ABSTRACT
Conscience is a name for one's deepest convictions, for which a person would be willing, if necessary, to sacrifice all that is dearest to him, including his very life. It is that which he identifies with his soul, with his real or highest self: his religion, his moral and spiritual imperatives. History has recorded the life stories of men who have come to represent the ideal force in human life- men like Socrates and Thomas More. For Jews, conscience has been the central fact of their history as a people. For a man to enjoy the right to be himself, to be true to his deepest self, he needs the freedom to seek the truth. There must therefore be what Justice Holmes called "free trade in ideas"- an intellectual and spiritual market place where monopolistic practices are not tolerated.
