Telegram-herald., 1886-05-02

iii-dsnoe1 eoncsPtlops are bed a. are
he'd eonosrnins TIC subject on Which hs
reee4tly isct0rsd IN tkls csts 1hs E1osg
eomu ca ldsa u eODs aeBos 10 that Il ls
that inward naOnitsF which tells 1s
whether our aots are night or sToaz.
some men who make prstsnslons u
phIlosophle thought sel but httle farther
than this popular idss They define
eoaseieRes s. tue fae4lty which iHtnils,
= {. instlnetlvely E=sesiyse. the moral 4
character II IDEAS, IN TIE contemplation 4
u which there are degrees of dlstlnetness,
,et Of the ex stenes OF which as revealing 1
distinction II night or wrong nc one can 7
be any sarer than any other, aud which. /
therefore, can or cannot Dc educated,
according As one shiDks Of the mere fact /
OF intuition, OF ot the growing distinct
ness. Others regard conscience as q
mental process by which sc'ions are
scrutinized so As to be compared with al
ideal standard, In which sense conscience
may De lncated. Still others regard II
as faculty which pronouDces upon the
agreement or disagreement Of acts with
an ideal standard With certainty, and
hence cannot be educated. A quotation
from the Scotch philosopher, DIR. Aber-
cromble, will serve as an example 10 illus
trate the looseDess Of thought which
seems always TO have surrounded this
subject. He says: The province Of
! conscience then appears To be, to convey
10 man a certain conviction OF what Is
morally right and wrong, in regard to
conduct III individual cases, and TO the
general exercise of the desires and aff sc-
tlons. This 1t does Independently Of any
acquired knowledge and without refer
ence 10 any other standard OF duty. Ii
does SO by / rule Of right which it carries
within itself"
Ii is strange that moral faculty so
often considered should be 80 little IN
derstood. A little reflection ought TO
have convinced the good old Scotchman
that instead OF establishing It's own
STANDARD OF duty conscience has nothing
whatever to do with e tablishing any
standard of duty. The Office of the con-
science IL confined 10 judicial
and executive functions. 1t has moth
ing TO do with the legislative branch of
moral government. Education and rea-
son construct the statutes conscience
judges whether an act or a course OF con-
duct violates the rules of right which
education and reason have enacted, and
then exerts its executive function to pun
lsh for violation or reward for obedience
We say that education and reason con,
struct the ideal OF right by which con
science measures conduct. 1t may be
stated in passing that education doet
much more of this work than reason
Ten men accept the rules Of conduc
prscticed by their fathers where one de
cides moral questions independently o
inherited Influences just as ten mel
! vote the Democratic or Republican
ticket because their fathers did, wher
ohC otSidto PoilAiCc III Lliluttll
, But while most men absorb moral ideal
without stopping TO give them any con
! siderable scrutiny, there are few VIII
establish their own ideas 10y the exercis
of their reasoning facilities. These tw,
, methods, however, are the only ones b.
: which moral rules are constructed. Tn
> conscience has nothing to do in mouldin,
standards.
[ AS to the assertion made by DIR. Aber
crombie that the province of conscience
I is to convey TO man "a certain convic
= ton OF what is morally right and wrong,
it is correct II applied to the individus
3 whose conscience acts, and il the indl
vidual has lost no opportunity TO elevaf
/: the moral standard by which bis con
science judges To use an illustration
3 adopted by Mr.. Beecher, the Hindl
woman who sacrifices her babe TO Tia
S Ganges has the approval OF her con
science she has the conviction" O
1 having done "what is morally right
| And the act is morally right for ber il sh
I has never had an opportunity to kDo,
a better. But, it will readily be seen,
: DIR. Abercrombie intended to say tha
I conscience points out what is right an
: what is wrong, absolutely, bis defnitio
1 is very much at fault here also. Their
9 must be a distinction made be
}. tween absolute right or wrong III
3 night OF wrong relatively as ar
q piled to individual consciences. In Tia
. former sense the Hindu woman commit
a an awful crime in the latter sense sh
: performs solemn religious duty. Con
. science is not, therefore. an iDfallibl
$ guide to absolute right. Ii is simply, a
4 Haven says, "a moral Judgment, accom-
3 panied by a moral feeling" and like a
4 other judgments and feelings it is liabI
(, 10 err. It's efficiency as guide depend
] upon the light winch IL has; upon edu
g cation aud moral culture.