Situation Ethics Flashcards
What are two things that Joseph Fletcher argued?
- That love was what morality should serve.
- That someone making a moral decision should be prepared to set aside rules if it seemed that love would be better served by doing so.
What are the six fundamental principles that Fletcher developed that the situationist should apply?
1) Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love.
2) The ruling norm of Christian decision is love. (love replaces law)
3) Love and justice are the same; for justice is love distributed.
4) Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not.
5) Only the end justifies the means. (For Fletcher the end must be the most loving results).
6) Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively (whether something is right or wrong depends on the situation).
What are the four working propositions developed by Fletcher?
- Pragmatism.
- Relativism.
- Positivism.
- Personalism.
What is meant by pragmatism (in the four working propositions)?
Being practical rather than always following belief in ideologies or system.
What is meant by relativism (in the four working propositions)?
There are no fixed laws which must always be obeyed.
What is meant by positivism (in the four working propositions)?
Situation ethics depends on Christians freely choosing faith that God is love, so giving first place to Christian love.
What is meant by personalism (in the four working propositions)?
A situationist puts people first, not rules or ideals.
What are four strengths of situation ethics?
- It gives people confidence in situations far away from everyday decisions.
- It is flexible because it’s relative and pragmatic.
- Focuses on the person (personalism).
- We have good guidance for how to use it (e.g. four working principles- pragmatism, relativism, positivism, personalism).
What are five weaknesses of situation ethics?
- Seems to be mainly focused on the immediate situation.
- Subjective and can justify most wrong-doings.
- It’s not very clear- Fletcher wants everyone to treat everyone with love -without following rules.
- Individualistic- humans see things from their own perspective and can have a tendency to be selfish.
What is agape love?
Agape love is unconditional, selfless love without the expectation of anything in return.
What are the four working presuppositions set out by Fletcher?
- Sacrificial suicide.
- Justifiable mass killing.
- Patriotic prostitution.
- Sacrificial adultery.
Describe the example of sacrificial suicide that Fletcher used.
A person has a limited amount of time to live and he could prolong his life by purchasing expensive pills, but after a while his insurance will run out and his family will then have to pay. However, if he stopped buying the pills, his family would get left with some financial security.
Describe the example of a justifiable mass killing which Fletcher gives.
If a large number of people were killed, to swiftly end a war, which would ultimately save more lives in the grand scheme of things, is a mass killing justifiable?
Describe the example of patriotic prostitution which Fletcher gives.
A woman says there was a chance that she could stop a war by some clever use of espionage and blackmail. However, this meant that she had to seduce and sleep with an enemy spy in order to lure him into blackmail. Now this went against her morals, but if it brought the war to an end, saving thousands of lives, would it be worth breaking those standards?
Describe the example of sacrificial adultery which Fletcher gives.
A female prisoner in Ukraine could not be transferred to Germany, where her husband and family lived, unless she was pregnant as she would be returned as a liability. She thought things through and decided to ask a prison guard to impregnate her, which he did. After it was medically verified, she went back to Berlin and her family, and they welcomed her with open arms, even when she told them how she had managed it.
