Conscience in the Modern Ethical Studies

The article studies the relevance of the ethical conception of “conscience.” Firstly, it concerns the problematics of the development of the content of this term in the history of European thought, which is primarily associated with the formation of Christian religiosity and theology. In this context the author of the paper analyzes the theoretical conсlusions of Michael Foucault, who demonstrated the principal differences between ancient and Christian social practices of the cure of soul and flesh. Secondly, the author draws special attention to the relevance of the term conscience in European culture and philosophy and highlights the main directions of its interpretation within the modern ethical discourse. At the same time, it is recognized that the position of negation of this conception is prevailing in the latest studies of analytical philosophy. Thirdly, it is noted in the paper that despite all negative trends in modern ethical discourse, the sound of the voice of conscience remains unchangeable within the traditions and theology of the Christian Church. Fourthly, it is stressed that in the latest trends of neurobiological research, conscience as a moral capacity of a person presents as a significant problem of studies of the working of our consciousness and realization of a strategy of its correlation with brain activity. In this line, the monograph of the American scholar Patricia Churchland, “Conscience. The Origins of Moral Intuition,” is analyzed, and its key theoretical issues and results are critically considered. Fifthly, it is concluded that the conception of conscience has a really relevant meaning that is certainly demonstrated by the modern studies in the history of ethics, the latest neurobiological scientific research, and the theological interpretations. However, it is noted that the sound of conscience’s voice in our days has acquired a certain versatility and moreover has practically become polyphonic.