Situation Ethics

Question 1

What are the 4 working principles?

Answer 1

Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, Personalism

Question 2

What is Pragmatism?

Answer 2

The outcome must work towards a loving end and in practice e.g. if a country goes to war, they need the resources available

Question 3

What is Relativism?

Answer 3

All decisions must be relative to love - agape. Never, always etc are word to be avoided

Question 4

What is Positivism?

Answer 4

People must freely choose faith in God and just have faith. Believe that God is a loving God.

Question 5

What is Personalism?

Answer 5

People are more important than laws and must be put above the law.

Question 6

What is the first fundamental principle and what does it mean?

Answer 6

“Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love nothing else.” Actions are intrinsically good or evil depending on the circumstances. Only love is good. Nothing else.

Question 7

What is the second fundamental principle and give an example to support it?

Answer 7

“The ruling norm of Christian decision making is love; nothing else.” The 10 commandments are not absolute. Jesus broke the Sabbath rule when his men were hungry and needed food on the Sabbath

Question 8

What is the third fundamental principle and what does it mean?

Answer 8

“Love and justice are the same; for justice is love distributed; nothing else.” Loving actions should ensure that justice is distributed throughout the community. It can mean love is calculated - serves the most number of people. Dubbed Christian utilitarianism.

Question 9

What is the fourth fundamental principle and what does it mean?

Answer 9

“Love wills the neighbour’s good whether we like him or not.” Agape is a love of attitude, not feeling or self-preference, or sentiment. Unconditional love which can mean making sacrifices for a loving outcome for others.

Question 10

What is the fifth fundamental principle and what does it mean?

Answer 10

“Only the end justifies the means; nothing else.” A loving outcome alone can justify action such as killing, abortion etc. It means breaking rules for a loving end.

Question 11

What is the sixth fundamental principle and what does it mean?

Answer 11

“Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.” Jesus broke the Pharisaic laws - he healed on the Sabbath which they condemned.

Question 12

What was Fletcher’s example of Sacrificial adultery?

Answer 12

Mrs Bergmeier in concentration Ukrainian camp - impregnated by guard to escape camp and return to husband.

Question 13

What was Fletcher’s example of the Patriotic prostitution?

Answer 13

Christian girl asked to sleep with a spy to save thousands of lives in America.

Question 14

What was Fletcher’s example of the sinking ship?

Answer 14

Captain tossed the men overboard to save the most people - loving outcome.

Question 15

What was Fletcher’s example of Bonhoeffer?

Answer 15

Christian minister who was involved in plot to blow up Hitler in second world war - for a loving end to save millions of lives. Caught and hanged.

Question 16

What did Fletcher say about love? (Quote)

Answer 16

Love seeks the deepest welfare and most happiness of most people in that situation.

Question 17

What did Fletcher say about Jesus? (Quote)

Answer 17

Jesus said nothing about birth control…childlessness, homosexuality…abortion…sex…whether any form of sex is good or evil depends on whether love is fully served.

Question 18

What did the Cabbie driver say to Fletcher?

Answer 18

“There are times when a man has to push aside his principles and do the right thing.”

Question 19

What did Bultmann say about love? (Quote)

Answer 19

In reality the love which is based on sympathy or emotion is self-love

Question 20

What did Augustine say about love? (Quote)

Answer 20

“One does not ask what he believes or hopes but what he loves”

Question 21

What does Fletcher say about laws? (Quote)

Answer 21

Fletcher refers to the laws as the “devil”

Question 22

What did Fletcher say about sinning? (Quote)

Answer 22

Fletcher wrote that Christians dare to “sin bravely”

Question 23

What did Tillich say about love? (Quote)

Answer 23

“The law of love is the negation of law because it is the ultimate law”

Question 24

What is agape?

Answer 24

Unconditional love of the New Testament based on Jesus - Love thy neighbour as thyself - God is love. A love that demands people to love their enemies. It is an unemotional, non-reciprocal and non-preferential love.

Question 25

What did Fletcher say about Conscience?

Answer 25

This is a process of moral decision making for Fletcher. It is not a noun but a verb. We use our reason, our intelligence to make moral decisions - we calculate what will bring the most loving outcome for the majority. Conscience is not the voice of God from within, not an internalised value system that we learn from our culture or a psychological process. It describes attempts to make moral decisions.

Question 26

What did Pope Pius 11 say about Situation ethics?

Answer 26

He said that it is an “individualistic and subjective appeal to the concrete circumstances of actions”, it does not follow the revealed laws of God.

Question 27

What did Dostoevsky say about situation ethics?

Answer 27

It is too individualistic and gives people too much freedom that they simply cannot cope with. Many people would rather have laws and rules to live by.

Question 28

What did Vardy say about situation ethics?

Answer 28

Humans can make decisions with selfish tendencies. it is impossible to ever fully carry out agape because of this. Agape is too high an ideal to expect any person to aim for.

Question 29

What did Macquarrie say about situation ethics?

Answer 29

Argued that situationalism is too individualistic. It doesn’t offer solutions for communities but for individuals. It is far too subjective - it demands a very high degree of moral sensitivity to read the demands of the situation according to Macquarrie.