The gifts of consciousness and conscience

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

“The paradoxical and tragic situation of man is that his conscience is weakest when he needs it most”
Erich Fromm

Whilst both these quotations suggest that we have not made best use of these gifts they clearly allude to the importance both these great thinkers give them. I believe that both consciousness and conscience are unique to mankind; it is their presence in our make up that gives me hope that we will one day accept that we must radically change our ways. If it weren’t for both I believe that slavery would still be considered an acceptable commercial enterprise.

Consciousness gives us our sense of self-awareness and an awareness of how we relate to our wider environment; it also gives us a deeper sense of knowing above and beyond the merely rational. It encourages us to move beyond our basic animal instincts and is the source of our sense of morality. I like Einstein believe that our consciousness has become extremely limited and that it is imperative for us to expand it beyond the boundaries of self, family, nation, generation and species. With this greater awareness will develop a deeper compassion and empathy for all things and I hope that we will begin to feel more secure in and concerned for, the living creation of which we are but a part.

Our conscience is the arbiter of our integrity; it lets us know when we are violating our values and morals. Conscience alone however is not enough; one next has to have the will to act in accordance with it, often in competition with the temptation to ignore it in the pursuit of personal gratification. It seems to me that we are guilty of both valuing the wrong things and of defining morals which are far too anthropocentric. As for acting in accordance with our conscience this seems to me to be something that most people are all too frequently prepared to sacrifice in exchange for personal gain.

Climate change is finally entering into our consciousness following decades of warnings from environmental scientists but this is just the tip of the iceberg, the real threat is mankind’s excessive growth and unsustainable consumption of natural resources and habitats. Until this becomes part of our consciousness and we have the fortitude to act in accordance with our collective conscience about our responsibility to address this, we will make little or no effective progress in limiting the incalculable and devastating consequences that will ensue.