We should perhaps be conscious of listening to our conscience. There’s mindfulness, integrity, and so much more as a part of this conversation, right?
What’s always fascinated me, though, is that a “conscience” is not necessarily the most science-focused of ideas. It’s not quite research-based, and the idea of “con-science” sounds a bit like “fake truth,” so that’s definitely not helpful either.
So many questions:
How can you tell “conscious” vs. “conscience” apart?
How is “conscience” related to “science”?
And how is “conscientious” related to these terms?
Here are your answers:
- “Conscious” is an adjective, meaning to be awake and aware.
- “Conscience” is a noun, meaning a sense of understanding about right and wrong, or awake in a moral sense.
These two words trace back to the Latin word conscius, which in itself comes from from com, meaning “together,” and scire, meaning to know. The difference is simply a matter of knowing right versus wrong or knowing the physical world around you. Or if you’d like to think of it in another way, it’s a matter of a noun (conscience) versus an adjective (conscious).
One can have a conscience (noun). One can be conscious (adjective).
Are these words tricky to spell? Absolutely. But if you remember that “science,” a noun, is hiding inside of the noun “conscience,” it might help. It also might help to remember that science is all about asking questions. A “conscience” keeps you asking questions too, only a matter of morality questions rather than traditionally “scientific” ones.
“Conscientious” is just here to keep you on your grammatical toes—or perhaps the English language doesn’t have intent, but approaching it in this fashion sometimes makes the challenge more of an adventurous quest, doesn’t it?
- “Conscientious” means to be careful and/or thoughtful, particularly in regard to matters of right and wrong.
Yes, it has the same Latin root as well, though it appeared in rough 1603, while “conscious” entered English a few years earlier around 1600, and “conscience” entered the English language way back in the 1200s.
Are you conscientious about listening to your conscience? Are you now conscious about the difference between these three words?
Here’s hoping so. Good luck, everyone!
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