Conscience vs. Conscious

These two words can be so tricky sometimes, don't you think so? Well then, I'm gonna teach you all about them. Let's start.

What Is Their Difference?

These two words both refer to someone's mentality and how their brain functions, but 'conscience' is the moral sense telling us what is right or wrong, whereas, 'conscious' is the part of our mind that shapes our identity and interacts with the outside word on a daily basis.

Differences

As mentioned above, 'conscience' is the moral voice inside most of us. It tells us what is right and wrong according to moral values and it makes us feel guilty after having done something wrong. Look:

I still can't believe it that you do not have a guilty conscience after what you've put me through.

Here, the sentence indicates that the addressee seems to not feel any regrets for what they have done.

People who have an overly-active conscience keep feel too much guilt and shame, even when it is not their fault.

However, 'conscious' is part of the brain that shapes our identity, and is able to think logical thoughts. It is the conscious part of us that interacts with others on a daily basis. Now, look at the following examples for more clarification:

Most of our daily habits happen unconsciously, not in the conscious mind.

For your information, I am fully conscious of our failure here.

Similarities

As stated above, 'conscience' and 'conscious' both refer to the human psyche and are part of our inner world. Check out the following examples for more clarification:

Freud was the first psychotherapist to introduce the conscious mind.

My conscience keeps telling me to apologize, despite the fact that I've done nothing wrong.

Are They Interchangeable?

Despite the fact that both of these parts refer to the different parts of our brain, they cannot be used interchangeably because 'conscious' refers to someone's thinking part of the brain whereas, 'conscience' refers to a part of the brain that is responsible for feeling guilty when having done something wrong. Compare:

✓ So, how does the unconscious find its way to the conscious mind?

X So, how does the unconscious find its way to the conscience mind?

As you can see, we do not have a 'conscience mind'.

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