Mtu Biz, I get where you are going.
However, I believe this conscience thing is the part of our brain that is the old brain.
I got this quote from a research paper for you. Mind you its new research on our brain and how it works and its long. So bear with me....
it assumes that our brains are in 3 sections, old brain, mid brain and new brain.Code:You are driving in your car (old brain is moving muscles, scanning the road, new brain is processing visual data and talking to the old brain so that you stay between the lines), and you are thinking about an argument you had with your brother over the weekend (new brain is remembering the argument, mid brain is reliving the argument emotionally).
You are, after the fact,thinking about the things you should have said, but didn’t. You feel upset that you didn’t defend yourself (mid brain feeling upset, new brain thinking about
things to say, old brain still driving the car).
Suddenly, a car in front of you brakes (old brain notices that something has changed that needs attention, old brain floods system with hormones to heighten your ability to fight or flee, old brain has you slam on brakes, mid brain feels scared that you almost had an accident and relieved that you didn’t, new brain analyzes situation and thinks about what you might have
done differently).
While you drive the rest of the way home, you relive the near miss (new brain plays the memory over and over, mid brain feels the emotions again).
You decide not to be angry with your brother any more, life is too short(mid brain feels forgiving and happy, new brain makes decision to call
brother on phone, but decides to wait until you get home since talking on a cell phone while driving may not be a good idea right now, old brain is still driving the car).
In view of your challenge.We are reacting because of old brain. A woman's primary objective is to give birth and multiply. A man's primary objective is to protect its offspring.
We reacted with horror not because of our religion or conscience but because A Child was killed. We could not protect the child.
Our new brain or conscience is where we are now arguing on how wrong or immoral this whole issue is.
So to answer you, right or wrong depends on our primary human objectives of food, shelter(safety) and sex(procreation).
In this case, we are all not sure we have protected our kids enough (shelter) that is why our new brain tells us to hang this guy before it happens to our own kids and feel the pain in the mid brain.
Hata wakizima taa