Vicdanın Ontolojisi ve Ahlaki Yabancılaşma: İnsanın Sessiz Çözülüşü Üzerine Felsefi Bir İnceleme
The Ontology of Conscience and Moral Alienation: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Silent Disintegration of Humanity

Summary/Abstract: The marginalization of fundamental human values such as justice, compassion, and benevolence in today’s world is not merely an indication of a social or political transformation, but also a sign of a profound moral dysfunction within the inner world of the individual. Humanity derives its meaning not simply from existence itself, but from how that existence is shaped. A mindset that grows indifferent to the suffering of others observes injustice as a spectacle, sanctifies power, and despises the weak, and eventually loses its own inner voice as conscience functions not only on behalf of the other, but also as a balance within the self. When this internal balance is lost, truth becomes distorted, values are erased, and the individual loses his/her moral orientation. In a world where conscience falls silent, the collapse of humanity does not occur through a dramatic catastrophe, but rather unfolds as a silent transformation into a crowd of alienated souls who have lost their shared horizon of meaning. This silence reflects a state in which individuals are not only estranged from one another, but also from themselves. Yet, what can raise humanity once again is the will of each person to cultivate their inner soil with compassion, to cleanse it through conscience, and to make it flourish with goodness. This article aims to examine how modern individuals have lost their ethical sensitivity, focusing particularly on the concept of conscience within a philosophical framework. Conscience is approached here through the metaphor of an inner balance, and is evaluated as a central ethical principle in the individual’s relationship with both the self and the other. In this context, the study analyzes the various forms of alienation that arise when the balance of conscience is disrupted and it demonstrates how tendencies such as the glorification of power, indifference to injustice, and apathy toward the other contribute to a moral breakdown on both individual and societal levels. Throughout the analysis, both classical and contemporary philosophical approaches are considered alongside the Islamic tradition of moral thought to explore the transformative role of conscience, compassion, and benevolent action for both the individual and society. Arguing that the collapse of humanity is a silent process deepened by the muting of conscience, this study contends that such deterioration can only be reversed through the reconstruction of individual moral responsibility. In this respect, the study interprets conscience not merely as a personal instrument of moral evaluation, but also as a foundational ethical reference point for the reconstruction of social morality. It reopens a philosophical and ethical discussion regarding the moral void created by modernity in both individuals and communities. In the current literature, conscience is frequently addressed within psychological, theological, or legal frameworks, while the holistic connections between individual and society, emotion and responsibility, ethics and action remain underexplored from a philosophical perspective. By engaging with the conscience-centered approaches of thinkers such as Kant, Arendt, and Levinas in conversation with the Islamic ethical tradition, this study offers an original conceptual framework, aiming to contribute to both contemporary philosophical debates and the discourse of Islamic moral thought in an interdisciplinary manner. In this regard, the article aspires to provide both theoretical depth and a new perspective to the existing philosophical and ethical literature, by analyzing the ethically grounded terrain of conscience, compassion, and benevolence as a continuum that extends from personal transformation to societal reconstruction.

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