Overall

• the key issue seems to be that there is no agreement as to what conscience is or how it functions, or even whether it really exists in any form
• for many people it contains a mix of factors; social, psychological, religious/secular
• but its application often leads to disagreement, e.g. Tony Blair's view on the Iraq war
• conscience-based decisions may be catastrophic in terms of results
• perhaps the only way of resolving this would be if everyone could agree on some general moral principle, such as 'do whatever will promote the flourishing of humans, animals and the environment', that would then direct conscience to seek universal well-being. this would incorporate both traditional and situationist approaches.