Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
TheValueofConscienceinNormativeEthicsandReservationinConscience...
21
OedipusofThebes)buryherbrotherbasedonthemoralobligationsof
herconscience?Justthen,however,sheunderstoodthatitisbetterto
loseherownlifethantodisobeyherownconscience,becausethereis
somethingmoreprecisethansavingthelifeonearth.
Everyonehastherighttofollowthesubstantiveissuesintheirown
consciences,whichintegratesitsexistencewhileiteithercalmsdown
orgetsdistracted.Peopleofthe21stcenturydonotlackintellectual
education,butlackthewisdomandknowledgethatinitsheartwears
naturallaw,whichisirreplaceablevalue,quality,documentingtheir
owndignity(dignitas)andright(ius).
1.MultivalentofConscienceinHumanExperience
Conscience,moralexperienceandcountlesslifesituationsrepre-
senttemperamentalbinders.Thesebinderscompletearealityofan
authenticlifeofeveryperson.Itwasalreadyancientpeoplethatper-
ceivedsemanticlymultivalenttermconscienceandunderstooditasan
internalphenomenon.Itbecameidentifiedwiththemoralentity.
IsraelitesandEgyptiansidentifiedconsciencewithheart(lebin
Hebrewlanguage,lion,levav).Babyloniansmentioneditinconnec-
tionwithinternaltensionandanxiety.InIndianthinking,nGodis
waitingintheheartofman”.GreekphilosophersfromSocratesused
thetermdaimónios–spirit,divinevoice,butalsoasynoidaandsynei-
desis(Greeksyn−you+oida–knowtogether),sothatitaccentuated
theimportanceofcontactwithsomeone,oranactivesubjectthatis
awareofhimselfandanotherperson.
St.Paul2usedthetermnsyneidesis”andRomanculturegavethis
termasemanticformconscientiaintermsofcognitiveandpsycho-
logicalaspectsinthesenseconsapere−tohaveinternalwitnessof
one’sownactions(Tacitus,Pliny,Tertullian,CiceroandSeneca).Inthe
2TermconscienceoccursintheBiblequiterarely(intheGospelsnotatall),but31
timesintheNewTestament–21timesdirectlyatst.Pauland10timesvicariouslyby
thewordsofst.Paul.Cf.A.Valsecchi,Coscienza,in:DizionarioEnciclopedicodi
Teologiamorale,EdizioniPaoline,Milano1985,p.166-182.
