by Billie Meyers

Created on: June 03, 2008   Last Updated: June 07, 2008

Throughout each day we are faced with many choices. Some require little thought. Some, however innocuous they may seem on the surface, have implications beyond the immediate. Often it is through experience that we learn to recognize these situations, e.g. previous choices and their consequences. Much of the experience and knowledge that we draw upon to help us with our daily choices is stored in our subconscious-the conscience? The information we have stored in our subconscious, the conscience, helps us identify moral dilemmas.

Is it possible to make a moral decision without a conscience? No! It is our conscience that alerts us that there is a moral decision to be made in the first place. If we did not have a conscience we would simply choose what is in our own best-interest when faced with choices.

The following is an example of a situation that might invoke a person's conscience:

A health inspector, employed by his state to ensure that restaurants, cafeterias, etc. are sanitary, eats lunch at one of the restaurants that he inspects on a regular basis. The owner of the restaurant offers to pay for the worker's lunch. Supposing the law does not prohibit it, should he accept?

This is where his conscience should kick in. Hmm . . . Why is the restaurant owner offering to buy me lunch? Is he simply being kind? Or does he expect favoritism? If I accept his offer, will I be able to remain unbiased when inspecting his restaurant in the future? If another restaurant owner should find out, how will it look to him/her? Since it is not illegal for him to accept, he must decide how his choice might affect the future. Clearly, the practice of accepting free lunches could potentially lead to trouble.

Obviously, some people either ignore their conscience or perhaps don't have one. It wouldn't occur to some that the free lunch might give the appearance of impropriety. Some may view it as a job perk. Also, one could argue that by accepting the free lunch the worker is tacitly giving the restaurant his "seal of approval"-if he'll eat there it must be okay.

The right choice here is not necessarily clear. It is these "gray" areas that cause us the most trouble. The right answer might depend on other unrelated factors, such as the health inspector's overall reputation. Is he known to be fair to all? Or has he been known to show favoritism in the past? A good choice in this situation requires self-awareness.

Do those who continue to make poor choices have a faulty conscience, i.e. the information stored in the subconscious is flawed? Lack self-awareness? Is it possible to not have a conscience? Some food for thought . . . Assuming that the information stored in the subconscious is good, our conscience will lead us in the right direction.

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