International Day of Conscience is a global day of awareness that celebrates and honors the human conscience. It is a holiday that was observed for the first time in 2020 and has been observed around the world ever since. Conscience is that inner voice or feeling that is at the heart of most people and serves as a guide to whether their behavior is right or wrong.

The human conscience can be a terrific guide when it is listened to and can be used as a tether to keep a person grounded in kindness. Unfortunately, far too many try to ignore their conscience and end up regretting it.

The History of International Day of Conscience

This holiday was created by the United Nations General Assembly on July 25th, 2019. This was done with the adoption of UN Resolution 73/329. The holiday would not be observed until the following year, however. It would be observed for the first time on April 5th, 2020. It has been observed on this date ever since.

Some Quick Facts About Conscience

Below are some quick facts about conscience that we feel anyone interested in this holiday is going to want to learn. The human conscience is a subject that has puzzled scientists, politicians, and poets.

How it works is seemingly beyond our comprehension, but that doesn’t mean that people should not try to plumb its depths. With that in mind, we present some of the facts that we know about conscience.

• Every culture that has ever existed has acknowledged the human conscience.
• In some cultures, conscience was seen as the voice of God. In other cultures, conscience is like a moral compass.
• A conscientious objector is someone who refuses to be a combatant in military forces for one reason or another.
• Some people have described conscience as existing somewhere between gut instinct and a person’s sense of morality.
• Aristotle used the term phronesis, which was the goodness of practical reason.
• Phronesis is the process of determining ends and how to achieve them through sound judgment.
• For many people, conscience is an overlapping of secular, religious, and philosophical views.

Observing the International Day of Conscience

During this holiday, people can learn more about conscience, discuss the concept of conscience with peers and teachers, or take the time to think deeply about it. Why are some people capable of doing some of the most horrendous things in the world, while other people are seemingly the opposite?

What makes a person good or bad? And how do good people do bad things? These are just some of the questions that people should ponder during this holiday. While they are doing so, they should also use the hashtag #InternationalDayOfConscience to spread the word about it.