Individual Conscience In Modern Society

Individual conscience has shaped the basic foundations of modern civilization. It can be found in the organization of society, such as the laws or moral codes that govern human interaction. The way humans define fairness, goodness, and justice can all relate back to what the individual conscience believes to be true. In the early works of the Greeks, such as Plato’s, Euthyphro, Apology, and Sophocles’, Antigone, however, it is observed how there are inconsistencies within laws based off of individual conscience. Within the various cultures, traditions, and beliefs that take place in modern society, a true code of laws based on what people believe to be true will be variable. Thus, even the state law and divine law are susceptible to incongruities,

To the Hebrews, tradition meant following one God and following his doctrines. To the Greeks, tradition meant following multiple gods. Where these laws are formed from can be argued by both sides; thus, individual conscience forms the definitions of these laws. For example, laws relating to sexual practices and orientation in today’s society vary among different people and what they believe is true, right, or wrong. In this case, uniformity in laws defined by traditions, which traditions are founded by individual conscience, are almost impractical. Even though it can be argued that moral laws such as murder seem to gain consensus that it is wrong as a whole of civilization, violence can be justified everywhere. Whether that be in the Exodus and how Moses ordered the sons of Levi to destroy and kill the Israelites who betrayed God, or how the jury’s justification to execute Socrates in Apology because he questioned their intelligence of fairness, goodness, and justice, or even today and how wars are created because extremists believe killing is the right thing to do. Whether what is right or wrong depends on the individual’s belief, and because of that, it is difficult to define and prevent corruption in laws of individual