This post is motivated by conversations I had with one of my best friends, Hope Kean, who is a first-year Ph.D. student in Cognitive Science at MIT, from our time together in Cambridge, Massachussetts the first week of March, 2020.
A Secular Examination of Conscience
Motivation: Hope’s ability to think is one worthy of great admiration. This is true of her ability not only to break down and hypothesize answers to large, difficult questions but also to understand people, including herself. Of course, she is not perfect, but she is someone I am proud to say is one of my best friends because, despite being in a stellar position to–in a Thrasymachean spirit–take advantage of other people (blessed with awesome intelligence and charisma), she chooses to be good even when it is difficult.
I believe firmly that Hope has outstanding character (I mean not merely that she is a good person but that she is better than most good people that I have met anyway, in any reasonable metric for ‘good’). I make this claim with confidence as someone who has observed her actions across a variety of circumstances and has had privileged access to her mind and time to understand how she makes her decisions.
I attribute Hope’s character in large part to her investment in self-reflection. I tentatively admit: I have yet to meet a person with an admirable character that I did not later discover indeed invests great energy in self-reflection. As a person, Hope invests time–no matter how busy she is–to think about consciousness (her academic research topic), about others, about her own actions, and her thoughts. As a Catholic, she uses available church resources to think about her actions and her thoughts; one such resource is the Examination of Conscience. Looking over it with her, I (an agnostic non-believer) found it inspiring, more or less comprehensive, and well-structured as a regimen for self-improvement.
In this post, I thus aim to transform the underlying meaning found in the church’s Examination of Conscience into language that could be more palatable and thus helpful for a non-Catholic individual. I have done my best to extract what I think is right and good, exclude what I do not feel confident is right or I feel confident is not right, and to not rely on the assumption of God. My aim was to produce a resource that will provide additional structure to my daily routine for self-reflection; I would of course be happy if others also find this useful. The original Catholic Examination of Conscience can be found at the bottom of this post. You may find it interesting to compare my version with the original.
My Secularized Examination of Conscience
I. Be committed to the truth or to discovering the truth.
- Am I well-oriented towards understanding what is right and true? Have I kept myself open to being wrong and to adjust my worldview to better approximate what is right and true?
- Have I been giving into meaningless or easy temptations and, worse, prioritizing them over things that are important? Have I been approaching things with a constructive attitude? Have I been making excuses for myself instead of taking responsibility for my own thoughts and actions?
[My dear friend Merrick Anderson pointed out to me (upon my sharing this document with him) that it seems to be the case that I am upholding ‘truth’ in a dogmatic way which Nietzsche critiqued Plato and subsequently the Christians for having done in Beyond Good and Evil.]
II. Do not contribute to nor be tolerant of the proliferation of falsities.
- Have I properly appreciated the goodness of things and of others? Am I being careful to recognize my own failures to be truthful and to treat others well?
- In my interactions with others, are my words and behavior constructive for them to also value understanding what is right? Am I considering others’ perspectives fairly and discerning true from false in theirs and my own thoughts?
III. Make time for important priorities. Think of others and reflect on yourself.
- Have I been making enough time to reflect on myself, my actions, on my interactions with others, and on other important matters? Have I been making enough time to keep my body and mind healthy and appreciative of what I have?
- Have I been making enough time for my family and friends and to think for others on how I can better treat them?
IV. Recognize and be respectful of those who have contributed and continue to contribute to your life. Act accordingly.
- Have I fulfilled my obligations toward my parents, my family, my friends, especially those with special circumstances that call for particular attention (e.g. aging grandparents)?
- Am I appropriately humble and respectful to those who have greater authority or experience than I do (especially in areas where I am ignorant)? Am I appropriately listening to others?
V. Have the appropriate regard for life. Act accordingly.
- Have I done damage to another person’s life and their well-being more generally in any way? Have I done damage to my own life and my overall well-being (e.g. allowed self-destructive habits) in any way?
- Have I acted on feelings of anger or pain? Have I felt ill-will towards others? Have I acted in ways that would be a bad example for others?
VI & IX. Do not betray your obligations. Desire to keep your obligations.
- Have I broken my obligations in my agreements with others, with myself?
- Have I kept in mind my own personal and philosophical commitments and thought or taken action that goes contrary to them?
VII & X. Do not desire to take what is not yours. Give that which you can give.
- Have I respected others’ property or their autonomy? Have I avoided actions that take advantage of others? Have I failed to recognize others for ideas that they came up with?
- Have I shared my time and energy appropriately with those who could benefit from it?
- Have I been appropriately appreciative of my own luck for having what I have? Have I avoided feelings of envy/jealousy towards others?
VIII. Do not think ill of others. Do not speak ill of others.
- Have I told lies? Have I gossiped? Have I damaged another person’s reputation?
- Have I disclosed the faults of another person to others without good reason to do so?
The driving question that I have always asked myself in the moments that I have reflected on myself is: “what could I have done better?“. I think that the detailed questions found above may all fall under this larger question to improve behavior and further may provide improved structure to my self-reflection.
If you are reading this, I wonder what you think is missing, how this list can be improved. Let me know! 🙂
I here admit that I find problematic several of the conclusions that the Catholic tradition draws (seen below) from its more primary principles, with which I take little issue. I believe that it will be clear from my interpretation of the core of each part of the Examination of Conscience where my perspective on the world differs from that of the church. The core principles behind each of the implicit claims found below, I believe, have merit.
the Catholic Examination of Conscience
I. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have false gods before me.
- Have I rejected God’s revelation as it comes to me through the Scriptures and the teaching of the Church?
- Have I sought money, power, sexuality, or any other lesser good as if it were the supreme good? Have I despaired of God’s help? Have I taken for granted God’s mercy?
- Have I placed faith in superstition?
II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Have I disrespected the holiness of God or of things or persons dedicated to God?
- Have I lied under oath or failed to keep vows made in God’s sight?
III. You shall keep holy the Sabbath day.
- Have I failed, through my own fault, to worship God by attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation?
- Have I kept Sunday holy by using it as a day for recreation with family and friends, for charitable activity, and for extra prayer?
- Have I rested sufficiently to renew me for the work that awaits in the coming week?
IV. You shall honor your father and your mother.
- Have I fulfilled my obligations toward my parents, especially in their advancing years?
- Have I been respectfully obedient to those who are legitimate authorities over me?
V. You shall not kill.
- Have I contributed to, or permitted in any way, the taking of human life through murder, abortion, or euthanasia? Have I done damage to another’s health or well-being in any way? Have I jeopardized my own well-being through the use of alcohol, drugs, or some other self-destructive behavior?
- Have I acted on anger unjustly? Have I wished ill fate to befall another?
- Have I done anything that gives bad example to others that might lead them to sin?
VI & IX. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.
- Have I engaged in voluntary sexual intercourse outside of marriage?
- Within marriage, have I engaged in sexual activity without regard for showing love to my spouse or without openness to the possibility of conceiving children?
- Have I been sexually impure with myself or others?
- Has my marriage been celebrated in the Catholic Church or with the permission of the Catholic Church?
VII & X. You shall not steal. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
- Have I respected others’ property, or taken another’s goods or willfully damaged them?
- Have I taken the intellectual property of others without giving proper credit?
- Have I deprived others of a just wage?
- Have I failed to give my employer a day’s work for a day’s pay?
- Have I failed to share my resources with those less fortunate than me? Have I been discontent with my own blessings from God and envied those of my neighbor?
VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Have I told serious lies? Have I gossiped?
- Have I disclosed the faults of another without serious reason for doing so?
- Have I willfully and maliciously damaged another’s reputation?
