Does the conscience make us weak?

There is no doubt that our conscience serves an important function: to help us differentiate from right or wrong, and impel us to act when it is right or inhibit us from acting when it is wrong. It's true that there exist people in this world that lack a conscience or empathy for their fellow human beings, and for these people I suppose the question of this thread would not apply. I am not calling for us to disregard our consciences, rather reflect on how our conscience brings forth moral dilemmas that inhibit our ambitions and aspirations.

I believe the major problem with the conscience is that it encourages us to think and act in accordance with what is right over what is best. While the two are not always distinct from one another, usually the former honours what is fair while the latter honours what is logical. The trouble being that life is far more logical than it is fair and perhaps this is why humanity struggles with problems relating to morality. We are torn between taking actions that benefit individuals and those that benefit society.

What are your thoughts?

I like to think of myself as having flexible morality so to speak. I know what is right, I know what is wrong, but I got no problem doing what needs to be done. sometimes you have to do the wrong thing to make something right if that makes any sense. I don't necessarily think our conscience makes us weak so long as we know how to keep it in balance with life.

reply to post by Dark Ghost


The well trained conscience is a good guide.

The problem is many people today have little or no training. To them right and wrong, are relative.


Sometimes tyrants set aside their conscience, and do what is "best" for the majority, like maybe killing a few million people. All for the "greater good".



To set aside a well trained conscience is to set aside our humanity.

To set aside conscience makes men animalistic.



If this life is all there is, who needs a conscience?


Love, compassion, kindness will cost you sometimes. Some will see weakness.




However, those qualities are the glue that truly bonds us together.





If this life is not all there is, and there is something more,


Then,

"When I am weak, then I am powerful"................

reply to post by Dark Ghost


From the most basic standpoint, survival, conscience does make us weak. This is because to survive, one must do what one needs to for the individual and, by extension, his/her family unit.

When people try to spread the "survival" out to a societal level, families suffer and society is weak because all resources are stretched to their limits.

Your personal conscience is not your social conscience. Your personal conscience will tell you that running off to leave your kids to fight a war for a government is bad. Your social conscience will tell you that running off to leave your kids to fight a war for a government is good.

The social conscience is fueled by the opinions, desires, and judgments of others. The personal conscience is fueled by the needs of self and those depending on self.

It is your choice which conscience you choose to listen to.

People without conscience tend to have problems relating to others, and then getting exiled from reproductive society (i.e. in todays world a prison cell!). I’m pretty sure that’s why it evolved.
A bee might ask (if it was intelligent) “does intelligence make humans weak”? After all a bee just obeys instructions, it is the perfect communist, and lives in a commune with benefits like housing, winter heating, and unparelled group protection.

Ultimately intelligence doesn’t make us weak because it gives us a choice whether or not to obey –and work out better ways. Likewise someone with conscience is better placed, than one without one, as at least someone with a conscience is free to go against it, whilst those without I, never have that choice –and are just left struggling to understand why no one likes them.

In certain situations (like war) conscience is probably more of a hindrance than without it, then again many people have gone into battle solely because they believed it was the right thing, and when in battle they behaved far better, safely & productively, than an army entirely devoid of conscience.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost
There is no doubt that our conscience serves an important function: to help us differentiate from right or wrong, and impel us to act when it is right or inhibit us from acting when it is wrong. It's true that there exist people in this world that lack a conscience or empathy for their fellow human beings, and for these people I suppose the question of this thread would not apply. I am not calling for us to disregard our consciences, rather reflect on how our conscience brings forth moral dilemmas that inhibit our ambitions and aspirations.

I believe the major problem with the conscience is that it encourages us to think and act in accordance with what is right over what is best. While the two are not always distinct from one another, usually the former honours what is fair while the latter honours what is logical. The trouble being that life is far more logical than it is fair and perhaps this is why humanity struggles with problems relating to morality. We are torn between taking actions that benefit individuals and those that benefit society.

What are your thoughts?

edit on 19/5/2012 by Dark Ghost because: (no reason given)

The more you know and understand the more you understand how little information you have and question your ideals/morality. The more moral you are the more you limit the possible action/behaviour you allow yourself to do. We can all go the egoparasitic path (service to self withour regard/empathy for what happens to others) and see where that leads us or go the sevice to all path and see what happens from that view.

So I would not say morality makes you weak, in fact I think it is the opposite. But it is limiting. In some peoples eyes I will by their standards be a "failure". But I am extreamly happy with my choices. I hope you are to . Namaste