 The purpose of synderesis, then, is to direct reason away from vice for it is the faculty “by which a person naturally detests what is evil and is a part of the rational power” (Quaestiones disputatae; Lottin ed. Psychology et morale II.1, 1948: 112). Can such a power be extinguished? Yes and no. In its capacity as an inclination towards the good, which is accidental to it, synderesis can indeed be lost in the damned. Essentially speaking, however, the purpose of synderesis is to repudiate what is wicked. In this sense, it is never lost, even in the damned (Quaestiones disputatae; Lottin ed. 1948: 111).