Our conscience reflects the interaction between our inner sense of responsibility, internalisation of parental or family norms and internal assessment of our personal integrity. Critically analyze this statement.

Conscience is the inner sense of right and wrong that enables us to discern moral choices freely. Although an inner sense of right and wrong is part of our nature as human beings, our conscience is formed or shaped by many sources over a lifetime. Some of these sources are internal, others are external.
For example, the family environment that we grow up in is likely to be a primary source for our understanding of right and wrong. Parents who have a habit of communicating directly with each other about important issue are passing on to their sense of honesty. A family in which an alcoholic parent lies to hide his or her problem may implicitly teach the children that lying is usually better than honesty.
External sources, however, do not totally determine our sense of right or wrong. A person raised in a family in which lying is a common practice may recognize the harm caused by lies and so, knowing from within that lying is usually wrong, may resolve not to lie. A well-formed conscience is developed by listening to the full reality of life, including your own insights and experiences along with those of others.
A good conscience is also associated with feelings of personal integrity, psychological wholeness and peacefulness and is often described using adjectives such as “quiet”, “clear” and “easy” conscience.

Topics: GS-IV: Ethics and Human Interface