Social conscience
A social conscience is "a sense of responsibility or concern for the problems and injustices of society".[1]
While our conscience is related to moral conduct in our day-to-day lives with respect to individuals, social conscience is concerned with the broader institutions of society and the gap that we may perceive between the sort of society that should exist and the one that does exist.
The term "social conscience" has been used in conjunction with everything from investing,[2] to art,[3] antiques,[4] and politics.[5]
Development[edit]
The social conscience of an individual can be related to George Herbert Mead's generalized other. Instead of having an internalized expectation of what society expects of them, the individual possesses certain expectations of society. These expectations are generally tied to their moral values. Once the individual is impacted by an occurrence that defies or goes against what they consider to be right and wrong, they develop a social conscience towards that issue. The next step is deciding whether to act on that urge. If the individual chooses to act, they may choose to demonstrate their concern for that issue in a variety of ways, such as fighting back, protesting, or in several other forms of rebelling against that realistic form of society.
The social conscience of art[edit]
Literature[edit]
Literature is a common method used to convey one's emotions and has been a popular platform for conveying ethical concerns. These concerns usually stem from a person's social conscience towards a particular issue or various issues that they feel should be addressed.
Forms of literature, like poems with a social conscience inscribed into them, have several layers and dimensions that represent deeper meanings to the reader. The reader becomes immersed in these meanings, understanding the social conscience of the writer who is conveying an opinion through poetry. The authors of these poems format their writing to highlight the differences between an ethically ideal world and reality, attempting to instigate the social conscience of the reader.[11]
Carolyn Forché, an award-winning American author, is an example of someone using their social conscience in literature. She, along with her colleague Duncan Wu, have compiled a volume of poetry focused on the writings of poets attacking humanitarian issues such as slavery and war.[11]