Innate conscience - John Henry Newman and Augustine

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Newman took an intuitionist approach, whereby when we feel this intuitive moral knowledge and make decisions it is God talking to us. He wrote "conscience is is the aboriginal vicar of Christ".

Conscience does not invent the truth, but at its best it detects the truth. He argued that in any given moment we feel responsibilty or ashamed etc then it implies that there is someone, God, to whom we are responsible and so we feel ashamed.

Following conscience is following divine law. It is a messenger from God and it is God speaking to us. Newman was a devout Catholic and he stated "I toast the pope, but I toast conscience first".

Catholics are obliged…

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