Unraveling the Mystery of Human Morality, Conscience, and Guilt: Divine Etching?

At their wedding ceremony, a husband and wife vow, “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and protect, till death do us part.”

Dolphins, apes, and eagles do not express such vows. You laugh at this absurdity, and you should. 

Humans are distinctly different from all other creatures on this planet. We stand apart due to our unique capacity. In this article, I highlight three areas in which humans are unique from all other creatures: our morality, our conscience, and our guilt.

First, we possess morality or moral principles. For example, we have something inside us that tells us we ought to be faithful in marriage.

Second, we possess a conscience that serves as our moral compass. We have a capacity inside of us that tells us what is right and wrong. We evaluate and judge ourselves. For example, something tells us to be faithful to our spouse when we travel away from home after we marry.

Third, we possess guilt. We have an innate awareness of the weight of guilt when we betray these principles. For example, when committing adultery, we devastate our spouse and children, and we are flooded with guilt feelings because we are guilty.

Some Are Perplexed by This, Others Stand in Awe

But here is what I find mind-boggling. Neuroscientists remain perplexed over where morality, conscience, and guilt come from. 

Neuroscientists know these three exist but remain puzzled by how they emerge in the brain in the first place. They do not know how these originate in humans. 

In studying 86 billion neurons in the brain, they grapple with explaining how and why these are present in us. The best they can explain is that somehow, these three emerge. They refer to them as emergent properties. 

As a layperson, we might say, “They just appear out of nowhere,” though that can be an overstatement. But these scientists readily acknowledge that they are baffled and uncertain about why and how that emergence takes place. Something happens wherein the sum of all the parts—the 86 billion neurons—produces something greater than the sum of those parts! Something transcends the neural processes. There is something beyond the individual neural processes that contribute to these phenomena!

In me, as a believer in Jesus Christ, this ignites awe and inspiration since believers know that God has planted inside each of us a moral code, a conscience that governs based on that moral standard, and subsequent personal guilt when we act at odds with that moral compass in us.

But what I hear from the neuroscientists’ community causes me to say something holy transcends our biological makeup! It is as though God Himself causes these to emerge unexplainably and then declares, “You won’t find these under a telescope.”

This does not mean a natural explanation won’t be discovered as God enables scientists to discover more of His doings. I am all in on the scientific method and empirical inquiry and am quick to insert there could be discoveries. I applaud every scientific effort. For now, though, I enjoy the wonder! These emergent properties have a limited explanation, and further, we don’t know why other creatures with similar neurons do not have a moral code. After all, apes make no vows to one another.

This analogy is simplistic, but apes have 9 billion neurons in the brain, so they operate at 1/10 of the neurons. Shouldn’t they, then, have 1/10 of the morality, conscience, and guilt? Maybe they know and keep one of the Ten Commandments! Of course, neuroscientists will say this is absurd since other factors besides neurons explain why apes do not rise to our level. I agree. I only wish to point out that apes have no moral principles. They have no conscience that reminds them of the moral code and guilt as we do. God did not make apes in His Image.

What Does the Bible Say?

Most who have read the Bible know that it teaches that the work of God’s law is written in our human hearts, not in animals. Furthermore, the conscience tells us when we live in accordance with the moral law of God. We can have a good conscience as we honorably conduct ourselves or our heart condemns us when we transgress that moral law. We feel guilt. We are conscious of these things.

Consider these scriptures:

• They show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them. (Romans 2:15
• . . . that if our heart condemns us . . . (1 John 3:20)
• Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. (Hebrews 13:18)
• . . . consciousness of sins . . . (Hebrews 10:2)
• I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

Dolphins, apes, and eagles do not possess this moral code, reflective conscience, or personal guilt. 

There is no elephant in a confessional booth, not because he is too large but because he has no moral law written on his heart that accuses him of guilt and his need to confess and repent.

Again, I encounter something mysterious, majestic, and holy. 

Let me now dive deeper into each of these three.

1. Human Morality

There is a moral compass in us that is profound. Equally profound is that we are fully conscious of this moral code. We know it should govern us. We know of matters of fairness, justice, and compass. We can feel serious guilt when we fail to behave fairly, justly, lovingly, and respectfully.

This standard connects with moral reasoning and judgments, unlike anything in the animal kingdom. For example, we observe a person at work telling the truth but not the whole truth in that they told the boss they got stuck in traffic, which was true. Still, they intentionally took that route, knowing they would be delayed as they talked to the person on the phone with whom they were having an affair. They intentionally got stuck on a busy street to continue the conversation. To this fellow worker who knows the truth, this lying conflicts with the moral standard of integrity and truthfulness. This person now must consider how to confront the situation since this person is also betraying their spouse and children. This entails moral reasoning, moral standards, discerning right and wrong, and the implication of painful consequences. 

Where does all of this high-level moral concern and reasoning come from in our brains?

Though neuroscience can detect the underpinnings of neural processes, this story of immorality and confronting wrongdoing is something advanced, complex, intricate, and refined among humans, and begs the question: Why?

A neural process (how neurons or nerve cells in the brain operate) contributes to moral decision-making. For example, we see a person next to us about to walk in front of an oncoming train, and a basic instinct impulsively takes over—we grab them and pull them back. But this basic instinct related to survival, such as pulling someone out of harm’s way, is just the beginning of something sophisticated that emerges: moral standards, moral reasoning, and recognition of right and wrong. Yes, the neurons can explain why a mother elephant pulls her baby elephant out of quicksand, but that remains the extent of a basic instinct of doing something “moral.”

Scientists are seeking to detect why morality, for instance, cannot be reduced to or predicted based on the individual components of the neurons in the brain. This emergence intrigues and puzzles them.

We Are Wonderfully Created!

As believers, we should pause and thank God for how fearfully and wonderfully He has made us. He has put within us something precious and holy that scientists cannot yet detect in the brain. Oh, they know it is there, but they cannot prove it biologically.

Whatever the future findings and possible natural explanations, I do know this: humans differ from dolphins, apes, and eagles. Something emerges in our brains that does not emerge in their brains. So far, no unique “morality neuron” has been found in us. Maybe it will be discovered one day, but then the question would arise: Why is it in us and not an ape? Is it all because we have more neurons in the brain—around 86 billion, whereas apes have 9 billion? So far, that doesn’t explain the presence of morality, conscience, and guilt since there is no evidence of these in the neuronal process.

2. Human Conscience

Some neurons generate emotional responses. We observe this in a dog that cowers with ears down and tail between its legs when confronted for getting on the bed, knowing the bed is forbidden territory. There appears to be a conscience and a sense of going against the rule with subsequent guilt when scolded.

While this might be a basic form of conscience, it pales with the advanced human conscience that entails a sophisticated recognition of right and wrong and the moral duty to act the right way in the future. A powerful example is the golden rule, where we know in our conscience that we should treat others as we want and need to be treated. This is a universal ethical principle that most cultures promote and honor. But where did this belief lodged in our conscience come from? The neurons in the brain cannot make biological sense of the origins of the conscience that knows a moral code about treating others as one wishes to be treated. This intricate and refined conscience emerges beyond what we observe in our remorseful pooch. More stunning and mysterious is the question: Where and when did altruism enter our DNA? For 100 percent of the benefit to another person, we give up our very lives.

The Reflective Conscience

As humans, what we do that is unique is to reflect on our moral actions. Did I treat this person the way I would want to be treated? We have a high moral awareness and reasoning based on many such moral principles. It is as though a constitution is etched inside of us, which governs our lives. But the neurons cannot explain this constitution embedded in us.

When we reflect, we pass judgment on our behavior, either as justified or unjustified. When we act in opposition to the moral law, we know we have no excuse and guilt floods us. Why are we not impervious?

3. Human Guilt

Human guilt cannot be explained by the neural process. Yes, a dog is ashamed for ripping apart the pillowcase, but human guilt is far different and deeper. As we have established, we possess a moral code with a conscience that talks to us about that code. When our conscience tells us that we have transgressed the moral code within us, we feel guilt and shame. This runs deeper than ripping pillowcases. Besides, does the dog feel guilty only when scolded? If so, is this true guilt? We on the other hand can do things wrong in isolation and no one will ever know, but we feel guilt because we know we are guilty. This is why many of us suppress and justify and blame. This is our way of dealing with guilt.

When a person vows to be married for a lifetime, in sickness and in health, no one applauds this person for walking out on a sick and dying wife with four kids. This husband ought to feel guilt because he is guilty.

We feel guilt because the universal moral law and corporate conscience condemns this kind of abandonment. Such unfaithfulness and betrayal wounds, leaving scars for a lifetime. 

A male dog uniting with a female dog in heat feels no remorse, though the male dog earlier sired six pups at home with another female. None of this matters. There is no morality, conscience, and guilt. There is no betrayal. There is no pack of dogs trolling the behavior and calling it out on Hounds.com. 

With humans, guilt can be good in the sense that it leads to self-reflection, and we in turn become motivated to confess our unfaithfulness and make things right by returning to our spouse and children. 

Yes, we can feel guilt over false standards of morality, like sinning against God for not attending church three times a week. That is a cultural tradition but not a biblical mandate. 

False guilt arises when the standard of morality is based on a wrong standard, and the conscience is bothered over something that does not merit this kind of guilt. We must discern cultural and personal factors that can mislead us on what is right and wrong. 

What Do You Believe?

Despite all of this, when looking at the neurons only, some individuals in our culture declare, “There is no morality, no conscience, and no guilt. Neuroscientists have not proven a morality neuron. I will live my life any way I want to live it.”

But because something isn’t biologically observable does not make it untrue. Even this person, when unfairly and unjustly treated, will scream, “These people are guilty of mistreating me! They need to make it right! I will make them pay!”

As I asked at the beginning: Do you believe in the existence of morality, conscience, and guilt? If you do, these phenomena seem to point toward a universal moral framework that cannot be explained solely by societal constructs. A social construct means there is no objective, inherent moral code but morality, conscience, and guilt have been constructed by outside, cultural influences.

 But do you believe that? Or do you believe the moral code, the reflective conscience, and personal guilt transcend cultural influences and social constructs, especially since there appears to be a universal and common moral code that operates independently of societal influences?

The Bible provides the best explanation for me so far! God planted these in us. The Amplified translation says it all in Romans 2:15! “They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them.”

Granted, none of us welcomes feeling guilty when our conscience judges us for transgressing the moral law in our hearts. 

But apart from that, this process evidences our unique makeup. This experience shows that we are greater than the sum of our neurons. Something emerges here that transcends neuroscience and our biology. 

Each of us is a majestic mystery showing something transcendent emerging from our deepest hearts and is displayed in fullest glory when a husband and wife vow, “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and protect, till death do us part.”