the act of lying is bad simply
because it is forbidden, and does not stop to
think about the intentions behind the lie, or
its consequences, except the possible anger
or punishment of their parents.
In addition, due to his immaturity and self-
centeredness, it is difficult for a child to
confess or regret having done something
wrong, but naively tries to hide it and blame
others, because he does not want to lose the
affection of his parents.
As Piaget says, moral autonomy begins when the
child or young person realizes that truthfulness is
necessary for relationships of sympathy and mutual
respect.This occurs when the young man establishes
new relations of exchange of affections with brothers
and friends, and increases his capacity to put himself in
the place of others, thus gradually changing his
egocentric attitude into an attitude of reciprocity.
All this, combined with the fact that his natural
psychological development makes him more capable of
reflecting on his own feelings and intentions, results in
the young man acting well because his own conscience
dictates it.
This awakening of conscience makes it possible for
young people, unlike children, to be more easily able to
recognize mistakes, feel embarrassed or reproach
things to themselves.
The awakening of the conscience

15. According to Kohlberg, the maturation of
moral judgment or conscience occurs through
understanding the need to respect certain
ethical principles that are increasingly high.
First, child acts by making mutually beneficial
deals or exchanges; Later, young acts by
reciprocity or by the Golden Rule;Then,
priority is given to respect human rights and,
in the end, moral judgment matures until we
understand that there are universal ethical
principles that must be respected
unconditionally.
However, Eastern peoples —who are
generally more imaginative— in their moral
judgments use more arguments by analogy,
metaphors or symbols than formal reasoning.
Moreover, as several moral psychologists point out,
the female mentality does not fit very well into
Kohlberg's model because women are interested in
details and concrete circumstances more than general
laws or abstract principles, and are more sensitive,
intuitive, compassionate and conciliatory in judging
situations, rather than simply rigidly enforcing rules
and deciding that something is white or black.
Regardless of these possible differences of culture
and gender, there are different ways of developing
conscience. For example, most emotional people,
faced with a moral dilemma, often feel what they
must do by identifying emotionally with the good
examples of moral behavior of the people they
admire, wondering: “What my father, mother or
grandfather would do in this situation?”
The cultivation of moral judgment

16. Conscience is of crucial importance in solving the problem of moral evil
No legislation or social system, however perfect, can
control the deviant desires that are behind evil or
criminal acts. Only the conscience of individuals can
control and direct them in the right direction.
For this reason, the only solution is for human beings
to achieve a moral maturity in which, guided by their
own consciences and in a voluntary and responsible
way, they avoid doing wrong things.
In addition, own conscience is the only one who
knows the situation of each person. Figuratively
speaking, one could say that he is the wisest counselor
because he knows the feelings, intentions and
circumstances of each one better than anyone else. For
this reason, the conscience plays a crucial role in making
personal decisions.
From the outside, no one can judge
or decide what a person should do in a
situation of moral conflict by simply
applying a priority list of principles or
values, as people try to do in the
education based on Kohlberg’s famous
moral dilemmas.
From our human perspective, in
many cases it is almost impossible to
morally judge many actions, since the
same act can be good or evil depending
on the inner motivation of the person,
and this is opaque for others.

17. For this reason, people have
traditionally held in high regard
maxims such as “know thyself,”
“look in thine own heart,” “judge
not others,” “meditate before
doing things," or “act according
to your conscience.”
Hence the crucial importance
of the formation of one's own
conscience. Sun Myung Moon
highlights this great value of
conscience in the following way.
«Now the time for us to listen to someone else’s
words has passed. Rather than the words of a brilliant
teacher thousands of times greater than you, or any
other truth in the world, you should listen to the words
of your original mind [innate conscience].
No matter how much you have heard from it, you
should return repeatedly to listen some more.Then
you would receive something of infinite magnitude
from it, something unimaginable, which would reveal
the greatest secrets of the creation.»
Sun Myung Moon, Speech Collection Books, Seoul,
HSA-UWC, 7:201, (September 6, 1959).
«You should listen to the words of your original mind»

18. Following one's conscience does
not exclude people from consulting
other persons. It is natural for
children or adolescents to ask their
parents for advice, as they have not
yet fully developed their own moral
judgment.
But even when adults form a
family, it is important for a husband
and wife to consult with each other,
and to consult with grandparents
and their children about decisions
affecting the whole family.
Obeying one's conscience does not exclude receiving advice from others
Similarly, public servants and leaders working for the
welfare of their nation, before making important
decisions affecting all, should consult with each other,
consult with their fellow citizens, and also consult with
their predecessors or wise and experienced older people.

19.  The moral relativism
 The innate conscience impels us to
pursue the same universal ideals of
dignity, freedom, justice and peace
 The dogmas of the absolute primacy
of the individual conscience and the
moral autonomy of the individual to
be able to choose their own moral
laws
 The deformation of the acquired
conscience
INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCE AND MORAL RELATIVISM

20. For many people, the idea that the individual
consciences of all human beings can agree or participate
in the same common universal conscience is an illusory
chimera.
This is because the conscience of each person varies
according to the different beliefs and convictions that he
has, according to the education he has received,
according to the different customs or norms of behavior
that he has acquired from his society or culture, and
according to his own experiences.
Thus, the behavior that a person may qualify as good,
another person might consider it evil, which leads
inevitably to moral relativism.This way of thinking —I
suppose as old as human life— became popular in the
time of the Sophists when the Greeks made contact with
other peoples who had different laws and customs.
The moral relativism

21. This may be true in terms of the acquired
conscience. However, the intuitive conscience is like
an innate instinct that intuitively drives you to
pursue the same universal ideals of equity, justice
and peace for all, and the defense of the freedom
and dignity of people.
Proof of this is that this innate conscience has
always rebelled against the customs or established
laws of its society, when it was considered that
these were unjust or demeaning for the human
condition. But, of course, due to the differences of
convictions or concrete beliefs about the means
necessary to reach that goal, the acquired
consciences differ and can collide with each other.
The innate conscience impels us to pursue the same universal ideals of dignity,
freedom, justice and peace

22. Some thinkers affirm that the conscience of each individual
has an absolute primacy over the rest of the moral laws. For
this reason, those who think this way are against any
agreement on universal ethical principles, because that would
mean limiting the freedom of conscience of those who
disagree.
This way of thinking is generally linked to the belief that
the individual has an absolute moral autonomy of being able
to legislate his own moral laws. If each individual can invent
his own moral norms, then one arrives at the absurd
conclusion that we must defend complete permissiveness.
How are we going to punish a person who sincerely believes
that we are animals that fight for their own survival, and that
is why he chooses as his moral rule the law of the strongest,
and being faithful to his conscience is dedicated to
eliminating his rivals?
The dogmas of the absolute primacy of the individual conscience and the moral
autonomy of the individual to be able to choose their own moral laws

23. Moral laws are not human inventions but are
universal laws that regulate and protect the
mutual interactions between human beings,
guaranteeing their stability and continuity, just
as the law of universal gravitation guarantees
the stability of planetary systems.
For example, an architect has all the creativity
in the world to design and construct a building,
but if he does not calculate the strength of the
materials taking into account the law of gravity,
the house will collapse. Similarly, we can create
societies and institutions, and invent all kinds of
rules or norms that regulate them, but if these
do not conform to principles of justice or equity,
in the end they will fall apart.
Moral laws are not human inventions

24. The acquired conscience can be
deformed not only with beliefs but with
many other factors. It is clear that
ignorance of facts, lack of information or
false assumptions lead to misjudgments.
Something that also distorts conscience
is a selfish attitude. Just as children, by the
self-centeredness of their age, tend to hide
the bad things they do, justify them or
blame others, so selfish adult people often
justify their bad actions.
A selfish person, for example, by
exaggerating his own importance, can
justify a disproportionate revenge as an act
of justice in response to a small offense or
injury inferred to him.
The repetition of an act or habit also distorts
conscience.A person, for the first time doing something
against their conscience, may feel shame or remorse, but
every time he repeats the act he will feel less shame and
feelings of guilt, to the point that his conscience gets to
settle almost completely, as is the case of professional
thieves or hired killers.
Also, own experiences modify the conscience. In
extreme cases of people abused or raped in their
childhood, their consciences may become deformed to
the point of becoming psychopaths murderers or rapists.
For this reason, it is not possible to speak of an
absolute or unlimited primacy of the individual
conscience and, much less of an absolute or complete
freedom to act according to one's own particular
conscience.
The deformation of the acquired conscience

25.  The expansion of individual conscience
to higher levels
 Need for an education of the
conscience
 Education of the conscience based on
universal ethical principles
 Education of the conscience by the
emotional induction of good examples
 The teaching method of Socrates
INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY, SOCIAL, NATIONAL AND UNIVERSAL CONSCIENCE

26. The human conscience, starting from an infantile
conscience that revolves about oneself because of the
natural self-centeredness, wants to expand more and
more, even to encompass the whole universe. As an
individual care about the problems of his family, society,
and nation, his individual conscience naturally expands to
higher levels.
Today, we have a greater global conscience because,
thanks to the means of communication and transportation
that have enabled an unprecedented interrelation between
nations and cultures, we can be informed instantly of what
happens in every corner of the earth and be aware of the
problems that affect other peoples.We are even acquiring
a cosmic consciousness because now we also realize that
we are part of the planet earth, along with all other beings
and things of nature, and that if we destroy it we endanger
our own survival.
Individual conscience has never
been limited to a small circle around
the person but has always aspired to
expand on the cosmic level. For this
reason, from the earliest antiquity
there were sages and philosophers
who, in contemplating the stars,
wished to discover the mysteries of
the universe, and were concerned
with human suffering and its
solutions, and with the rules by which
man must behave.
The expansion of individual conscience to higher levels

27. If people were to achieve greater moral
maturity and develop a more universal
conscience, almost all laws, norms and
regulations would not be necessary, because the
conscience of each person could indicate to him
quite clearly what he should do.
Unfortunately, however, the individual
consciences of individuals are generally unable
to play this role well because they are limited by
egocentrism and deformed by ignorance, bad
habits and bad experiences.
Need for an education of the conscience
So, today more than ever we need an
education of the consciences of the people.
This education should include both the
rational and the emotional aspects.
If a person understands the reasons or
knows what he has to do, and also sees good
examples that stimulate him emotionally to
do the same, then he will have the strength
to orientate his desires in the right direction,
and the willpower to act correctly, and then
through their own experiences reinforce it
even more.

28. From a rational perspective, we need
an education based on basic assumptions
that make us understand what we are
made for, what our purpose or function in
life is, and to understand that there are
common universal ethical principles that
we should all respect.
Sharing common basic notions does
not mean, of course, to attain absolute
truth about all the secrets and mysteries
of life and the universe, but to adopt the
suppositions that are most reasonable
and useful for solving current practical
problems.
A proof that there are universal ethical principles,
which are not arbitrary conventions but are part of
human nature and the universe, is the striking
resemblance in ethical norms that were elaborated
throughout history by people of different religious and
philosophical traditions, who lived in cultures isolated
from each other with great differences of time and space.
Education of the conscience based on universal ethical principles

29. In the emotional aspect of the formation of
conscience, the most fundamental is the emotional
induction through good examples. Something that
greatly helps a child or youngster to feel inspired to
do things for others is the good example of their
parents, teachers, brothers and sisters or friends.
A good example acts by creating an emotional
magnetic field around them that induces them to act
in the same way or awakens in them the same desires
to behave in an altruistic way.
In fact, good examples are those that in most cases
cause in people a conversion or change of heart and
attitude, so necessary for the development of the
conscience, that is to move from a selfish attitude to
an altruistic attitude.
Just as bad examples of parents, such as fights
or violence between spouses, or abuse of children,
have an extraordinary influence on their
conscience to the point of causing them
deformations and traumas that last a lifetime, so
good examples can exert a great influence in the
opposite direction.
In the social sphere, good examples of teachers,
leaders, public servants, artists, famous idols or
rulers also exert a great effect on the general
consciences of members of society, especially
adolescents who are the most receptive.
Education of the conscience by the emotional induction of good examples

30. It is said that Socrates, through the method of
asking difficult questions to his interlocutors,
made them fall into contradictions and thus
managed to make them realize their ignorance,
recognize their mistakes and change their
arrogant attitudes.
But, noting the great influence he had on his
disciples to the extent that some changed their
lives completely to devote themselves to the study
of truth, it was not simply the dialogical method
that Socrates used what provoke such effects.
Rather it was his example of personal integrity,
his passion for the search for truth, and his life
sacrificed for helping his fellow citizens and
disciples to get out of ignorance, which induced
those who heard him to change their attitude and
want to follow his example. Socrates himself said:
If someone, whose words and actions were
contradictory, used the same dialogical method with
the intention of demonstrating that he is wiser or
more intelligent than the others, surely would not
achieve the same effect as Socrates.
«I do not use words, but I try to define
justice by my actions because, do not you
think that to achieve this, the action is more
convincing than words?»
Xenofon, «Recuerdos Socráticos», en Sókrates,
Clásicos Bergua, Madrid, 1966, p. 282.
The teaching method of Socrates