Synderesis, Conscience, and Virtue

I.  Synderesis and Conscience

Synderesis is the habitual knowledge of the universal practical principles of moral action.  Synderesis refers to a person’s abiding awareness of certain fundamental moral rules such as "do good and avoid evil," "thou shalt not steal," and so forth.

Moral conscience is a judgment of reason by which a person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act which he has done, is doing or is about to do.

The difference between synderesis and conscience can be seen from the following:

Arnold is well aware of the moral principle that says stealing is wrong. [Synderesis is awareness of a moral principle or law – a law that applies to all and sundry].

Arnold is in the process of downloading a paper from the internet which he intends to hand in to his English teacher as the term paper required for the course when he realizes that if he does so he will be "stealing" a grade that he did not earn, and therefore this business of handing in a paper he did not himself write is morally wrong.  [Conscience is that by which a person judges the moral quality of his own action].

Conscience lies at is the innermost core of the person. Therefore, to go against a sure or certain conscience is to go against one’s very self and is always morally wrong.

Because of the general darkening of the intellect with which human beings are afflicted subsequent to the sin of Adam and many other factors besides:

Conscience can err.

Therefore we have a serious obligation to educate our conscience according to the truth. This is a life-long process.

Conscience itself is necessarily subjective because it resides at the center of each person, but each of us must take pains to form his own conscience according to objective moral truth.

We must always respect the consciences of others, which is not to be confused with encouraging another’s erroneous conscience.

Study CCC para 1789 which names three principle which must always be followed when conscious is unsure and immediate action is required.

 

 II.  Virtue 

Virtues are good habits.

 

A habit is a reliable disposition to act in a certain way. We become what we most consistently do – that is our habits define us. A kind person is a person who has the virtue of kindness. One kind deed does not make a kind person but rather a habitual disposition of responding in a kind way (the virtue of kindness). The virtuous person freely, spontaneously practices the good. As we become, through the grace of Christ and our own graced efforts, more and more virtuous, the image of God is restored in us – that is, God grants us, makes us by his grace and our graced cooperation with his grace, to be conformed to the image of his Son -- , each in our own way

 

The Cardinal Virtues

Cardinal Virtue	Definition	Related virtues
Prudence	The virtue which disposes practical reason to discern the true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of obtaining it.	Memory, intelligence, docility, shrewdness, reason, foresight, caution, circumspection,
Justice	The moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give what is owed to God and to neighbor.	Religion, piety, observance, obedience, honor, gratitude, punishment of wrong-doing, truth, friendliness, and liberality.
Fortitude	The moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life.	Magnanimity, patience, perseverance. Fortitude’s perfect act is martyrdom
Temperance	The moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires withing the limits of what is honorable.	Abstinence, sobriety, shame, chastity, continence, clemency and meekness, modesty

 

Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity.  These will be studied in connection with the first commandment.

 

Two different sorts of virtue:

Acquired virtue: one which comes to be possessed (is acquired) through repeated action.

Infused virtue: one which is caused , or given, or poured into our souls by God is therefore supernatural, like faith, hope, charity, and also the natural virtues, when sanctifying grace is given to us in order to practice them more easily and perfectly.

 

Read CCC para 1266 – the theological and moral virtues are infused in to the souls of the baptized at the time of Baptism.  

 

 

Virtue and Vice

Just as virtue is a good habit, vice is a bad habit – a reliable disposition to act in a bad way.

 

For every virtues there is an opposing vice (or vices) – for example, despair opposed hope and impatience to patience.

 

Moral theology courses are generally constructed in one of two ways: either as a study of virtues (and all each comprises, as well as the opposing vices) or as a study of the commandments.

 

Our course takes the latter approach. The weakness of our approach is that students may get the impression that Christian life is a matter of meeting moral obligations and not a matter of becoming good in our every thought, word and deed.