The Originality of Newman's Teaching on Conscience1

Abstract

Unlike many modern and secularized conceptions, Newman emphasizes the specific religious dimension of conscience. For him, conscience is not only a moral sense, but also a sense of duty, that is, the echo of the voice of God being manifested in the heart. This last dimension is of first importance in a period characterized by a growing subjectivism. Indeed, as Newman teaches, this sense of duty can remain despite the errors of the moral sense. He makes, however, a clear distinction between conscience and reason, unlike other catholic traditions. This must be interpreted in the context of a modern and procedural conception of reason, which had led, sometimes, to the rejection of an ethical system based on an independent order of values. Far from rejecting the role of reason, Newman places it within the context of a holistic understanding of the human person, which revolves around the ethical-religious experience of conscience.