05/03/2026
People often refer to the little voice that dictates right from wrong as the ‘conscience.’ Conscience is defined as ‘an inner, rational faculty or moral sense that evaluates one's actions, thoughts, and motives as right or wrong.’ When someone does something blatantly harmful, and/or routinely causes harm, it is often asked ‘Don’t they have a conscience?’
The conscience, like many other parts of a human, develops over time. The conditions that exist when the conscience is developing dictate the conscience. What is ‘right’ versus what is ‘wrong’ is dependent on what is happening at the time. ‘Right’ and ‘wrong’ are subjective and often relational, with particular relevance to human interactions and social impact of behavior.
When someone is unsafe, what is ‘right’ is what is protective. What is ‘right’ morally for an unsafe person is to create safety for themself. When you are running from a bear, you can’t think about whether or not the bear’s feelings are hurt by your fear of them. The ‘wrong’ choice to a person under threat is the one that leaves them more vulnerable. Survival has a different set of rules.
When these conditions are the environment for a developing conscience, the developed conscience reflects survival. Survival becomes the default and anything that triggers the same feelings that stirred in unsafe situations during the period of development activate survival mode. It doesn’t matter if the imperceived safety of the moment matches the magnitude of what would be classified as ‘actual’ danger, the little voice still advocates for self and what is imperative right here and now. A conscience that developed under conditions of survival doesn’t consider the long game, because the very nature of survival has no long game. Survival means getting through this moment.
When a person with a survivor’s conscience causes harm, the harm should not be diminished and accountability should not be excused. But when a person with a survivor’s conscience causes harm, we need not wrack our brains with the question ‘Don’t they have a conscience?’ They do have a conscience. Like all of us, they have a little voice telling them ‘right’ from ‘wrong.’ We just need to remember that ‘right’ looks different to someone whose conscience developed without safety.
Image is a blue background with white text that says ‘Don’t they have a conscience?’
