What is conscience? Definition of a concept for an essay.

To live according to conscience, in harmony with nature - you can often hear such a recommendation, and in general, everything seems to be extremely clear here. But if you try to figure out what exactly this means, many questions arise. Let’s assume that with the recommendations to “live in harmony with nature” everything is more or less clear, although here too sometimes there are various misunderstandings that sometimes do not fit into the head.

For example, a person may claim that he does not eat meat, but in reality it turns out that in his understanding, fish, seafood, and sometimes even chicken do not belong to meat. Apparently they grow on a tree. Therefore, on the issue of living “in harmony with nature,” there are also many misunderstandings. However, in general, everything is clear here - do not harm living beings. The concept of “harm” is also a relative concept, and everyone puts something of their own into it, but we won’t go deeper.

Much more interesting is the question of what is conscience? And what does it mean to “live according to conscience”? Remember when you were a child? It happens that you commit some unpleasant act, and your parents immediately ask a rhetorical question in a sort of stern voice: “Do you have a conscience?” And you stand there and don’t know what to answer. You intuitively feel that you can’t answer “No,” but saying “Yes” is also stupid, because at that age you don’t really know whether you have it, this conscience, or not. And anyway, what kind of beast is conscience? So you stand there, silent, bored... And the angry parent continues to pour out rhetorical questions, telling you something like: “Am I talking to the wall?” You really don't feel at ease here. And it’s no longer time to ask whether you have a conscience - it would be better to get out of such a mess and get away with a couple of hours in one of the corners of your home.

However, the years go by. The understanding of good and evil is changing. And sooner or later we begin to understand at some deep level what conscience is. No, we may read it in the dictionary, and the teacher at school will tell us something about conscience, but this is not the same, this is all, as they say, from the mind. And understanding of conscience must come from the soul, from the heart. And it is at some deep level that we begin to distinguish between what it means to “live according to conscience” and what it means vice versa. This true feeling, this true knowledge is in each of us. You can’t read about it in books; this understanding either exists or is hidden under a layer of our delusions and delusions.

The first time conscience manifests itself in deep childhood, we, of course, do not know that this is what it is - conscience. But we are starting to feel it. This is the feeling when, for example, having kicked a harmless and defenseless kitten, we then feel dirty in our souls all day. And at night we can't sleep. We do not yet understand what is happening to us, but it is important that it is happening.

Years go by... And each of us goes our own way. Someone crushes this conscience within themselves. He kicks her like a stray dog ​​every time she tries to bark at us or bite us at the moment when we commit an unworthy act. And someone, on the contrary, cultivates this conscience in himself, begins to listen to it, begins to synchronize his entire life with its voice. And such conscience becomes a person’s natural state, his natural understanding of what is good and what is bad.

This is not the understanding that is sometimes gleaned from some smart books. The “bookish” understanding of conscience often becomes simply a dogma, and such a person puts everyone, as they say, “with the same brush”... Instead of a conscience, such a person has some kind of bookish-religious formula that divides this world into black and white. And everything that doesn't look like black is white, and everything that doesn't look like white is black. But this world is diverse, and there are many shades in it. Therefore, this position towards him is fundamentally wrong. This is important to understand.

In Dahl's dictionary

and. moral consciousness, moral sense or feeling in a person; inner consciousness of good and evil; the secret place of the soul, in which approval or condemnation of every action is echoed; the ability to recognize the quality of an action; a feeling that encourages truth and goodness, turning away from lies and evil; involuntary love for good and truth; innate truth, in varying degrees of development. Conscience is timid until you silence it. You can hide it from a person, but you cannot hide it from your conscience (from God). Conscience torments, consumes, torments or kills. Remorse. He who has a clear conscience does not have a pillow under his head. Toothless, but conscience will devour (or eat) the bones. Do it according to your conscience, honestly. We became conscientious, mutually relying on it. Take what is conscientious, your moral answer. This is on my conscience; I recognize myself as a debtor, obligated to do something. You also need to know your conscience; there is a measure for everything. Conscience attacked the pig, just as it tasted the log! He has a bag of conscience: put whatever you want. A good conscience is the eye of God (voice of God). The face is crooked, but the conscience is straight. Conscience doesn't let me sleep. You can’t sew a conscience to a caftan (to leather). The rich man does not buy his conscience, but destroys his own. Where there is shame, there is conscience (and fear). For those who do not have a clear conscience, the shadow of a poker is the gallows! The eyes are the measure, the soul is the faith, the conscience is the guarantee. Conscientious, related to conscience. A conscientious matter subject to the court of conscience, and not civil law. Conscientious court, an institution where a certain range of controversial cases are dealt with according to the conscience of judges. | A conscientious or conscientious person, conscientious, honest, always acting according to his conscience. Well, aren’t you ashamed of people, aren’t you ashamed, aren’t you afraid of shame, submission. He did his job conscientiously. I'm ashamed to bother you. Conscientiousness, conscientiousness, quality, property and condition according to adj. To conscience of someone, to admonish, to shame, to make someone feel ashamed, to try to bring to consciousness of a wrongdoing and to repentance. -sya, to endure reproaches of conscience as a result of a bad deed, or to be ashamed, to recognize one’s guilt, one’s sin, and to repent of oneself, to regret and be annoyed with oneself. What is there to have a conscience for those who have no conscience! He will be ashamed to show himself. Having embarked on all the difficult things, he lost his conscience and was exhausted. When I was full, then I became ashamed. At least you would have some conscience! They reassured him and confessed.

The meaning of the word "conscience"

We can talk for a long time about what conscience is not. But what does this word mean - conscience? What is conscience? What is its definition? What is the origin of the word "conscience"? The word itself contains the key to unraveling this mysterious phenomenon, which cannot be seen, touched, or studied from a scientific point of view.

The word “conscience” consists of two words: “with” and “news”. This means “common message.” And the question arises: jointly with whom? There can be many versions, but one of the options is joint with the Universe, with all living beings in it. And the word “news” can be interpreted as “knowledge”. Thus, the word “conscience” means “knowledge shared with the Universe.”

Knowledge of what? Yes, everything is about the same thing - about good and evil, about moral behavior, about the world order - the list can be continued endlessly, but all these are just verbal formulas, mental concepts, philosophy. And conscience, as has already been said, is not a book formula, but a true, unchanging quality of the human soul.

Sometimes they say about a person: “No shame, no conscience.” And you can find an even more interesting option, when a person is even proud of it. At one time there were very fashionable T-shirts with the inscription “No shame, no conscience. Nothing extra". I just want to add - “no brains.” In fact, in modern society, conscience has long become ballast for the majority. Because it contradicts those generally accepted concepts that are actively propagated in modern society. For example, will conscience be an assistant on the path for a person who has accepted the life paradigm “take everything from life” or is inspired by the slogan “go ahead”? The question is rhetorical.

To follow such ideas, conscience must be suppressed in early childhood. And unfortunately, the majority is following this path today. What result will they get? It's not hard to guess. As a rule, approaching old age, such people either “see the light”, but it is often too late, or an even worse option - even in old age they do not accumulate any life wisdom. Such people become grumbling old men who hate everyone and everything and blame the world around them for their problems. But the problem is that a dead-end path of development was initially chosen - “no shame, no conscience.”

In Ozhegov's dictionary

CONSCIENCE, -i, f. A sense of moral responsibility for one’s behavior to other people and society. People with a clear conscience. S. is unclean for someone. Do something with a clear conscience. (being confident that you are right). Remorse. Act according to your conscience (as your conscience demands). This act lies (remains) on his conscience (he bears moral responsibility for it). It is necessary and with. know (about something reprehensible: you can’t do that, it’s time to stop; colloquial). And as soon as he had enough conscience! (as he was not ashamed, he was not ashamed). * Freedom of conscience (official) - the right to profess any religion or to be an atheist. Conscientiously (to do) (colloquial) - conscientiously, well. Done conscientiously. To clear the conscience (colloquial) - so as not to blame yourself for something later. In all honesty, in all honesty, enter, eat. - speaking frankly. || adj. conscientious, -aya, -oe (obsolete).

The concept of "conscience"

The word “conscience” apparently comes from “co-know,” that is, “to know together with others.” This implies knowledge about oneself. A person is controlled by his conscience, which is not so easy to “persuad” or “calm down”; if someone “hears” his condemning voice, he experiences remorse. You can try to drown out her voice within yourself, you can “forget” about her for a while, but it is impossible to completely eradicate her. Anyone who does not live according to conscience experiences deep internal discord, which, even remaining unconscious, one way or another, often very seriously, and sometimes detrimentally, affects his mental and physical health.

In the dictionary D.N. Ushakova

CONSCIENCE, conscience, plural. no, female Internal assessment, internal consciousness of the morality of one’s actions, a sense of morality for one’s behavior. “Nothing can calm us down among worldly sorrows; nothing, nothing... except conscience.” Pushkin. “My conscience has never gnawed at me.” Pushkin. “Burning reproaches of conscience stung him like needles.” Goncharov. “They forgot timidity and sorrow, and drove away conscience.” Pushkin. Peace of mind. Conscience doesn't allow it. Remorse. Put your conscience to sleep. Act according to your conscience. Do you have a conscience? (Aren't you ashamed). There is no shame, no conscience. Without a twinge of conscience (see twinge). • ***** responsibility, without paperwork (·obsolete). Take money conscientiously. Not out of fear, but out of conscience - quite conscientiously. “Work for the common good not out of fear, but out of conscience.” Mayakovsky. According to conscience or speaking (to say) according to conscience (introductory word; colloquial) - speaking frankly, sincerely. “In all honesty, she doesn’t value anyone.” Griboyedov. “Besides a freshly washed shirt, I’ll tell you in all honesty, I don’t need anything.” Mayakovsky. In good conscience (colloquial) - the same as in good conscience. Freedom of conscience (political) - the absence of restrictions in the practice of any religion or in the renunciation of religion. “All citizens are recognized as having freedom of conscience and freedom of anti-religious propaganda.” History of the CPSU(b). With a clear conscience - completely calm. I can say with a clear conscience.

Origins of conscience

The phenomenon of conscience confirms that morality is an organic part of the human personality, and therefore the definition of a reasonable person at the same time as a moral person can be considered quite justified. People are moral to varying degrees, but it is hardly possible to find a mentally normal person who is absolutely devoid of any moral principles. The organic nature of morality for a person is clearly expressed in how the experience of shame manifests itself: he blushes, he becomes hot, stuffy, he does not know where to put himself, he averts his eyes, etc.

Pessimism and business

The widespread idea of ​​a great leader corresponds rather to the image of a pessimist. What makes a positive person: stinginess with emotions, seriousness, skepticism.

This opinion is true in most cases. Since such positions require the most complete and objective analysis of the situation, and not the construction of illusions.

Resilience to stress is one of the main qualities required in business. A pessimistic assessment of prospects makes a person less sensitive to a tense situation.

After all, he remains indifferently calm and evaluates the information received . And he doesn’t go into shock, which is very productive.

Perhaps a wary and distrustful colleague is not so pleasant at first glance. But awareness and preparedness for any surprises. And this distinguishes constructive pessimists. They will definitely receive a worthy assessment in a difficult moment.

Option 3

When we were little, we were often told: “Do you have a conscience?”, “Isn’t the council tormenting you?” and so on. But we never attached any importance to this, and why? But when you do think about it, you can search for an answer for a long time.

The first thing, when asked, you answer, well, conscience is when you did something, and then you are tormented by thoughts about it.” And perhaps this is true.

You do something and then you think. Perhaps you could have done it differently or not done it at all. You do an action, but you don't like the result.

From childhood you cultivate a conscience in yourself. Your parents tell you what is good and what is bad.

Conscience helps you keep control of your emotions. In total, conscience is a chain connecting the qualities and character of a person.

To answer this question, a few words or entire books are enough at the same time. This question can be answered unequivocally.

Conscience is like a person who monitors our actions. She fights with justice in the life of every person. This is a sense of proportion to the words we have spoken. Conscience is the most important feeling that prevents us from making mistakes in life.

It happens that you stole something, lied to your friends or parents, and your conscience torments you. After that, you go and tell them the truth, because it was your conscience that forced you to do this.

Ultimately, you understand that this is a person’s feeling, showing his moral principles. And these principles are different for everyone.

When your conscience torments you, this is the most terrible feeling you can have. This feeling especially occurs when the situation cannot be corrected, when time cannot be turned back. And then you remember this moment with pain.

Arkady Petrovich Gaidar wrote a small but wonderful story “Conscience” describing all the shame of this feeling. Nina did not go to class, deciding to skip it. But after she met the boy, I think the girl learned her lesson and will not repeat this mistake again. This story is a vivid example of what conscience is; it reflects all its sides.

In the end, I want to say that never neglect your conscience, it may end badly for you, as it could have ended with Nina and with you if you didn’t have it.

Declension of the noun conscience (which case)

Declension of words by case in singular and plural.

Scope of use

Figurative expression Politics Slang Religion Business vocabulary

Analysis of conscience

In order to analyze this concept, a consciousness of freedom and sinfulness is necessary. In mathematical language, we can say that a person’s conscience is the difference between those actions that are permissible and those that are impossible for some reason. Quite often, the manifestation of this feeling is associated with faith. Conscience is a kind of internal supervisor who controls the morality of actions. For believers, those who contradict their commandments will be considered immoral first of all.

As a rule, honor and conscience are always identified with each other. For example, the German thinker I. Kant calls this feeling a law that lives in every person and determines his dignity. A. Holbach said that conscience is an internal judge. Only this sense of responsibility accurately indicates how much a person’s actions deserve censure or approval.

How to clear your conscience?

The main way to cleanse the conscience is repentance, for which the church Sacrament of repentance was established.

“Sobriety to the point of shining clears the conscience. The conscience, being so cleansed, expels all darkness from within, like light suddenly shining after the veil lying on it is removed. And after the expulsion of darkness, conscience, with continuously continuing true sobriety, again shows what was forgotten or what was hidden without being conscious.” (St. Philotheus of Sinai)

What is defensive pessimism?

This technique is used unconsciously by many, but it can easily be practiced as a tactical technique. This works most effectively in cases of natural tendency towards pessimism .

When a person imagines negative scenarios before an upcoming difficult test, he invests in a program to combat difficulties. And unexpected turns do not come as a surprise to him. While the optimist is struggling with unpleasant surprise, the pessimist is already solving the problem .

The essence of defensive pessimism as a psychological technique is to talk through all possible obstacles. Which may arise in connection with the upcoming test.

It is advisable to exaggerate these scenarios. As a result, instead of blind confidence, a person receives a constructive attitude and readiness for the unexpected.

It should be noted that this method is precisely tactical in nature and works to solve short-term immediate problems. Imagining negative outcomes in the case of, for example, a serious illness is destructive.

A similar approach can be useful for overcoming the consequences of psychological trauma. Talking and writing down the details of the incident is much easier and more useful. Rather than trying unsuccessfully to get everything out of your head .

Essay on the topic of conscience 8 - 9 grade OGE 15.3

All people are endowed with different feelings, so we experience happiness, joy, we are upset or fearful, we receive delight or another kaleidoscope of feelings that manifest themselves at one time or another in our lives. But still, the most important feeling of a person is his conscience. That same feeling that you can’t hide from. This feeling is like justice, an inner judge that forces us to think about our actions. Let's try to get to know it better in an essay on the topic of Conscience for grade 9 on the OGE, answering the question in paragraph 15.3.

What is conscience?

What is conscience? As for me, this feeling is like a small worm that lives in every person. He sits quietly and doesn’t bother anyone, but only until you do something bad. And here conscience wakes up and begins to gnaw from the inside. This feeling is not easy to get rid of; it torments a person until he understands his mistake, admits it, apologizes, or tries to correct the situation.

If we define conscience more beautifully, then conscience is a regulator of human behavior. Sometimes it seems that conscience is a kind of conversation with oneself, where it is decided what is bad and what is good.

Where does conscience come from, since people are not born conscientious? It seems to me that everything here depends on a person’s upbringing, on his parents. If in childhood they explained to the child how to behave well and how to live according to conscience, then in the future the person will not be able to be an unscrupulous person.

In order to better understand what conscience is in our mini essay on the topic of Conscience according to OGE paragraph 9.3, we will give examples from the literature.

Examples from literature

Conscience is a moral guideline that sometimes allows you to avoid bad deeds. So, if in the work of Eugene Onegin the main character had listened to his inner voice, he would not have killed Lensky, because he initially felt that his action was wrong. But the voice of reason was eclipsed by the opinions of those around him, and Onegin will have to live with remorse for the rest of his days, and Lensky’s corpse will haunt him all his life.

Conscience also tormented Dostoevsky’s hero in Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov suffers from remorse, he is ashamed of his crime, which means that this man is not hopeless, he still has a conscience, which helped the hero choose the right path.

Everyone has a conscience, but not everyone listens to it. The proof of this in our essay will be the text of Pogodin’s work, where he talks about the boys who bullied Kolya. They even once took away a gift for a teacher, thinking it was sycophancy. But this was only gratitude to the teacher for helping the boy keep up with his classmates in his studies. And then one of the students’ conscience awoke, so he decided to make amends and helped give the teacher a gift.

Examples from life

As we have already said, conscience is a controller that guards our actions and does everything to ensure that there are more good ones and fewer bad ones. Of course, a person is not perfect, we all make mistakes, but the main thing is to admit it in time and not be afraid to change the situation. Someone can steal, and your conscience immediately begins to gnaw from the inside. Someone sees injustice, but passes by without helping the victim. And remorse makes you regret it. We blame ourselves for not coming to the rescue in time. And someone made a promise and did not keep it. Has anyone been offended by words or actions? And then conscience will definitely awaken, because it helps to become a better person, it maintains the purity of the soul, and thanks to it, life becomes much easier, more joyful and enjoyable.

An essay on the topic of conscience can be used for grades 8 and 9

Definition of the word “Conscience” according to TSB:

Conscience is a category of ethics that characterizes an individual’s ability to exercise moral self-control, independently formulate moral duties for himself, demand that he fulfill them, and make a self-assessment of his actions. one of the expressions of a person’s moral self-awareness. S. manifests itself both in the form of rational awareness of the moral significance of the actions performed, and in the form of emotional experiences (for example, “S.’s remorse”). In idealistic ethics, S. was interpreted as the voice of the “inner self,” a manifestation of a person’s innate moral sense, etc. Marxist-Leninist ethics substantiates the socio-historical character of S. See also Morality, Ethics.

Freedom of conscience

Since the inception of the concept in question, there have been a huge number of different interpretations of this word, but they were all based on general moral principles (honor, dignity, altruism, kindness), explaining what conscience is. The meaning of this word and its basic principles were described in their works by almost every thinker and philosopher.

In the 19th century, such a concept as freedom of conscience gradually began to appear. This gave a certain impetus to moral democracy. The concept of conscience has become something purely personal for everyone. The environment in which a person grows has become decisive for him. Accordingly, if a person wants his family to live according to certain moral and ethical standards, they must be observed and instilled. What is considered wrong and immoral must be condemned, while what is considered good must be approved.

About a person's conscience

Conscience is a quality of a person that does not allow people to live in peace if they have committed an unseemly act. Let's look at this statement with examples.

In our lives there are many people with a heightened sense of conscience. This affects their actions. They are not capable of betraying, cannot lie for their own benefit, and will not interfere or envy when moving up the career ladder. It seems to them that later it will be difficult to look a person in the eyes and talk to him. They think that they have no right to interfere in someone else's life, because they themselves would be hurt if someone else did the same. Most of them are people living in absolute reality. Usually they do not stand out among others, do not seek justice for themselves, and do not push anyone aside for personal gain. Conscience is formed at the very beginning of a person’s life – in childhood. This quality is brought up by parents and only by personal example. It then develops during the school years. However, some children and adolescents retain and develop this quality, while others try to suppress it and exchange it for other, personal feelings.

Why do we need conscience these days if it brings neither wealth nor money? No high position. If in any position you are required to be an obedient employee and follow the instructions of your superiors, despite the fact that your conscience resists this. However, a person always has a choice. He is often not ready for it, but a conscientious person will find the right solution. There is a short story in literature, it is called “Conscience”, written by Arkady Gaidar. The heroine of this work decided to skip class because she had not learned algebra. She went into the grove. It was very nice there, Nina ran after a butterfly and came across a baby who was holding an ABC book in his hand. Nina joked, saying that he was skipping school. However, the boy answered her that he was not playing truant, but got lost because of a large dog, which he was afraid of. Nina took him by the hand and led him through the grove. Then she returned for the books. The dog has already eaten her breakfast, but hasn’t touched the books. Nina cried because she was ashamed. After all, even the baby understood that it was impossible to skip. The author writes that she was “gnawed by a merciless conscience.” Of course, conscience can be merciless if a person has violated his principles and forgotten about the moral laws of life.

Thus, everyone needs to have a conscience. After all, people live in society, and everyone wants to communicate with worthy people and be sure that you are treated with respect.