Comparing the doctrine(s) of the conscience in the philosophies of St. Paul and Wang Yangming

Culturally speaking, what is human being? What makes humans humans? These are essential questions that every serious thinker needs to ask and must propose an answer. It happens that both Apostle Paul (c. 5 BCE? – c. 67) of the Christian tradition and Wang Yangming (1472 – 1529) of the Confucian tradition have both come up with a doctrine of The Conscience. Their thoughts have, unquestionably, inspirational impacts on educators throughout the ages. This paper will therefore ask: What then are the commonalities and differences in their doctrines of The Conscience? We will apply the methods of historical and textual studies, to examine the significant writings of St. Paul and the works of Wang Yangming. The aim is to establish them for comparative inter-perspectival dialogue across traditions. In addition, what pedagogical implications their prototypical ways of conceptualizing the moral self might have for the teaching of life and values in our contemporary setting will be explored; for this will then be the unique contribution of this philosophizing, in the context of the secularized and performative cultures of the present century.