ethics Flashcards
What are the four working principles?
- Pragmatism (practical vs theoretical)
- Relativism (right thing to do depends on context)
- Positivism
- Personalism (like Jesus, places people above all rules)
What does Fletcher argue situation ethics is?
Fletcher argues its a midpoint between two unhelpful extremes: legalism and antinominalism. Its a teleological theory.
what structure should you follow for essays?
P- state the argument
E- scholars, evidence or examples
A- Why is the argument strong
C-link back to question
E- Overall, how strong is your argument and side
First argument (+/agree)
SE uses agape/love to base moral decision making (entirely individualistic and subjective approach because it is not clearly defined- vague) - allows for interpretation, making subjective and individualistic. It also abandons all other absolutes
Second/first argument (agree)
Relativism (four working principles) individualistic and subjective - morality changes based on situation
Second argument (argument + why its weak)
Some may argue that the combination of the six propositions and four working principles provides a less individualistic and subjective approach. However, I disagree because decisions have to be made during the situation, and using these doesn’t always provide a suitable guide for our moral decision making because …
Why is using agape/love not beneficial for our moral decision making?
the idea of love/agape is not perfect and provide too much freedom, for the freedom to lead to objectivity, love would have to be perfect
weakness of SE?
its inconsistent and constantly changes from one situation to another, the most loving thing may be to provide a more rigid ethic. The results are unpredictable.
Why is SE subjective?
we are all unique and each have different backgrounds, we are also very complex which leads to different interpretations. It seems like a good theory but it lacks practicality due to it being entirely open to interpretation.
