What is conscience, and where might it take us?

For its proponents, conscience is a universal concept, speaking to our inner most sense of right and wrong, and goes to the heart of what it means to be human.

Yet, if conscience is so important, what is it and how do we know it when we see it? How do we distinguish it from self-interest or fanaticism?

And what happens when the concept, often associated with a specifically liberal or Christian history, travels across linguistic and cultural boundaries?