Page 27 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 10

discernment of one’s true guilt and shame, ac- that loving family relationships with reasonable
companied by corresponded feelings that corre- expectations and accountability in childhood
spond to God’s assessment of one’s own action and adolescence promotes the development of
and being, which can also be directed towards a strong prosocial orientation and moral sense
others. (Hardy & Pratt, 2015; Hastings, Miller, & Tro-
xel, 2015). Such social facilitation promotes the
The Development of the Conscience in Perso- perception of other minds and agents, as well
nal Agents-in-Community as the recognition of one’s own growing perso-
While the Bible provides the rudiments of a nal agency. Exposure to the worldview values,
Christian psychology of the conscience (more norms, and liturgical practices of one’s family
of which we will discuss below), there are many and culture also contribute to the development
aspects about a conscience that were not re- of what is called conscience. All of these kinds
vealed, for example, the creational conditions of microenvironmental effects are found to vary
of its development. Since humans are temporal within and across cultures, leading to cultural
creatures, most of their functions emerge and variation in the formation and form of the cons-
increase over time by means of various deve- cience, leading to significant cross-cultural dif-
lopmental processes, and the conscience is no ferences in ethical attitudes and practices, along
exception. To say that the law is written on our with substantial universality (Miller, 2010).
hearts is simply a lay psychology condensation What light does the Bible shed on the deve-
of multiple creational factors that interact in lopment of the conscience? In Deuteronomy
complex and only partially understood ways: 1:39 “little ones” and “children” are referred to
genetic and epigenetic; physiological, especially as those who have “no knowledge of good or
neurological and hormonal; personal; and rela- evil,” using essentially the same phrase found
tional and cultural—all working together ideal- in Genesis 2 and 3! This fascinating assertion
ly according to God’s design plan. suggests that “children” (exact age unspecified)
Research on the neural architecture underlying have not yet obtained the ethical awareness
the conscience is still in its infancy. However, and understanding that Adam and Eve obtai-
the evidence thus far accumulated is that while ned in the primal sin, but that it emerges over
some elements of moral cognition can be loca- time, perhaps by adolescence and surely by
ted with some reliability (e.g., corollary emoti- adulthood. This would seem to be related to the
on processing has been found in the ventrome- concurrent development of related cognitive,
dial prefrontal cortex; Young & Koenigs, 2007), emotional, volitional, and relational processes
moral cognition also relies on general cogni- that anticipate and shape moral awareness and
tive processes, like many other higher human understanding. The ability of preschool child-
functions (Young & Dungan, 2012). Neverthe- ren to perceive others’ minds and agency, inclu-
less, because the brain provides the biological ding their own, is developing, and their capaci-
ground for all embodied moral awareness in ties to follow the directives of parents and other
this life, its role must be included in any attempt authority figures and to exercise self-control
at a comprehensive understanding of the cons- (ability to inhibit desires) and self-regulation
cience. (ability to maintain task performance and en-
Attachment research shows that secure attach- gage in productive activity) are increasing, all
ment is instrumental in the formation of a stable of which contribute to the development of the
sense of self and healthy relationships (Kobak, conscience module. However, children are ge-
Zajak, & Madsen, 2016; Stovall-McCullough & nerally highly dependent on the presence and
Dozier, 2016). Such dynamics affects people’s desires of others regarding their sense of good
later sense of connectedness to others, their abi- and evil. The emergence of a mature conscience
lity to allow themselves to be regulated by the is indicated by a more individuated awareness
directions and guidance of others, and in turn of good and evil that is activated regardless of
the degree to which this guidance gets interna- the awareness of others. This does not typically
lized. Socialization research has similarly found emerge in a consistent form until adolescence.

25