121. Synderesis and Conscience: Habit vs. Power vs. Act

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Nature of Habits vs. Powers #

• Power (potentia): An ability or capacity to act; has opposites and can be oriented toward contraries
• Habit (habitus): A disposition or quality added to a power that perfects it and enables it to act well
• Act (actus): The actual exercise of a power or habit; may not always be actively exercised but remains in its causes
• Habits are results of being acted upon by objects through experience and repeated actions
• The power gives the ability to do things; the habit enables doing them actually or well
• Habits function as a “second nature” once acquired through repetition

Synderesis as Natural Habit of Practical Reason #

• Synderesis (συνείδησις) is NOT a power but a natural habit of practical reason
• It contains the first unchangeable principles of things to be done (praxis)
• Analogous to natural understanding (noesis) in speculative reason, which grasps first principles naturally
• Synderesis incites to good and complains about evil
• It is unchangeable and naturally present in all humans
• Cannot be a power because synderesis always inclines to one thing (the good) and never to its opposite, whereas powers have opposites
• Proceeds from reason being acted upon by experience and objects, resulting in ordered intelligible forms

The Reason/Nature Distinction in Practical Intellect #

• Reason as reason: Open to opposites; capable of reasoning to contradictory conclusions; the domain of deliberation
• Reason as nature: Determined to one thing; knows naturally what cannot be otherwise (e.g., “do good, avoid evil”)
• Synderesis represents reason insofar as it is nature—determined to the good
• This mirrors the distinction between nature (which is determined) and will (which is free)
• First principles are known naturally without reasoning them out; we proceed from them and return to judge all other matters by them

Conscience as Act, Not Power or Habit #

• Conscience (conscientia) properly names an act, not a power or habit
• Etymology: con (with) + scientia (knowledge) = the application of knowledge to something particular
• Conscience involves the mind making a dictamen (saying/judgment) about a particular matter
• Acts do not always remain in consciousness but always remain in their causes (power and habit)
• The distinction explains why people “set aside” their conscience—they are not exercising the act, though the habit remains

The Relationship Between Synderesis and Conscience #

• Synderesis is the habit (natural understanding in practical reason)
• Conscience is the act (application of synderesis to particular situations)
• Sometimes “conscience” is used to refer to synderesis itself, since causes and effects are named from each other
• All particular habits directing us in action derive their efficacy from the one first habit: synderesis
• Reason is perfected by synderesis just as reason perfected by geometry can demonstrate the Pythagorean theorem

The Development of Virtues Through Repeated Acts #

• Virtues of emotion (irascible and concupiscible) are built through repeated acts
• Example: One’s natural ability to feel anger is perfected by the habit of mildness (praotes) through restraint
• The virtue moderates anger—neither too much nor too little, at the right time, about the right thing
• Moderation is a single virtue that both moderates and complains about excess
• Physical analogy: Just as muscles develop strength through repeated lifting, the will develops virtue through repeated virtuous acts
• Eating moderately builds the habit of moderation; restraining anger builds the habit of mildness

The Hierarchy of Virtues and Happiness #

• Intellectual virtues are higher than moral virtues because they participate in reason itself
• Among practical reason virtues: phronesis (practical wisdom) is higher than art
• Among phronesis: political phronesis is highest
• Among theoretical reason virtues: sophia (wisdom) is highest
• Aristotle concludes that happiness consists more in wisdom than in phronesis because wisdom concerns divine things
• Happiness requires both perfect operation and operation according to good habits (virtue)

Natural Understanding in Both Speculative and Practical Reason #

• Speculative reason has natural understanding (noesis) of unchangeable first principles
• Practical reason has analogous natural understanding—synderesis—of first principles of action
• Both are habits, not powers
• Both are ordered collections of intelligible forms received through experience
• Reasoning proceeds from first principles and returns to judge things in light of them

Key Arguments #

Against Synderesis Being a Power #

• Objection: Jerome divides synderesis against irascible and concupiscible powers; synderesis opposes sensuality
• Aquinas’s Resolution: The division is by acts, not by powers. Synderesis is a habit perfecting reason, not a separate power
• Powers have opposites; synderesis always inclines to the good and never to evil, so it cannot be a power
• Analogy: Just as geometry is not a power but a habit ordering intelligible forms, synderesis is a habit ordering the forms of first practical principles

Against Conscience Being a Power (from objections) #

• Objection 1: Conscience is the subject of sin; nothing is subject of sin except a power
• Resolution: Conscience is subject of sin not as a material subject but as something known; one knows oneself to be stained
• Objection 2: Acts don’t always remain; conscience always remains; therefore conscience cannot be an act
• Resolution: Acts remain always in their causes (power and habit), even when not actively exercised; the habit remains though the act ceases
• Objection 3: Conscience must be either act, habit, or power; it’s not an act; so must be power or habit

The Unchangeable Reasons as Both Power and Habit #

• Unchangeable reasons/principles are attributed to reason as a power AND to synderesis as a habit
• Reason alone (without habit) could reason to opposites
• Reason perfected by synderesis always judges correctly in light of first principles
• Analogy: When demonstrating the Pythagorean theorem, one acts through reason perfected by the habit of geometry, not through reason alone

Important Definitions #

Synderesis (συνείδησις / synderesis) #

• The natural habit of practical reason containing first principles of action
• Incites to good and complains about (reproaches) evil
• Unchangeable and naturally present in all humans
• Sometimes called “natural judgment” or the beginning of principles naturally found in us
• Does not pertain to a special power but to a special natural habit

Conscience (conscientia) #

• Properly an act, not a power or habit
• The application of knowledge (scientia) to a particular matter through dictamen of the mind
• Involves judgment about what has been done, what should be done, or how well something was done
• Can be expressed as “knowing with” oneself—recognizing a truth about oneself

Dictamen #

• A saying or pronouncement of the mind
• Conscience operates as a dictamen applying knowledge to action
• The judgment delivered to practical intellect about what is to be done

Logos (λόγος) #

• In Greek, the same word means both reason and word/principle
• Heraclitus uses this to mean the universal principle of reasonableness common to all
• Distinguished from private imagination or idiosyncrasy

Examples & Illustrations #

Unreasonable Desires vs. Synderesis #

• Smoker: Reason tells him not to smoke, but desire to smoke pulls against reason; shows that sensuality is opposed to reason in act but both remain in the person
• Alcoholic: Similar situation—reason says don’t drink, but concupiscence inclines to drink; shows the distinction between habit remaining and act being opposed
• Wife-beater: When anger cools, he sees his action was unreasonable, but he cannot control anger because he lacks the habit of mildness

Historical Practice of Anger Control #

• The dunking stool (Puritan era): Used for women with sharp tongues or shrews; illustrates how society attempted to control excessive anger
• Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”: Literary example of dealing with unmoderated anger and behavior

Anger as Reasonable or Unreasonable #

• Christ cleansing the temple: Example of righteous anger—reasonable anger at desecration
• Christ’s anger with Pharisees: Anger at their obstinate denial of obvious miracles; shows that anger can be reasonable when proportionate and directed at appropriate objects
• Socrates and the slave boy: Socrates uses contradiction to teach; free men get angry (pride makes them defensive), but the slave boy has no pride and doesn’t get angry—shows how pride fuels unreasonable anger

Private World vs. Common Reason #

• The madhouse in 18th century: People claiming to be Napoleon, issuing orders—living in private, false worlds
• Heraclitus’s contrast: Awake people share one common world; asleep people each have private worlds
• Etymology: Greek word idios (private) gives us “idiot”—one living in a private world cut off from common reason

Building Habits Through Repeated Acts #

• Wine tasting: Learning to taste wine properly requires developing a habit in the tongue; the tongue must be disposed/trained
• Push-ups and strength: Lifting weights builds habit of strength in muscles; shows how repeated acts build dispositions
• Child and bullying: Child may know the golden rule but fails to apply it; parent tries to make child apply knowledge: “What would it be like if someone did this to you?”
• Sleep and waking: Analogy for how imagination (in sleep) is free to imagine anything; reason (in waking) is bound to what naturally is

Notable Quotes #

“The first road in our knowledge is the natural road.” — Berquist (expressing Aristotelian principle)

“It is wise, listening not to me, but to reason, to agree that all things are one.” — Heraclitus (Fragment)

“Reason is common to all.” — Heraclitus

“It is wise to speak the truth and to act in accord with nature.” — Heraclitus

“A man who thinks something can both be and not be is a two-headed mortal.” — Parmenides

“We should not act and speak like those asleep. In the waking, there’s one world that is common.” — Heraclitus

“If you don’t understand change, you don’t understand anything.” — Berquist (playful but serious formulation)

“Nous is always right.” — Aristotle (on natural understanding)

Questions Addressed #

Is Synderesis a Power? #

• Question: How can Jerome distinguish synderesis from irascible and concupiscible powers if it’s not itself a power?
• Answer: The distinction is made by acts, not by powers. Synderesis and sensuality are opposed in their acts (inciting to good vs. inclining to excess), but both involve the same person. Synderesis is a habit perfecting reason, not a separate power.

Why Must Synderesis Be a Habit Rather Than a Power? #

• Question: What prevents synderesis from being classified as a power like the irascible and concupiscible?
• Answer: Powers have opposites and can be oriented toward contraries. Synderesis always inclines to the good and never to evil. Therefore it cannot be a power; it must be a habit (a disposition that perfects a power to act in one direction).

How Do Unchangeable Principles Belong to Both Reason and Synderesis? #

• Question: Are the unchangeable principles of practical reason attributed to reason as power or to synderesis as habit?
• Answer: They are attributed to both. Reason as a power (without synderesis) could reason to opposites. But reason perfected by the habit of synderesis always judges correctly according to these unchangeable principles. Analogy: In demonstrating the Pythagorean theorem, we act through reason perfected by the habit of geometry.

Why Is Conscience an Act and Not a Habit? #

• Question: If conscience is not always present to consciousness, how can it be an act rather than a habit?
• Answer: Acts proceed from and remain in their causes (power and habit), even when not actively exercised. We “set aside” our conscience by not exercising the act, but the habit of synderesis and the power of reason remain. Acts are not diminished by their temporary cessation.

How Does Conscience Relate to Synderesis? #

• Question: Are synderesis and conscience the same thing, or are they distinct?
• Answer: Distinct formally—synderesis is the habit, conscience is the act proceeding from it. But sometimes “conscience” is used to name synderesis itself because causes and effects are named from each other. All particular habits derive efficacy from synderesis as the first natural habit of practical reason.

Connections to Broader Themes #

The Natural Road of Knowledge #

• Man is an animal with reason; senses develop before reason in generation
• We naturally proceed from sense knowledge to intellectual knowledge
• The generic (animal nature, sensation) comes before the specific (reason) in both generation and in the order of learning
• All knowledge begins with sensible change and motion because that’s what first attracts the senses

The Common Logos in Heraclitus #

• What reason naturally knows is common to all humans
• This common reason is opposed to private imagination or idiosyncrasy
• We should judge things by proceeding from and returning to what we naturally know
• To cut oneself off from common reason through emotion, pride, or obstinacy is to live in a false private world