Is the conscience modern in our time. What is conscience? Does a modern person need it? Only the light of conscience is able to distinguish between good and evil

Conscience .. when we hear this word, each of us mentally has an image of a certain judge. Conscience is an internal phenomenon, which in case of wrong gnaws at us from the inside. And everyone knows this very well. However, we cannot say conscience is a congenital or acquired phenomenon. And if it is congenital, then why do many people say that they have no conscience, or do we often hear the phrase “No shame, no conscience!”. In this case, a person can say: "I do not have a heart (in the literal sense), a liver, etc.". But nobody says that, because it is impossible.

So it is with conscience. Here comes the next problem - conscience - an acquired phenomenon? Then, is it inculcated by society, or does a person acquire it by himself through self-education? If it is grafted by society, then why do not all people have this "inner luminary"? Sometimes, in one family you will meet two children, one with a conscience, and the other without. And you think, it would seem, children grew up in the same atmosphere, but the results are different.

In kindergartens, we often see such a picture: the boy Misha, without asking, took Kiryusha's car and took it home. The next day, the boy does not return the toy, this is followed by the conclusion: the parents do not take care of the child at all, or the parents deliberately ignored their child's misconduct. In this situation (conscience is an acquired phenomenon), it is indisputable that conscience must be instilled in children from an early age in order to avoid serious consequences in the future.

Many philosophers equate the concept of "conscience" with the concept of "honor". And here I remember the famous epilogue to the story by A.S. Pushkin “ Captain's daughter"-" Take care of honor from a young age. " It turns out that in the 19th century, honor and conscience were especially important qualities of a person.

Do you need a conscience now? Do you need a conscience modern man? Unfortunately, our modern world is very cynical and mercantile. Many disregard moral standards, believing that it is easier to live this way. And it's true. It is easier for such people to adapt to any conditions, to get out dry from difficult situations, to achieve personal goals, they will no doubt go to any sacrifices. The question arises, is it really necessary to completely forget about conscience in order to be successful? If we conduct a survey, we will probably hear that now is not the time to think about conscience when the success of your life is at stake.

Let us turn to everyday examples that we come across every day: Mom asked to water the flowers, but you completely forgot about it; a friend called for a meeting, but you did not come; did not give up a seat on the bus to my grandmother, etc. Will not a desperate cry of conscience pierce your soul ?!

So, conscience is a kind of guideline that helps us to distinguish between good and evil, shows the dark and light side of life. And which side you choose depends only on you.

took from the Internet .. write it down .. no offense that I did not write myself)

Each person understands and explains conscience in his own way. When it appears and where it disappears is not clear. It seems to me that this is an innate feeling that we inherited from our distant ancestors. And it was this amorphous "something" that incomprehensibly separated us from animals. It is amazing how in different cultures, on different continents and in different religions, people have erected moral norms in a single context. Lack of conscience is a sign of degradation, the return of a person to the animal world, loss of personality. After all, one cannot be called a person who gladly kills. For this they say "beast." I don’t know what kind of God he is, and I don’t think he looks like a little man sitting on a cloud, but I sincerely believe that it was God who gave us a conscience so that we do not make mistakes and do the right thing. We were given a kind of "Ariadne's thread" and if you follow it and don't fold it, then everything will be fine. It is very difficult not to stumble and not let go of the thread. Each of us, probably, came across this tormentor - the Minotaur, called "pangs of conscience." This is a completely merciless creature. It will not let you fall asleep at night, will not let you do things during the day, until you correct your mistake and regain the lost thread. For me, conscience is my personal inner judge. The judge is very strict, fair and incorruptible. He cannot be deceived and one cannot escape from his punishment. Therefore, I try not to violate his laws, my internal moral laws, the main of which is: do not do to others what you don’t want for yourself.

What is conscience? Many people do not understand what this word means. Conscience is what makes you think about your actions, doubt, upset. Every person has a conscience, and it often interferes with sleep at night. It is conscience that prevents you from doing bad deeds, it makes you think, comprehend your behavior. Perhaps conscience is that light and good that is in the depths of the soul of every person. But why then do people do bad things? They simply do not listen to their conscience when it calls them for good, they turn away from it, close their ears. But you can't run away from conscience, people understood this a long time ago. Why can't you run away from her? She lives in the depths of the soul of each of us, and since a person cannot get rid of his soul, he cannot get rid of his conscience either. Conscience is morality, morality, justice, goodness, decency, honesty. By listening to it, a person will follow the right path, develop, improve. His life will not be burdened with bad deeds that do not allow anyone to breathe freely and enjoy life. Therefore, it is so important throughout your life to listen to what your conscience says, and not to forget that it is always with you.

Once in my childhood I asked my mother: "What is conscience?" - "This is when you go to bed in the evening, son, and you are not ashamed of your actions, but in the morning you wake up and you are not ashamed to look people in the eyes."

Conscience is a capacious word. CO (prefix, meaning the compatibility of something: commonwealth, cooperation, agreement) - NEWS (message, notification), that is, a message. This is our internal conversation with yourself about how to do the right thing. But how and where do these messages come from? Conscience - an inborn phenomenon, laid down by God at birth? Or is it self-education? Or a consequence of the impact of society?

Conscience- moral consciousness, moral sense or feeling in a person; inner consciousness of good and evil; the secret place of the soul, in which the approval or condemnation of every deed is echoed; the ability to recognize the quality of an act; a feeling that encourages truth and good, averting lies and evil; involuntary love for good and truth; innate truth, in varying degrees of development.

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by Vladimir Dahl

But if this is a consequence of social upbringing and environment, then why do young children, two or three years old, who still do not commit superconscious actions, have a conscience, but some of them do not? Many of you probably remember the children's poem: "Little son came to his father and asked the little one:" What is good and what is bad? " Something prompted him to this question? Of course, not a desire to engage in self-education.

My sister, who has worked for over half a century in kindergarten, says that some children at this age are clearly aware that they cannot take someone else's, do nasty things, they worry about some of their rash actions. Others calmly commit them. And this is not parenting. How often siblings, who, in theory, are brought up in the same way, seem to have a single perception of reality and morality, but in reality it is different. (We are talking about conscience, so characters and temperaments have nothing to do with it). That is, one child has no conscience, but his sister or brother does. Why is there such a breakdown in the soul that receives a signal from God? How many people have lost touch with their soul and are unable to hear it. They usually say about such people: they have no conscience. They are even called unscrupulous. And it doesn't depend on age.

Oh! feel: nothing can us
In the midst of worldly sorrows, calm;
Nothing, nothing ... is the conscience united.
So, sane, she will triumph
Over malice, over dark slander.
But if there is a single spot in it,
One, accidentally wound up,
Then - the trouble! like a pestilent ulcer
The soul will burn, the heart will fill with poison,
Reproach pounds like a hammer in my ears,
And everything is sick, and my head is spinning,
And the boys are bloody in their eyes ...
And glad to run, but nowhere ... awful!
Yes, pitiful is he who has an unclean conscience.

An excerpt from the tragedy
Alexander Pushkin "Boris Godunov"

Does a modern person need a conscience? The more civilized the world becomes, the more cynical and mercantile people become. So on one of the popular radio stations they constantly repeat the same aphorism: "I have a clear conscience: I don't use it." A modern free society presupposes for each person the right to choose the norms by which he will be guided. You can often change your moral principles, or you can not adhere to them at all, that is, choose the path of immorality. Moreover, it is immoral people who find it easier to live in this world: they soon adapt to any conditions, easily get out of difficult situations, without a shadow of doubt achieve personal goals, betraying, selling others. And this despite the fact that parents raise their children in the hope that they will grow up to be worthy, honest people, and not scoundrels.

Here's a paradox. And really, really, if you want to be successful and rich, you have to forget what conscience is? Or is it still possible to be successful living by conscience?

Conscience! Where are you? Who are you with? Why are you indifferent to some and don't let others close your eyes at night? How easy it is for a person today to close themselves off from everyone with a deaf wall of indifference, indifference and contemplate what is happening without interfering in anything. But every day you whisper in your ear: “Make way for a woman, an old man, you don’t see it’s hard for them to ride while standing. Give alms to the legless invalid. Have pity on the orphan ... ". You do not allow to fall asleep at night because of the endless thoughts that you unwittingly offended someone today and did not ask for forgiveness.

Conscience and freedom of choice given to us by the Lord are interconnected. For a person can only reproach himself for committing a certain act if he assumes that it depended only on him not to do it. Conscience is like a compass by which it is easy to understand whether you are going there or not. Conscience is a guideline, only a moral one. Trust your conscience and it will protect you from mistakes in the future.

Perhaps it was precisely because of that all the troubles of our life that left it, or rather, the very concept of conscience was supplanted. And here we all worked. A fourth-degree skin burn covering more than 60% of the entire body is fatal. How many percent of the "Russian conscience" need to be destroyed so that we all turn into the "ugly, cowardly, cruel and selfish scum" that Shigalev and Pyotr Verkhovensky dreamed of in Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky's The Demons?

The outstanding Russian thinker I. Ilyin defined conscience as "the breath of higher life", and Saint Theophan the Recluse called conscience "the law inscribed by God in the hearts of people, in the sanctification of their ways and in leadership in all that is worthy." Leo Tolstoy argued that conscience is the highest leader of man on earth. And he quoted the French thinker Rousseau to confirm this word: “Conscience! You are a divine, immortal and heavenly voice, you are the only faithful leader of an ignorant and limited, but rational and free being, you are an infallible judge of good, you alone make a person like God! From you the superiority of his nature and the morality of his actions. Without you, there is nothing in me that elevates me above the animal, except for the sad advantage of being confused in delusions due to disorderly reason and reason without guidance. "

Only the light of conscience is able to distinguish between good and evil. A heartfelt aspiration to live according to conscience determines the entire process of self-improvement.

FM Dostoevsky, in the words of Elder Zosima, says: “What seems to you to be nasty inside yourself, by the very fact that you have noticed it in yourself, is purified ... But I predict that even the very minute when you look at the fact that, in spite of all your efforts, you not only did not move towards the goal, but even, as it were, moved away from it - at that very minute, I predict this to you, you will suddenly achieve the goal and see clearly above you the miraculous power of the Lord, He who loved you all the time and guided you all the time ”.

Wise people have noticed that the level of conscience is directly proportional to the development of the spiritual qualities of a person. Developing spiritually, the person acquires an increasing sense of responsibility, compassion and mercy, attention to others, becomes closer to God. And the soul, like a spark, illuminates those around it with the divine light of love.

There is no life on earth without love. This means that there is no life without conscience. Time will pass and once again scientists and working people will be respected, not show stars. Real heroes will appear on TV screens, not bandits and thieves in law. The main thing is to maintain an invisible connection with God - Conscience.

First, I suggest reading the statements famous people about conscience. And then let's try to figure it out.

So, on the one hand:

I release you from the chimera called conscience. Adolf Gitler

There is a degree of inveterate deceit that is called a "clear conscience." F. Nietzsche

Have I ever experienced remorse? My memory is silent on this score. F. Nietzsche

Conscience - official name cowardice. O. Wilde

A person with a clear conscience probably has a weak memory. M. Pagnol

Often people take pride in the purity of their consciences just because they have a short memory. L. Tolstoy

Conscience depends on knowledge and on the whole way of life of a person. The republican has a different conscience than the monarchist, the haves have a different conscience than the have-nots, the thinker has a different conscience than the one who is unable to think. K. Marx

Others, only having lost their conscience, find what they need. S. Luzan

If you want to quickly climb the Summit, leave your conscience at the foot of the mountain. Neyach

And on the other hand (as I see it):

Conscience is the right judgment kind person... Aristotle

The most important decoration is a clear conscience. Cicero

My clear conscience is more important to me than all the gossip. Cicero

A clear conscience is not afraid of lies, rumors or gossip. Ovid

Do not do what your conscience condemns, and do not say what does not agree with the truth. Observe this most important thing, and you will fulfill the entire task of your life. M.Aurelius

Worse than slavery, remorse. Publius Cyrus

To have a clear conscience is not to know your sins. Horace

A clear conscience is a constant holiday. Seneca

Better face paint than heart stain. Cervantes

Conscience is a moral lamp that illuminates the good path; but when they turn on a bad one, they break it. G. Hegel

The whole power of a moral conscience lies in the realization of the evil done. D. Diderot

Conscience is an inner, closed luminary, which only illuminates the person himself and speaks to him in a quiet voice without sound; gently touching the soul, brings it to life, and, following a person everywhere, does not give him mercy in any case. A. Suvorov.

Never act against your conscience, even if the state interests demand it. Albert Einstein

Honor is an outer conscience, and conscience is an inner honor. A. Schopenhauer

Remorse is the only virtue left to criminals. Voltaire

Yes, the one in whom the conscience is not clear is pathetic. A. Pushkin

Conscience is our inner judge, unmistakably testifying to how much our actions deserve respect or censure of our loved ones. P. Holbach

Powerful forces destroying cities and destroying states still remain helpless against one person, if he has enough will and mental fearlessness so that the victors of millions could not subjugate one thing - a free conscience. S. Zweig

Our conscience is an infallible judge until we kill her. O. Balzac

Nothing worries people like a bad conscience. E. Rotterdam

The best part of conscience is that it is always on your side. She will not disturb you as long as you feel good. R. Orben

If you want to sleep soundly, take a clear conscience with you to bed. B. Franklin

The strongest feature of the difference between man and animals is moral feeling, or conscience. And his dominance is expressed in the short but powerful and extremely expressive word "must". Charles Darwin

The law that lives in us is called conscience. Conscience is, in fact, the application of our actions to this law. I. Kant

Conscience is the law of laws. A. Lamartin

There is always a reason if your conscience torments you. Rejoice, for this is the best of torments, because conscience is alive, and you will definitely find a reason and cope with God's help! V. Borisov

So what is conscience? Many people give their opinions. In short, what is the essence?

Conscience is a person's ability to independently realize their moral obligations and exercise moral self-control. Require yourself to fulfill your moral obligations and evaluate your actions. Conscience is manifested in the understanding of the morality of the actions performed, as well as in the form of emotional experiences ("remorse"). There is a connection between the concepts of conscience and shame, consciousness.

There are endless debates about the origins of conscience. The main ones are two versions.

The first, younger version of the origins of conscience.

A person's actions that harm others, as well as selfish actions associated with them, cause condemnation in society. And actions based on selflessness, selflessness, beneficial, on the contrary, cause approval. And therefore, over time, the connection between self-giving, selflessness (altruism) and approval is fixed and inherited. The real attitude to harm and good is forgotten, and egoism is condemned in itself, and altruism, on the contrary, is approved. The difference between the assessment of egoism and altruism is passed on to children (by teachings and punishments). Over time, people believe that the connection was not established by them, but existed for thousands of years and there can never be another.

That is, conscience is a long-term habit. The habit of approving altruism in others and condemning selfishness. And this habit is involuntarily transferred by a person to his actions.

The second, more common and ancient version of the origins of conscience.

Conscience is a property of a person, given to him by Nature, the Creator, God, and not a derivative of other elements. Yes, conscience can develop or degrade (depending on historical conditions, time, cultural phenomena), but conscience is one of the main properties of the human spirit! Conscience is a priori moral law, universal and necessary. The law of the concept of the highest good as the goal and object of reason. Conscience is the voice of God. A person's conscience contains a force that is higher than a person.

For the first version, morality (and conscience) is fluid and relative, for the second version, the principles of morality and conscience are absolute. According to the second version, conscience is the highest will. This is an indicator of Goodness. And Good is the command of God. And this command is innate in humans.

It is believed that conscience is closely related to shame. Children already from kindergarten have shame (further they are affected by both upbringing and the examples of others, as a result, the difference in modesty increases). And according to the observations of travelers, there are many tribes with low level development, but with high morality, bashfulness, truthfulness, kindness. This means that the connection between the level of bashfulness, morality and a developed culture, everyday life, laws is very weak.

Kabbalah.

Conscience is a shame in front of people and oneself for selfishness. Separation from the Creator, God is the root of all suffering in the world, therefore conscience is the most painful experience of man.

Orthodoxy.

Conscience is one of the most wonderful gifts of God that we have received from Him.

Conscience is a feeling of the human spirit, subtle, light, distinguishing good from evil.

This feeling distinguishes right from wrong more clearly than mind.

Conscience is a natural law.

It is impossible to kill conscience. She will accompany a person until the terrible judgment of Christ: there she will expose her disobedient.

Conscience is a rival of man, resisting every unlawful undertaking by us. Do not do violence to your opponent - conscience! Otherwise, you will be deprived of spiritual freedom: sin will capture you and bind you.

The faithful witness is an immaculate conscience: it will deliver the soul that hears its advice from sins until death and from eternal torment after death.

From conversations with Schema-Archimandrite Eli -

"Conscience is a function of our soul, and it, of course, speaks to a person a lot.
When a person acts according to the moral laws that are from God, his conscience approves. On the contrary, when a person violates the Law of God, acts against the Law, naturally his conscience denounces him. But man still has will. By will, a person sometimes transcends this voice of conscience and acts against it.

Conscience is given to us by God. It is innate in humans, like the mind. A person is given intellect, a will is given and a conscience is given.

Every baptized person has a Guardian Angel. He teaches in holiness. The guardian angel tries to get close enough to a person, to instill in him good deeds, good deeds, behavior. If a person does not hear the Angel, then his state of mind is as follows ...

Often a person is influenced by dark forces. When a person does not hear the Guardian Angel, an evil force approaches, we are inevitably surrounded by demons. But the closer a person is to God, the cleaner morally, the further the evil spirits are. They cannot, if a person honestly lives, prays. But when a person loses contact with God, loses prayer, then the devil inspires him with all kinds of evil thoughts, evil intentions and actions. "

Prof. Ivan Ilyin -

"Among the modern intelligentsia, the not expressed, but tacitly implied and more and more ingrained view prevails that a" smart "person, in fact, has absolutely nothing to do with his conscience; he has many other matters more important; he needs to adapt to the complex laws of society, economy and politics in order to learn how to combine these laws in your own favor and build your well-being on this; life becomes more and more difficult, the struggle for existence requires more and more attention and tension ...; what does "conscience" have to do with it? new and, moreover, fruitless complications and worries? let people "sentimental", "stupid" and not adapted to real life tinker with her, but they, "smart", are not up to it ...

Conscience is a living and integral will for the perfect, therefore, where this will dies out, quality becomes indifferent to a person and begins to die; everything begins to be done "in bad faith", everything decreases, depreciates, becomes useless to anyone: from scientific research to a factory product, from teaching at school to caring for livestock, from the office of an official to cleaning the streets.

Conscience is the first and deepest source of a sense of responsibility, therefore, where this feeling fades away, a general indifference to the result of labor and creativity reigns; what can an irresponsible judge, politician, doctor, officer, engineer, conductor and plowman create? ..

Perhaps the spark of Christian conscience will revive only in the finally thickened twilight of atheism and decay ...

And the sooner and deeper humanity comprehends the nature of the spiritual crisis it is experiencing, the more clearly it understands that neither culture nor life is possible on earth without conscience, the more troubles and sufferings will be averted ...

Conscience manifests itself in the human soul, often unexpectedly, but exciting. No words are spoken, no commands. There are no judgments or formulas in the mind. In wordless silence, conscience takes over our heart and our will. Its appearance can be compared to an earthquake, in which the always present, but secret force appears. And words and thoughts wake up in us only later, when trying to describe and explain the accomplished act. At that moment, when conscience takes possession of our soul, we often have the feeling that something has awakened or rebelled in us - some special force, which, apparently, was dozing for a long time and suddenly woke up and turned imperiously ... ".

I consider conscience to be an innate feeling. It does not evolve with age and does not change after a person enters various societies. However, relationships in the human environment affect the mind and allow it to manipulate conscience, drown its voice. But conscience reminds of itself with its remorse. Conscience is almost the only measurement of the fidelity of a person's decisions.

In our modern world for the sake of money, material values, fame, power (the list is clearly not from God), most people drown out every day inner voice conscience. Destroy the tool for assessing Good and Evil. Thus, they are increasingly moving away from Light and closer to Darkness. Leaving the hardest legacy not only to yourself in another world, but also to your children and grandchildren.

18.06.2012

Once in my childhood I asked my mother: "What is conscience?" - "This is when you go to bed in the evening, son, and you are not ashamed of your actions, but in the morning you wake up and you are not ashamed to look people in the eyes."

no images were found

Conscience is a capacious word. CO (prefix, meaning the compatibility of something: commonwealth, cooperation, agreement) - NEWS (message, notification), that is, a message. This is our inner conversation with ourselves about how to do the right thing. But how and where do these messages come from? Conscience - an inborn phenomenon, laid down by God at birth? Or is it self-education? Or a consequence of the impact of society?

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by Vladimir Dahl

My sister, who has worked for more than half a century in a kindergarten, says that some children at this age clearly understand that they cannot take someone else's, do nasty things, they worry about some of their rash actions. Others calmly commit them. And this is not parenting. How often brothers and sisters, who, in theory, are brought up in the same way, seem to have a single perception of reality and morality, but in reality it is different. (We are talking about conscience, so characters and temperaments have nothing to do with it). That is, one child has no conscience, but his sister or brother does. Why is there such a breakdown in the soul that receives a signal from God? How many people have lost touch with their soul and are unable to hear it. They usually say about such people: they have no conscience. They are even called unscrupulous. And it doesn't depend on age.

Oh! feel: nothing can us
In the midst of worldly sorrows, calm;
Nothing, nothing ... is the conscience united.
So, sane, she will triumph
Over malice, over dark slander.
But if there is a single spot in it,
One, accidentally wound up,
Then - the trouble! like a pestilent ulcer
The soul will burn, the heart will fill with poison,
Reproach pounds like a hammer in the ears,
And everything is sick, and my head is spinning,
And the boys are bloody in their eyes ...
And glad to run, but nowhere ... awful!
Yes, pitiful is he who has an unclean conscience.

An excerpt from the tragedy
Alexander Pushkin "Boris Godunov"

Here's a paradox. And really, really, if you want to be successful and rich, you have to forget what conscience is? Or is it still possible to be successful living by conscience?

Only the light of conscience is able to distinguish between good and evil. A heartfelt aspiration to live according to conscience determines the entire process of self-improvement.

Wise people have noticed that the level of conscience is directly proportional to the development of the spiritual qualities of a person. Developing spiritually, the person acquires an increasing sense of responsibility, compassion and mercy, attention to others, becomes closer to God. And the soul, like a spark, illuminates those around it with the divine light of love.

There is no life on earth without love. This means that there is no life without conscience. Time will pass and once again scientists and working people will be respected, not show stars. Real heroes will appear on TV screens, not bandits and thieves in law. The main thing is to maintain an invisible connection with God - Conscience.

Alexander Nikolaevich Krutov, "Russian House", No. 4, 2012

The word "conscience" is etymologically derived from the same root as the word "to know" - "shared knowledge." By conscience, we mean a certain internal interlocutor - a "co-conspirator" - with whom we inevitably have to "discuss" our actions, evaluating them. From the point of view of psychology, conscience belongs to the sphere of higher feelings - i.e. feelings of actually human, not inherent in any other living beings. In other words, conscience is one of the three properties that make a person a person.

Conscience is often called "the voice of God in man." This interpretation does not seem entirely correct; it would be correct to call it the “voice of the value system”. Conscience compares our real thoughts and deeds with the ideal image of "what should be." If God is included in the system of values \u200b\u200bof a particular person, his conscience may indeed be “the voice of God,” but this is not always the case. Someone's values \u200b\u200bagainst which conscience is checked may even shock us - for example, it is quite possible to imagine a fanatic terrorist who will feel remorse, leaving the life of a person who, in accordance with his beliefs, deserved death.

One of the feelings closest to conscience is shame, but the most dangerous phenomenon is the substitution of shame for conscience. In this case, it turns out what Griboyedov's heroine is talking about: "Sin is not a problem - rumor is not good." The scope of shame is the outside world (“what will they think of me”), but you have to deal with conscience regardless of whether someone finds out about our act or not, and therefore it is much more difficult to “negotiate” with conscience than to avoid shame.

Conscience is one of the most painful feelings. Perhaps that is why many people think that it would be better not to have it. It seems to be a kind of force holding back the development of mankind - this approach was typical, for example, of Hitler's "philosophy": the Nazis liked to compare conscience with the appendix - a useless appendix that can cause a dangerous disease, and the sooner a person gets rid of it, the better ... However, with regard to the appendix, doctors eventually came to the conclusion that it performs a useful function in the body - but does everyone agree with this regarding conscience?

Conscience, of course, can seriously complicate life. This she will not allow to say - "Nothing personal, business" - and coolly leave without a livelihood friend, together with whom they created a business from scratch. She will not allow her to marry the groom of her best friend ... However, such "annoying" actions can be observed not only at the level of specific human destinies. After all, it is the conscience that "objects" primarily to experiments on human embryos, human cloning and other "progressive" steps. On the other hand, once someone's conscience could object to the autopsy - and today no doctor can learn without it ...

Yes, conscience can act as a restraining factor of progress - but where can this very progress turn if nothing will restrain, "checking for humanity"? And the answer to the question whether conscience is needed in the modern world is actually very simple: here you are, too, a part of modern world... So ask yourself if you want to live among shameless people? Or do you still need some kind of power that will protect you from the selfishness of others ... and them from your selfishness too.