Synteresis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The inner moral awareness or conscience that guides ethical judgment ; the preservation or retention of a fundamental quality or essence
2. An innate sense of right and wrong that functions as a moral compass ; the act of maintaining or conserving something vital or core to existence
3. The conscience regarded as an instinctive moral faculty ; the conservation or safeguarding of something essential or fundamental

Etymology: Aquinas gave this word its meaning in Western philosophy, and the Greek behind it is far more down-to-earth. In ancient Greek, "suntḗrēsis" meant "careful watching," built from "sun-" (together) and "tērein" (to keep guard, observe). The sense of guarding or keeping something safe is still visible in the root. Medieval Latin writers took the Greek term and reshaped it as "syntērēsis," and it was the scholastic theologian Thomas Aquinas who used it for a specific idea: an innate capacity in the human mind that holds fast to the basic principles of moral right and wrong, even when a person behaves badly. The word therefore came to name a kind of inner watchman that keeps conscience from being fully extinguished.

Synonyms: conscience, moral sense