What is conscience and what does it mean to live by conscience?

Most people have an internal censor that helps to distinguish between positive and negative aspects in life. It is important to learn to listen to the voice within yourself and follow his advice, and then he will guide you into a happy future.

What does conscience mean?

There are several definitions of such a concept: thus, conscience is considered an ability to independently identify its own responsibilities for self-monitoring and evaluate the committed acts. Psychologists, explaining what conscience is in their own words, give such a definition: this is an internal quality that gives a chance to understand how well a person realizes his own responsibility for the perfect act.

To determine what is conscience, it is necessary to note the fact that it is divided into two types. The first refers to the actions that a person commits, having a certain moral background. The second kind implies the emotions experienced by the individual as a result of certain acts, for example, a sense of guilt . There are people who do not even worry after doing bad things and in such a situation they say that the inner voice is asleep.

What is Freud's conscience?

A well-known psychologist believes that every person has a superego, which consists of conscience and the ego-ideal. The first develops as a result of parental upbringing and the application of different punishments. Freud's conscience includes the ability to self-criticize, the existence of certain moral prohibitions and the emergence of feelings of guilt. As for the second leaving-the ego-ideal, it arises from the approval and positive evaluation of actions. Freud believes that the superego was fully formed when the control of the parents was replaced by self-control.

Types of conscience

Perhaps many will be surprised by the fact, but there are several types of this internal quality. The first type is personal conscience, which is narrowly focused. With its help, a person determines what is good and what is bad. The next concept of conscience collective covers the interests and actions of those who are not exposed to the influence of a personal type. It has limitations, since it concerns exclusively people who are members of a particular group. The third type - the spiritual conscience does not take into account the limitations of the above types.

What is conscience for?

Many people asked this question at least once in their lives, and so, if there was no inner voice, then the person would not distinguish which actions are good and which are bad. Without internal control for a proper life, it would be necessary to have an assistant who directed, advised and helped to draw the right conclusions. Another important point about why one needs conscience is that it helps a person to understand life, get the right landmark and become aware of himself. It should be said that it can not be separated from morality and morality.

What does it mean to live according to conscience?

Unfortunately, but not all people can boast that they live by the rules, forgetting about this quality and betraying themselves thereby. Due to this internal quality, a person performs certain actions, understanding what is good and what is bad, but also knows such concepts as justice and morality. A person who lives by the convictions of conscience, is able to live in truth and in love. For him, such qualities as deception, betrayal, insincerity and so on are unacceptable.

If you live by the rules, then you need to listen to your own soul, which will allow you to choose the right direction in life. In this case, a person will not perform actions for which he will later feel shame and guilt. In order to understand what a clear conscience is, it is worth noting that in today's world it is not easy to find people with such a trait, since there are many situations and temptations in life when you simply cross the line. The formation of this quality is directly influenced by parenting and close environment, from which the child can take an example.

Why do people act out of conscience?

Calling modern life simple, it is impossible, because almost every day a person meets with different temptations and problems. Although many people know how to act in accordance with conscience, sometimes people cross the line. The reason why conscience is gone, has a cause-effect nature. In most cases, a person oversteps his own beliefs in order to satisfy his ambitions. Another push on this may be self-serving goals, the desire not to stand out from the crowd, to protect ourselves from attacks by others and so on.

What is a calm conscience?

When a person lives by the rules, realizes the righteousness of fulfilling one's own duties and does not harm anyone's actions, they speak of such a concept as a "quiet" or "clean" conscience. In this case, the individual does not feel or does not know for himself any bad deeds. If a person chooses to live by conscience, he must always take into account not only his own position, but also the opinion and the condition of those around him. Psychologists believe that confidence in the purity of their conscience is hypocrisy or indicates blindness in relation to their own mistakes.

What is an evil conscience?

The complete opposite of the previous definition, since an evil conscience is an unpleasant feeling that has arisen as a result of doing a bad deed, which causes bad mood and feelings. An impure conscience is very close to such a concept as guilt, and her person feels at the level of emotions, for example, in the form of fear, anxiety and other discomfort. As a result, a person experiences and suffers from various problems within himself, and listening to the inner voice, compensation for negative consequences occurs.

What is the torture of conscience?

Doing bad deeds, a person begins to worry about the fact that he harmed others. The pangs of conscience are a feeling of discomfort that arises from the fact that people often expose themselves to inflated demands that do not correspond to their essence. Right internal qualities are brought up in childhood, when parents are praised for good, and for bad - scolded. As a result, for a lifetime, there remains a certain fear in man for being punished for the committed impure actions and in such a situation they say that the conscience torments.

There is one more version, according to which conscience is a kind of tool that measures the true measure of things. For the right decisions the person gets satisfaction, and for the bad he is tormented by guilt. It is believed that if people do not experience such discomfort at all, then this is a sign of psychopathy . Scientists have not yet been able to determine, because of what there can be no sense of shame and guilt, so there is an opinion that the fault is all wrong education or factors of a biological order.

What should I do if my conscience torments me?

It is difficult to meet a person who could confirm that he never did bad deeds in the context of his convictions. Feeling guilty can spoil the mood, do not give to enjoy life, develop and so on. There are cases when an adult has become more principled in the case of morality and then begin to remember the mistakes of the past and then problems with one's own soul can not be avoided. There are a few tips on what to do if the conscience is tortured.

  1. You do not need to try to suppress an inner voice and it is best to sort out everything in order to find peace of mind. Often errors help to draw conclusions for the realization of important vital things.
  2. Perhaps, it's time, using the accumulated life experience, to reconsider and reevaluate own principles of morality.
  3. To understand what conscience is and how to reconcile with it, it is recommended to use the most effective way - repentance and redemption. Many people escape for a long time from themselves and from admission of guilt, which only aggravates the situation. The main thing is repenting to find a way how to make amends.

How to develop a conscience in a person?

Parents must certainly think about how to raise a good man who will know what conscience is, and how to use it correctly. There are many styles of upbringing and if we talk about extremes, then this is rigidity and complete permissiveness. The process of forming important internal qualities is based on complete confidence in the parents. Of great importance is the stage of explanation, when adults report to the child why something can be done, but something can not be done.

If, how to develop a conscience, interests adults, then the principle of action is slightly different. First, you need to think about and analyze what decisions are good and which are bad. It is necessary to determine their cause and consequences. To understand what conscience is and how to develop this quality, psychologists recommend doing at least one positive action every day, for which it is important to praise yourself.

Get a rule - before giving a promise, think carefully about whether to get it done. In order not to feel guilty, it is important to restrain the given word. Experts advise to learn to deny people who offer to do something contrary to existing beliefs. Acting conscientiously, this does not mean to do everything only for others, forgetting about their own life principles and priorities. Acting in truth, you can expect to receive a result that will satisfy all participants.