“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
- George Bernard Shaw
Morals – principles regarding goodness and badness of human behaviour, distinguishing what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s right? And what’s wrong? Who makes the decision? If you are thinking it’s the law, think again. Because the law tells us what’s “legal” and what’s “illegal”. Not what’s “right” and what’s “wrong”. So who else? “The inner conscience”, says the guru. “God”, says another one, “Everything what should and should not be done is written in the Bible/Quran/Gita/etc etc.” The third guru smiles and says, “You both are speaking the same thing. After all, God exists within us. Our inner conscience is God. That’s what helps us follow the right path. We must keep this conscience pure of all evil.” The third guru is said to be the most learned.
First, let’s reflect on the origin of the words “right” and “wrong”. How do we get to know if a thing is wrong or right? Let’s start right from birth. Our first teachers are our parents and close relatives. “No” means wrong, “yes” means right. At first, we are a bit inquisitive. Our brain wants to know. Why “no”? But as we age, our brain becomes duller - less curious and more accustomed to just accept the no’s. And now, instead of questioning the no’s, the no’s are already accepted to be right and the “developed brain” starts thinking of reasons behind the no’s. And it does find them. Secondly, there is the law – of course. A written set of rules telling us what’s “wrong” and what’s “right”. I think we have two words for that – “illegal”, for what’s against the law and “legal” for everything else. These two words, I understand. As for “wrong” and “right”, I still don’t.
Let’s get this straight. What keeps us from doing “wrong” things? Our inner conscience? I have no idea what that means. Maybe the “guru”s do. Maybe they have reached a higher level and have evolved into homo conscientus or something. Or maybe, they have just glorified and hyped a simple emotion existing within all of us – fear.
Just sit back and think for a while. What’s the first thing that stops you when you know you are going to do a thing you shouldn’t be doing? I think it’s fear. The racing heartbeat, productive sweat glands, running pulses and disapproving brain can be given the name “conscience” but it can also be called fear. Or more specifically, the fear of getting caught. I am not completely denying the existence of morals or conscience. I am simply saying that like it or not, it is the fear of getting caught which has given birth to all these overrated words.
This brings us to the main topic – Crime and Punishment. Two inversely proportional concepts. What stops people from committing a crime? The fear of punishment. The higher the punishment, the less probability of people committing the crime. For God-fearing people, this punishment can be from God Him/Her/Itself and for others it can be from any other source, especially the law. The lesser the chances of getting caught and being punished, the more people will tend to commit the “crime”.
Never knew you were such a deep thinker. This is a very candid and an honest post and focuses on the darker side of human psychology; it also throws light on the evolution and the inevitable shift in our attitude towards life and its mysteries and is really a commendable on your part.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I won't agree to your assertion that is a distinct similarity between conscience and the "fear". Conscience tries to guide us to achieve a perfect life which may include tougher steps to follow; whereas "fear" is always directed at something unpleasant.. which we don't want in our lives.. It is this fear that is also the major reason for a religious attitude for avoiding events which are not in our control.
A new attitude is what I can say. Fear according to me is the mental response to something it knows can be harmful. Fear is not a natural thing. Fear is implanted with day to day activities. I still remember the picture of a 1 year old holding a poisonous snake. He does not know whether it is very dangerous cause he does not understand fear. He is later told that snakes are dangerous and then he comes to know about it. Conscience can't be as easily defined as Sidtrimps did. You cant define a perfect life and how can you be so sure that the conscience is always right. Conscience is a voice that comes from the less dominant part of the human mind that sometimes tells us to take a particular decision. Conscience originates from experiences and that too like fear is not born with the birth of a human. Conscience is like the hidden beliefs that we have inculcated since birth with the things being taught by our elders or moral science lessons. It is not absolute. So lets face the fact that conscience and fear may be more similar than we think they are
ReplyDelete@Jyotirmoy - Very well put. Conscience is not something we are born with. It is the result of past experiences and beliefs gathered over time.
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