In our lives, the conscience serves as a moral compass that helps distinguish the righteous path from dangerous delusions.

The Fading of Conscience: Recognizing Moral Desensitization

In our lives, the conscience serves as a moral compass that helps distinguish the righteous path from dangerous delusions. When this inner measure begins to dull, a person stops feeling remorse for their actions and justifies even the most nefarious deeds. Without a sense of guilt and the ability to experience the consequences of sins, not only are personal moral foundations undermined, but the capacity for self-reflection is also impaired, potentially leading to deep emotional and spiritual consequences.

One of the primary signs of losing one’s conscience is the gradual waning of inner resistance to temptation and the violation of moral standards. Getting accustomed to sin is often accompanied by a "security mode" of the inner world, where radical actions are seen as ordinary, and spiritual pursuits give way to cold rationality and indifference. This, in turn, can manifest in a loss of interest in spiritual development: the desire for prayer, reading inspirational texts, and discussing higher matters fades, leaving the individual in a state of inner apathy.

Ultimately, when sin ceases to evoke even the slightest pang of conscience, a dangerous distortion in the perception of good and evil arises. The devaluation of moral principles not only leads to the destruction of personal convictions but also to the loss of the ability to form genuine spiritual connections. A state in which a person views sin as a minor deviation may indicate that their emotional regulation and moral control are severely compromised.

The loss of inner support is always an ominous signal, urging deep self-analysis and a search for ways to restore that essential connection with moral and spiritual values.

What are the signs that one lacks a conscience?

The absence of conscience can be identified through a series of internal indicators that point to a diminished or completely extinguished sense of guilt and moral self-control. For instance, if a person does not experience pangs of conscience even after committing wrongful acts, if they believe that there are no consequences for sins, and calmly justify their actions, it may signal a deficiency or absence of conscience. For example, one source notes that a psychopath lacks both a sense of conscience and guilt – "If a patient has a conscience and a sense of guilt – this is not psychopathy, but only a neurosis. In a psychopath, there is no conscience and no sense of guilt. At best, only a sense of unease regarding certain psychopathic traits is present." (source: link txt).

Another important symptom is the gradual dulling of feelings, where actions committed for the sake of fulfilling passions no longer cause inner discontent, and sin turns into a habitual behavior. One text remarks: "The gradual dulling of conscience, which becomes accustomed to sin, leads a person to forgive themselves for everything: the conscience no longer demands repentance and essentially sleeps during sin. This state, where sin transforms into a passion that robs the person of clear judgment and the ability to sense God, sin, evil, and good, manifests as a cooling off towards prayer, reading spiritually rich literature, a lack of interest in spiritual discussions, boredom during worship, and sleepiness during prayer." (source: link txt).

Moreover, if a person begins to view sin as something insignificant—downplaying its danger and thereby distorting their personal perception of moral norms—this too may indicate a damaged conscience. As one source states: "Do not consider any sin insignificant: every sin is a violation of God’s Law, an opposition to His will, and a desecration of the conscience. … Its edge dulls, its light dims; darkness and the cold neglect of sensitivity spread in the soul." (source: link txt).

Thus, the primary signs of an absent conscience include a lack of guilt, an inability to internally register sinful actions, the devaluation of moral principles, and a chronic dulling of the emotional response to wrongful deeds.