gonna connect my theology readings to patton again, just for a quick moment! sometimes i think about janus calling out patton's vague moral rhetoric and how it hurts thomas. strict vagueness is a quality i'd ascribe to most catholics, because while they have the ccc (imagine the catholic law book) more theologians tend to stray away from legalism due to how catholics of the old age basically used strict moral codes to be very Authoritative with their followers. and i mean that's present today as well, but with how catholicism is more principle-based (like kant) rather than something output-based, they tend to have vague instructions on how actions should be done.
their focus is the formation of good character— like, my professor uses the example of giving money to someone who needs it, not knowing they'll spend it on something useless. again, it's not about the output— you give money due to generosity, which is the principle you're trying to cultivate.
catholicism's perspective on conscience feels the most in line with patton's moral rhetoric. patton isn't conscience, by the way— that stems from a misconception of how the catholic pov of conscience works. conscience, to catholics, is the innate, immediate sense of knowing what is morally good. it works more as an intuition than a authoritative force— an example used in my class is our automatic inclination to grab an umbrella when we see that it's raining. we recognize what must be done and do it mindlessly.
catholics have a very interesting perception of conscience wherein it is advised to follow your conscience no matter what, as long as you think it is morally true. the belief is that even if you do something everyone thinks is wrong, at least 1.) you will learn if you're open to hearing other people's thoughts, and 2.) you followed your sense of morality. to not follow a moral inclination, aka your conscience, makes you morally disinclined. meaning, to betray your conscience means you betray your morals as a whole.
which explains how patton thinks and works. while i see some merit in this ideology, following it mindlessly without a time to think about nuanced situations births the shitty catholics we know today. the rhetoric is Super Susceptible to complicitness and self-hate. and yeah, i'm too lazy to put together different bits from svs.r but this post is just food for thought, esp for those who don't know abt catholic theology
