Situation Ethics Flashcards
List some of the cultural and social impacts on the development of SE
1) women in the workforce
2) Vietnam war
3) Kennedy’s assassination
4) civil rights movement
5) contraceptive pill
6) sexual revolution
7) hippy culture
What was the name of the book in which JAT Robinson first advocated for SE
Honest to God
What is a man come of age?
A mature, rational being who, knowing the rules that are in place but not being bound to them, is able to use reason to make ethical decisions for themselves
SE is teleological. What does this mean?
It is concerned with the outcome of actions. More specifically, whether these actions result in the demonstration of agape love
SE is relativistic. What does this mean?
Actions can only be considered good a bad in the context in which they are being performed. No act is universally good or bad, as it depends upon the situation
What are the 4 types of love?
Storge - familial affection
Philia - the love of friendship
Eros - Love with a sexual or romantic element
Agape - an unconditional, attitudinal love that expects nothing in return
Give some examples of when Jesus rejected deontology for a more teleological approach
1) when declaring ‘the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the sabbath’
2) when healing a leper, as biblical teaching said they were unclean sinners who should not be touched
3) when he saved an allegedly adulterous woman from stoning by saying ‘he who has not sinned should cast the first stone’
What two impractical ethical extremes did Joseph Fletcher say SE lied in between?
Legalism and antinomianism
What is antinomianism?
Literally translates from Greek as ‘against law’. Completely lacking in moral guiding principles as it proposes that people should be free to do what they see fit in any given situation
What is legalism?
Concerned with the proper application of laws. Holds that ethical decisions should always be made in accordance with a set of rules or commands
State and describe Fletcher’s 4 working principles
Pragmatism - moral actions should be practical in bringing about the desired result
Relativism - all situations are based individually and uniquely on how to best demonstrate love
Positivism - the moral agent has to decide, through faith in God alone, that love is the most important thing, as there can be no empirical backing for this ethical norm
Personalism - the demands and needs of people should be considered over the demands and needs of laws
What does prescriptively mean?
The idea that you should make ethical decisions based of a prefabricated set of rules or norms
Define the terms ‘ends’ and ‘means’
The means is the action performed, and the ends is the resultant consequence. Means are done to achieve certain ends
Define natural moral law
The ethical theory of the Catholic church that there are inherent laws in the world from God that must be followed absolutely
What are some Christian responses to SE?
1) doesn’t acknowledge natural moral law as the source of ethical ideas by placing too much emphasis on conscience
2) unfairly represents Jesus, as he did condemn some things as universally right and wrong
3) seem as giving too much emphasis as human subjectivity at the expense of God
List Charlotte and Peter Vardys problems with situation ethics
1) the importance of loving God is played down by Fletcher because he was looking to appeal to an increasingly secular audience
2) provides a lack of clear guidance and so could be used to justify any action, including ones that were promoted by baser motives.
3) the system is open to abuse to justify what people feel inclined to do, rather than what is right
4) it is hard to predict the consequences of actions. Good intentions may not lead to agape because of the unpredictable, complex nature of human situations
List Barclays criticisms
1) ethics is meant to simplify things and make life easier. It saves us from the difficult and often dangerous task of making our own ethical decisions. Situation ethics fails to do either of these things
2) we have to make decisions for ourselves. This is a terrible degree of freedom that man is not ready for
3) works in theory but not in practise: ‘if all men were saints, situation ethics would be the perfect ethic’
4) laws are not arbitrary. Infact they are ‘distillations of human experience’ and and ‘a summary of society’s experience of life and living’
5) points towards the abnormality of Fletcher’s examples and that someone is unlikely to encounter a situation such as this, so they should not be used to justify everyday morality
List some of the strengths
1) responded to the changing social and cultural dynamic and provided a realistic Christian alternative to the increasingly unpopular legalistic approach
2) in keeping with Jesus’ teachings and rejection of legalism so is suitable as a Christian ethic
3) provided the moral flexibility to appropriately tailor ones response to an individual situation in order to prevent nonsensical actions and unfavourable consequences
4) it recognises humanity as a man come of age and gives us personal responsibility for our actions
5) most people agree that agape is a desirable and laudable attitude to have towards others
What did JAT Robinson believe about God?
- that he was imminent rather than transcendent
- agreed with tillichs idea that God was no Deus ex machina
What did JAT Robinson call Jesus?
The advocate of the new morality
Pope Pius XII banned SE from what?
Roman Catholic seminaries
What was the arch bishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, problem with SE?
That nothing was considered right and wrong and it was all situational
What was Joseph Fletcher president of in America?
Euthanasia society
What does Paul Tillich say about SE?
‘love is the ultimate law’
What does At Augustine say about SE?
Love with care, and then what you will, do
What quote summarises Fletcher’s rejection of legalism?
‘pragma not dogma’
What was Fletcher’s rebuttal to the criticism that his examples were too extreme?
Said that most of the time traditional rules and laws did work, so he needed to use extreme examples to show where SE could be beneficial
The church objected the SE by saying it focused too much on the individual and not enough on the what?
Community
What is St Paul’s criticism of SE
He believed that by following God’s rules, you are showing agape
What part of William Barclays background could have led to him being critical of SE?
He was part of the church of scotland
How did women in the workforce and the contraceptive pill and subsequent sexual revolution aid the development of SE?
They were incompatible with biblical teachings
