Vito Mancuso: "The primacy of consciousness is a certain doctrine"

Article by Vito Mancuso published on La Repubblica of 17 October 2013

The Dutch academician Ian Buruma affirmed Tuesday in this newspaper that Pope Francis' thought on the primacy of consciousness "well agrees with the extreme individualism of our time" and, declared his bewilderment in this regard, presented as an icon-symbol of the papal position nothing less than Edward Snowden, the man who to follow his consciousness has come to reveal the secrets of the US spy.

But what does this extreme individualism have to do with the papal position? Very little, probably nothing. When we talk about ethics, it is first of all to answer this question: there is good, good as something universal and objective that applies to everyone without depending on the circumstances, or does it all depend on the circumstances and there is no good but only the convenient? This is the number one question of moral theology. The number two question logically follows: assuming that this universal good exists, what is, how can it be recognized, who can recognize it?

The response of Catholicism, reproduced to perfection in the pope's letter to Scalfari subject to the polemic of the butcher and above all of some traditionalist Catholics, is simple and clear:
1) There is a common good to all men, universal, objective, which does not depend on circumstances or feelings or emotions, but which is substantiated in the nature of things;
2) This good consists in what favors life and as such every man can recognize it through the light of one's consciousness.

The ability to know the objective good through subjective consciousness is expressed by Catholicism with the classic concept of Sinderese, defined by the catechism "the perception of the principles of morality" (art. 1780; cf. also Tommaso d'Aquino, Summa Theologiae, I, q. 79, A.12). The term comes from the Latin Syeresis, which reproduces the Greek Syneidesis, that is, precisely "consciousness".

The Sinderesis expresses the luminous ability of every human consciousness to recognize the good even regardless of her interest and the different historical and geographical circumstances, the ability to know if you are doing good or not, thus founding what Hans Jonas has called "the principle of responsibility", or the responsible judgment ability, in turn based on the reality of freedom. Usually we refer to this dimension saying "light of consciousness", or even "voice of consciousness".

The difference is clear with respect to the extreme individualism that Ian Bureuma attributes to the Pope: individualism defines as good starting from itself, for its use and consumption, Pope Francis instead says that the good is objective but can be recognized and practicing only by passing through consciousness and that for this "obeying it means deciding to what is perceived as good or as evil".

The primacy of consciousness (non -ontological, but gnoseological) is a peculiar concept of Catholicism that Pope Francis has done nothing but recover, and the fact that sounds so new should lead to serious questions about the quality of a certain predominant court Catholicism in recent decades, eager to appear orthodox but in reality often lover of power and such as to betray the most authentic spirit of the most authentic spirit of Catholicism. Exactly in line with what was stated by the Pope by responding to Scalfari, a document of the International Theological Commission (Pontifical appointment body consisting of about thirty eminent theologians) of 6 December 2008 entitled "In search of a universal ethics: new gaze on natural law" moves.

Dopo aver introdotto il principio della sinderesi, il documento magisteriale afferma che il bene morale “rende testimonianza a se stesso ed è compreso a partire da se stesso” (n° 56). In precedenza le diverse religioni erano presentate come “testimoni dell’esistenza di un patrimonio morale largamente comune”, il quale “esplicita un messaggio etico universale immanente alla natura delle cose e che gli uomini sono in grado di decifrare” (n° 11).

Sono parole potentissime che indicano che per la vita morale non sono indispensabili leggi, codici, esteriorità, autorità: esiste un messaggio etico “immanente” nella natura delle cose, e gli uomini, credenti o no, con la loro coscienza, sulla base della sinderesi, “sono in grado di decifrarlo”. Ne viene che ognuno con la sua ragione può essere in grado di stabilire cosa è giusto fare e cosa evitare, basta che sia onesto con se stesso.

Naturalmente ciò non è per nulla facile, e per questo sono di aiuto le leggi, i codici e tutti gli apparati esteriori promossi dall’autorità, i quali però devono venire ultimamente vagliati, e per così dire autorizzati, dalla luce della coscienza. La tradizione cattolica è chiara al riguardo. Così la Bibbia: “La coscienza di un uomo talvolta suole avvertire meglio di sette sentinelle collocate in alto per spiare” (Siracide 37,14). Così san Paolo: “Tutto ciò che non viene dalla coscienza è peccato” (Romani 14,23). Così Gesù: “Perché non giudicate da voi stessi ciò che è giusto?” (Luca 12,57).

Among the numerous Auctoritites here is Cardinal John Henry Newman: "Certainly if I had to involve religion in a toast at the end of a dinner I would drink the Pope's health, if he will please you; but first to consciousness, and then to the Pope"; Here is the Vatican II: "Consciousness is the most secret nucleus and the sacraory of man, where he is only with God, whose voice resonates in his own intimacy ... In loyalty to consciousness Christians join other men to seek truth and to solve according to truths many moral problems" (Gaudium et spes16); Here is the young Joseph Ratzinger: "Above the Pope as an expression of the binding law of the ecclesiastical authority, the individual consciousness is still, to which first of all it is necessary to obey, in case of necessity also against the injunction of the ecclesiastical authority" (cited by Hans Küng in the first volume of his memories); Here is the current catechism: "The human being must always obey the certain judgment of his own conscience" (art. 1800).

And here is the theological commission in paragraph 59 of the aforementioned document: "Only the consciousness of the subject, the judgment of its practical reason, can formulate the immediate rule of action"; And immediately below: "The moral law cannot be presented as the set of rules that impose themselves a priori of the moral subject, but is a source of objective inspiration for its process, eminently personal, of decision -making".

This is the core of the most genuine Catholic tradition: the process of the decision is eminently personal. Therefore, no individualism, if anything personalism, which is quite another thing. They can therefore all be calm: Pope Francis is perfectly Catholic! But precisely for this reason he reproduces the paradox already made with Cardinal Martini, of being able to be truly universal and touching the hearts of many, including non -believers.