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Conscience is a feeling of responsibility for all one’s actions and words, not only to others, but first of all to oneself. Having committed a bad act, a person experiences “pangs of conscience” or “remorse.” However, not everyone makes the right moral decisions. Why is it so important to live according to your conscience? What examples of conscience are most common in life?
I also faced my conscience. This happened when I tore up my parents' favorite wallpaper in the hallway. Initially, my fear overcame my pangs of conscience and I blamed our dog for all this. But then, when I saw how mom and dad deprived Sharik of his favorite games and melancholy began to appear in the dog’s eyes, I felt very sorry for him and I decided to confess everything to them. But my parents did not scold or punish me, they simply explained to me that it was impossible to do this, because it was very bad. But this is not the only case when conscience greatly torments the soul. Two more similar incidents happened to me.
The second incident happened on the river. My friend stole a bicycle from a little boy, his parents made a fuss throughout the village, because this bicycle was a very expensive purchase for their family. Knowing who stole it, I didn’t want to tell it, but still my conscience haunted me and I decided to tell everything. And this incident became an example for me and a lesson for my friend.
There were several other cases, I’ll tell you now.
I saw an example of conscience on the street when I was waiting for the bus home. A man passing through a crowd of boys and girls dropped his wallet; there were many people in this crowd, but only one girl picked up and gave his wallet to the man, although everyone in the crowd saw that the man had lost it. This indicates that this girl has a conscience, no matter how her company is.
I also saw another similar case on the street. An old grandmother slipped on the ice and fell, and a guy was walking nearby, he just walked by, but after taking a few steps he turned around and helped the grandmother get up. This is what conscience can do to people. The grandmother was so grateful to him that a smile appeared on the guy’s face because he helped her.
My friends told me about such an incident with conscience. My friends went to the river to swim, and there was a group of small children, they were probably about seven years old. They were planning something bad, as I understood, they wanted to steal a soccer ball. This whole company went to fulfill their plans, but one boy, who looked younger, stopped and did not decide to go with them.
All people have a conscience, some just don’t know how to use it.
What is conscience definition for essay
According to Dahl's explanatory dictionary, the concept of “conscience” means a person’s ability to understand morality, morality, control his actions within the framework of law and morality, demand that he fulfill them, and give an account of his actions.
Dostoevsky F.M. said that this feeling is the action of God in man. Suvorov A.V. complemented this idea with the fact that it gently touches the soul and illuminates a person, follows him everywhere, helps him realize his mistakes, and prevents him from doing wrong.
The ancient Greek philosopher Democritus defined conscience as shame before oneself.
Conclusion
Be that as it may, in my opinion, the significance of a person’s conscience lies in its ability to become a litmus test and an indicator of actions and actions performed by a person, no matter what the reasons for them.
To be honest, I like the role of a reliable and experienced lawyer, which the conscience of any person is capable of playing, much more than the role of a harsh, albeit fair, judge punishing for the committed act.
Therefore, for me personally, the process of establishing mutual dialogue and building trusting relationships with my conscience is vital, as it allows me to be more significant and useful to the world around me and consciously follow the path of personal self-development.
Taking this opportunity, I wish you, dear reader, to find a faithful friend and wise adviser in the person of your own conscience. What do you personally think about this? Your opinion is very important to me, so feel free to leave your honest comments below...
Arguments from literature for an essay on the topic of conscience
The topic of conscience is relevant in literature. In almost every work there is a hero who tries to live by it.
For example, in V. M. Shukshin, the main character Egor is a former criminal who brought his mother a lot of misfortune. When, after many years of life, he meets his mother, he cannot admit for a long time that he is her son.
Subsequently, his friends want to return him to the path of crime, but he refuses, without experiencing pangs of conscience, even under pain of death.
Do no evil or do good?
What is the basis of conscience? Feelings of shame and guilt . After all, it is through them that parents encourage their offspring to make the right decisions and actions. “Why didn’t you give up your seat to the girl? Aren `t you ashamed? Bad boy”, “Don’t do this, because they will think badly of you!”, “How can you do this? No shame, no conscience!
As a result of such messages, conscience is strengthened in us. You have done a good deed and your soul feels good, because you correspond to the principles that were so diligently drilled into you in childhood.
And if our thoughts and actions directly contradict what we were taught, then we become ashamed - “I’m not what I should be, which means I’m bad” or guilty - “my action is terrible, I have no forgiveness.”
When parents overdo it in their upbringing, the child develops one of the types of distorted conscience described above. Where is the line between an adequate conscience and its ugly form? How to raise a moral person and citizen and not go too far?
In my opinion, there is only one way out: to instill this feeling not through negative experiences (you are bad, you should be ashamed), but through positive ones (look how the girl with whom you shared the candy smiles).
The problem of conscience in literary works
This problem is often raised in literary works because authors love to talk about it. It is enough to remember the novels, stories and stories of great authors, and you will immediately find a couple of examples for discussion.
Thus, in the novel War and Peace, Nikolai Rostov loses an astronomical amount of money to Dolokhov, although he promised his father that he would never play at the card table again, since the family was experiencing serious financial difficulties.
At first, Nikolai does not feel guilty, but then, realizing that his father will not leave him in trouble, he tearfully promises himself and him that he will not do this again.
In the story by V. Bykov Sotnikov, the main character, before being executed by the Nazis, tearfully recalls an episode from childhood, where one day he takes his father’s pistol and it shoots at home. Mom, who came running into the room, realized what happened and tells her son to tell his father everything.
What is remorse and why is it dangerous?
Pangs of conscience are a person’s dissatisfaction with himself, disappointment in himself, guilt and fear. Arises in response to actions that contradict the inner world of the individual. Constant remorse reduces self-esteem, deprives a person of self-respect and can even drive him into depression.
Conscience is part of the soul (human psyche). When we live in harmony with our values, we experience satisfaction. If we constantly violate our own guidelines, then we suffer and suffer. Conscience is the moral consciousness of an individual. It stores the standards of good and bad, right and wrong. It is also responsible for the reaction to the correspondence or contradiction of the actions of an individual or another person and moral values.
Works about conscience for children
Every cartoon, every fairy tale talks about her. From an early age, children are taught to do the right thing, choosing morality over lies and betrayal.
Thus, in the cartoon and book Dasha the Traveler, the main character, together with her friend Shoe, explores the world and helps everyone who needs help.
However, in their way there is always the cunning fox Rogue, who is always trying to decorate something, committing a shameless act. Then Dasha tells the Crook that stealing is wrong, and he gives back the stolen goods and sincerely asks for forgiveness.
V. M. Garshin A man of heightened conscience
Another name for the fairy tale Attalea princeps. She talks about a young palm tree, which in Garshin’s fairy tale was not conscientious. She wanted freedom at any cost, so she did not consider any other trees.
Having grown large and breaking the roof of the building, she began to die. At the end of its life, the palm tree admitted that it was wrong and took away water and space from other plants.
Victor Dragunsky The secret becomes clear
The fairy tale by Victor Dragunsky tells about a boy who really did not want to eat porridge and threw it out the window while his mother was not looking. He told mom that he had finished everything.
She praised her son and said that they were going to the Kremlin as a reward for a good appetite. A little later, a man knocks on the door.
Mom opens it and sees that this man is covered in porridge. When the mother cleared the newcomer, the boy hid and did not want to approach her. But later he overcame himself and asked for forgiveness, remembering the lesson.
Dmitry Panteleev Honestly
In Leonid Panteleev’s fairy tale, the boy promised the children not to leave during the game.
But the guys cheated and ran home, but the main character remained standing, responsibly keeping his promise.
Seeing the boy's trouble, the man did not turn away, but decided to help, acting in good conscience, and took the child home, making sure that he did not throw his promise to the wind.
Vladimir Zheleznyakov “Scarecrow”
In the story Scarecrow, the main character, being a good friend of Dima Somov, takes the boy’s guilt before his classmates upon herself.
Dima himself does not say that he is a traitor, but remains silent when the children begin to mock the girl.
At the birthday party, he still tells the guys that the girl is not to blame for anything. And in the end, all the children ask for forgiveness for tormenting the girl.
What happens and how does conscience work?
True, this applies only to those people who, despite all the difficulties of life, managed to retain in themselves, if not all, then at least some, even the smallest part of their pristine conscience.
Since every person living on earth has one creator, his love is poured out on his creation equally and equally. The ability to hear the voice of one’s creator depends only on the hearing characteristics of each individual person as a spiritual being.
If the auditory apparatus of human consciousness is tuned to the daily bustle and perceives to a greater extent the sounds of its animal nature, and only occasionally catches the whisper of its own soul, then we can talk about a damaged or wounded, as well as an unclean or stained conscience.
Everyone has a conscience
The longer such proportions are maintained in the internal settings, the quieter and more inconspicuous the voice of the soul becomes. Deprived of the nourishing energy of a person’s consciousness, it begins to weaken, and its voice-conscience gradually fades away, in fact burns out from an unfair and inappropriate attitude towards oneself.
Today you can meet people with a virtually burnt-out conscience almost anywhere. After all, they are not interested in anyone or anything except their own person, and the pain and suffering of others is unknown to them. Moreover, their material successes are elevated by admiring admirers to the rank of the highest values and virtues in life.
In truth, for some people the concept of conscience is simply a relic of the past and a completely useless and even harmful quality that interferes with the achievement of their mercantile material goals.
But let’s not talk about sad things, especially since, under any negative conditions of the surrounding reality, there are always people for whom the issue of primary spiritual development remains their primary task, even if they do not belong to any religious denomination or religious movement.
In any case, such people have a very real chance to transfer their conscience from a state of suppression by the material principle of their essence into an active phase of collective creativity and creation. This state is usually called a clear or enlightened conscience.
Types and functions of conscience
I understand perfectly well that in the conditions of the consumer format of our existence, talking about some kind of enlightenment is almost useless. But I am firmly convinced that this must be done in any case. After all, even water wears away stones. And for this to happen, you just need a little time, during which “patience and work will grind everything down.”
Who, who, and our conscience in this regard is a real and great worker, since it is never in a hurry and never late with its help. She knows perfectly well the best times and timing when a person is able to accept her help.
In this respect, she is like a loving mother, for whom her child will always remain the only and most beloved in the world, regardless of his achieved socio-economic status and position in society.
Examples of conscience from human life
If a student does not remember the second argument from literature in the exam, then he can always give a real-life example. This could be any moment from his or the life of his loved ones or friends.
For example, he can talk about how he lied to mom or dad, saying that he had to go to school later, or that he was sick and could not go to an important event, or about the first time he stole something from a store and then returned it. stolen back.
You can also remember any charitable deeds and briefly talk about them: about helping the homeless, about feeding homeless animals, about helping the elderly, etc.
Also, a fragment from any film or its characteristics can act as an argument from life. For example, just remember the events of the film The Boy in Striped Pajamas, where the hero is tormented by the fact that he has bread and water on the table, the best toys, and his peer does not even have a roof over his head.
Psychology of conscience. Guilt, shame, remorse
1.3. The role and functions of conscience
Conscience and honor were especially revered in the Middle Ages, as evidenced by numerous chivalric romances in which these qualities were glorified. Today, the most famous of these novels is Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The hero of the novel is the embodiment of honor, dignity and nobility; he protects the weak, performs feats for the sake of his beloved. Reading this novel, you become imbued with the spirit of noble knights, who are characterized by both conscience and honor. As a result, there is an opinion that the concepts of “knight” and “honor” are inseparable[13].
The essential role of conscience in the life of an individual and society can be judged by Russian proverbs: “You cannot live without conscience and with great intelligence”; “Without arms, without legs - a cripple, without a conscience - half a man.”
The theme of conscience, criticism of shamelessness is cross-cutting in the history of Russian culture. Already in The Tale of Bygone Years, the meekness of the Polyan tribe is contrasted with the “shamelessness” of the Drevlyans, Radimichi and other more backward East Slavic tribes. In chronicle texts (“The Word of a Certain Lover of Christ” (12th century), in other texts) various forms of sexual impudence that have been preserved among the Slavs since pagan times are condemned.
According to the teachings of G. Skovoroda (1722–1794), a Russian and Ukrainian philosopher, poet, fabulist and teacher, who made a significant contribution to East Slavic culture and is considered the founder of Russian religious philosophy, the most essential thing in a person is his heart and moral growth, including development of a sense of conscience, designed to combat base manifestations. The concept of “conscience” finds a vivid expression in the ethics of V. G. Belinsky, who declared: “I don’t want happiness for nothing if I’m not calm about each of my blood brothers.”[14]
The theme of conscience, honesty and honor has been repeatedly reflected in the works of Russian classic writers. And in the literature of the 19th century, this topic was often closely connected with Christianity. The embodiment of Russian Christian morality is the character of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” Yermil Girin. He is honest and truthful, when he was elected mayor, for seven years he did not hide a single penny, “he did not touch the right, did not allow the guilty, did not bend his soul.” Only once did he commit a dishonest act: “He went crazy: from the recruiting / Little brother Mitri / He spoke.” But his repentance was so great that he lost all peace and almost committed suicide. In the end, Yermil admitted his deception and eliminated the injustice.
In the same poem by Nekrasov, the ataman of the robbers, Kudeyar, begins to feel guilty for the numerous crimes he has committed: “The villain’s conscience overpowered him, / He disbanded his gang, / He distributed property to the church, / He buried his knife under a broom tree.” To atone for his sins, he imposes on himself a kind of penance[15], sets himself an almost impossible task - to cut down a tree with the knife with which he committed the murders: “There will be great work, / There will be a reward for labor, / The tree will just collapse - / Chains of sin will fall."
A fairly striking example of the manifestation of a Christian attitude towards conscience is Maria Troekurova from Pushkin’s novel “Dubrovsky”. She refused to run away with Dubrovsky, with whom she was in love, because she was married to another person, and it was unacceptable for her to violate the union, sanctified before God.
However, the topic of conscience was also revealed from the universal standpoint of morality.
It was most fully revealed by Dostoevsky in his work “Crime and Punishment.” Moral suffering, partly due to conscience and repentance, forces Raskolnikov to turn himself in and confess everything. Raskolnikov’s “ideological double” is Svidrigailov, a man without principles, devoid of any moral qualities, who embodies the ideas of hedonism in the novel. He is the “superman” that Raskolnikov imagined. But “self-liberation” from reproaches of conscience does not pass without a trace, the result is first spiritual and then physical death; the morally devastated Svidrigailov has no choice but suicide. Another heroine of this work, Sonya Marmeladova, in the eyes of society a vicious, degenerate and dishonest woman, is in the novel the embodiment of morality, Christian love, meekness and compassion. It is she who saves Raskolnikov from spiritual death. And her sin is mitigated by the fact that it was committed out of self-sacrifice.
M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin wonderfully reflected the theme of conscience in the sharp social satirical fairy tale “Conscience Is Missing,” which shows the moral and moral decay of society as a consequence of the amputation of conscience.
“My conscience is gone. People crowded the streets and theaters as before; in the old way they either caught up or overtook each other; as before, they fussed and caught pieces on the fly, and no one guessed that something had suddenly become missing and that some pipe had stopped playing in the general orchestra of life. Many even began to feel more cheerful and freer. Man’s move has become easier: it has become more dexterous to expose one’s neighbor’s foot, it has become more convenient to flatter, grovel, deceive, gossip and slander. All pain suddenly disappeared; people did not walk, but seemed to rush; nothing upset them, nothing made them think; both the present and the future - everything seemed to be given into their hands - to them, the lucky ones, who did not notice the loss of conscience.
Conscience disappeared suddenly... almost instantly! Just yesterday, this annoying hanger-on was just flashing before my eyes, just imagining it in my excited imagination, and suddenly... nothing! The annoying ghosts disappeared, and with them the moral turmoil that the accusatory conscience brought with it subsided.
All that remained was to look at God’s world and rejoice. The wise of the world realized that they had finally freed themselves from the last yoke that had hampered their movements, and, of course, hastened to take advantage of the fruits of this freedom. People went crazy; robberies and robberies began, and general devastation began.”
The image of conscience in a fairy tale is presented in the form of a small, frayed, greasy scrap of shabby rag. The value of this “object” is negligible, it does not exist at all.
“Meanwhile, the poor conscience lay on the road, tormented, spat upon, trampled under the feet of pedestrians. Everyone threw it away like a worthless rag, away from themselves; Everyone was surprised how in a well-organized city, and in the most lively place, such a blatant disgrace could lie.
For a long time <...> the poor, exiled conscience wandered around the world, and it visited many thousands of people. But no one wanted to shelter her, and everyone, on the contrary, was only thinking about how to get rid of her, even by deception, and get away with it.”
However, despite the obvious hopelessness, the writer still shares with the reader his faith in the healing, transforming power of conscience and thus gives him a choice - to be or not to be with his conscience.
The novel by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The Golovlev Lords” tells about the spiritual ossification of members of a once rich and all-powerful family and about the most brutal execution in the world - a belated awakening of conscience, when nothing can be changed, when a person is doomed to death, spiritual and physical. Hereditary spiritual corruption is so deeply rooted in each family member that they are unable to fight sin, much less eradicate it from the heart. Sins encircle the soul more and more firmly, killing it. And only before death did each family member experience the awakening of “remnants of feelings.” The heroes die from the unbearable torment of a “wild conscience” in belated repentance and agonizing anxiety. An awakened conscience is not capable of resurrecting them.
The theme of conscience did not disappear in Soviet literature. For example, Arkady Gaidar has a story “Conscience”. This topic has been repeatedly touched upon by poets: “We make notches for memory, / Not trusting our own traces, / But conscience remembers all our actions / And does not age despite the years,” wrote N. Rylenkov. Or from A. Akhmatova: “Some look into tender eyes, / Others drink until the sun’s rays, / And I negotiate all night / With my indomitable conscience.”
The prevailing opinion in the public consciousness is that a person needs a conscience. According to a survey conducted among 1,622 domestic Internet users, the majority of respondents (1,320) think so; only 226 people answered that one could do without conscience, and another 23 people found it difficult to answer[16].
Research data from L. Sh. Mustafina (2012) confirms these statistics: 29% of respondents noted that conscience is necessary for human existence; 35% - that conscience helps to do everything better; 29% - that conscience protects against irreparable mistakes; 33% - that conscience allows people to trust each other. At the same time, 36% of respondents found it difficult to answer, and 30% said that many people want to get rid of conscience; this feeling gets in the way. There were also more aggressive assessments of conscience: conscience is not needed; a person with a conscience is weak and fearful; one must wean oneself from conscience; Conscience is needed for personal gain.
N.V. Maryasova (2008), when studying the main parameters of the spirituality of compatriots, revealed that conscience is defined by respondents as the most important quality that manifests itself in difficult ethical situations, and is of decisive importance for achieving happiness.
M.I. Volovikova (2002), based on studies of legal consciousness among Russians, came to the conclusion about the deep relationship of this phenomenon with conscience.
The question arises: why do most respondents consider conscience necessary, that is, why is conscience needed, what are its functions?
Conscience is like a hamster - it either sleeps or gnaws.
There are also differences among scientists in their understanding of the role that conscience plays in a person’s moral life. Conscience is interpreted both negatively and positively. Negative conscience appears reproachful and warning, even frighteningly warning (Nietzsche), critical of the past, judgmental (Kant). Positive conscience appears to be calling, prompting care and “determination” (Heidegger).
The main function of conscience is to exercise self-control. Conscience helps to determine the compliance of individual behavior with the highest moral precepts, to observe absolute moral prohibitions that require under all circumstances to avoid certain actions, no matter how appropriate they may seem, no matter what reasonable justifications arise for them. Therefore, conscience caused a negative attitude among the rationalists-enlighteners of the 18th century. A prominent representative of this philosophical trend, J. La Mettrie, considered one of the most important tasks of humanity to be liberation from the power of conscience.
The controlling role of conscience is especially clearly visible when overcoming temptations. Temptations always have reasonable grounds for succumbing to them. Conscience is the last obstacle that human moral nature poses before the tempting arguments of reason.
Conscience helps us see our actions from the point of view of another person and realize that even with the best intentions, they can be perceived by another as an encroachment on his interests. In this sense, conscience is closely related to imagination and empathy, that is, to the ability to put oneself in the place of another and feel his pain. Conscience reminds us that the people with whom we have to deal are not objects to be unreservedly used to achieve our own ends, but subjects with independent interests and goals. This is evidenced by the deep meaning of the word “conscience,” that is, joint conduct, the understanding that an action is not just a personal matter of the person doing it, but a question of his relationship to other sovereign individuals. Conscience helps not only to navigate in the world of values, but also to navigate relative to the values of other participants in the situation.
Schrader Yu. A., 1997. P. 81
Conscience has two functions: preventive and retrospective.
In addition, conscience manifests itself:
• as a stimulant that directs compliance with moral requirements, creating a positive psychological attitude;
• as a prohibiting, stopping factor, condemning us in advance for our intended choice, for our intended behavior; conscience does not allow a person to ignore the choice facing him;
• as a corrective factor during action;
• as an evaluative factor containing a moral assessment of our actions.
Conscience continuously evaluates the ethical nature of our thoughts, points out emerging bad thoughts or attempts at self-justification.
There is a sorrow in the world, the fiercest of all sorrows - this is the sorrow of a suddenly acquired conscience.
M. E. Saltykov Shchedrin
The fulfillment of its functions by conscience is not a simple automatic act. This is always a complex dynamic process in which conscience itself depends on the general moral principles of the individual, on the degree to which the individual approaches the moral ideal.
Conscience helps to soberly realize the critical situations in which a person finds himself and which can no longer be changed due to the irreversibility of what is happening. Of course, a realistic attitude towards developing circumstances imposes obligations on the mind, but not everything is within its power. In a tragic situation, it is common for a person to ask: “Why did I have such a fate?!” This is not at all the expression of a person with a religious consciousness, as it might seem at first glance. Most often, this is how the question is posed by a person who denies God due to the fact that life has treated him unfairly. It is conscience that first of all helps to feel the incorrectness of such a formulation of the question, firstly, because a conscientious person acutely feels his guilt and will not commensurate it with what he perceives as punishment. Secondly, conscience will help a non-religious person to realize the illegality of the very concept of “punishment” without recognizing the existence of the One who punishes. But for a religious person, what is important is not the question: “For what?”, but a completely different question: “For what?”, which requires seeing in a real situation the symbolic instruction given to him, which needs to be understood.
Schrader Yu. A., 1997.
Examples from history
Almost every great person in history was conscientious.
Thus, during his lifetime, the Apostle Peter was persecuted for spreading Christianity by the Roman commander Herod and spent most of his life behind bars. They could not execute him because he was a citizen of Rome.
When rumors reached that Peter was teaching his doctor Christian doctrine, a decision was made to execute him.
Before this event, Peter saw how the son of a Roman general was suffering, and said that he could help him if he was released from custody for a while. He cured his son of a terrible disease.
He, realizing that he could save Peter’s life, as a thank you, does not dare to do this and suffers from this all his life.
Conscience is, in simple words, that special feeling
which distinguishes us from animals . This is the moral basis of man. Only those who have a conscience will be able to judge themselves. Conduct an internal dialogue with yourself, act as both a defender and an accuser.
It’s interesting whose position is closer to the term “conscience,” a pessimist or an optimist. In my opinion, it is closer to healthy pessimism, since optimism is such that it will pull everything that is possible, or maybe not, into its favor.
The modern world literally terrorizes people with calls to remain optimistic in all life situations. Based on the postulates of positive thinking, a huge industry of trainings, courses, and various self-development programs has grown.
People who tend to have less than positive perspectives feel uncomfortable in the company of motivated colleagues. Meanwhile, in our survival it is negative experience that is decisive .
Photos from pictures yandex.ru
Recently, psychologists have doubted the effectiveness of an artificial cloudless mood. After all, maintaining it is very expensive. And we thought about the constructive role of healthy pessimism.
