Part 6 Ethics

Chapter 38 Moral Law and Conscience

Section f. Conscience

This section looks at the manner by which man participates in the eternal law. It first looks at the five intellectual habits:

i) habit of five principles

ii) science

iii) wisdom

iv) prudence

v) art

Based off of explanations of these five intellectual habits it is possible to describe conscience as: a judgment by the intelligence bearing on an individual human act and in light of the principles and precepts of the moral law. It is a descent of the mind from a universal law to the particular case. See the three comparisons: 

Moral law--->Verdict of conscience--->Human act

Human positive law--->Verdict of judge--->Legal case

Medicine--->Doctor--->Patient

This is the means by which the particular person acts in relation to a universal and the conscience is the proximate and subjective rule of morality. 

Conscience is not therefore autonomous.