Situation ethics

Question 1

What does Fletcher divide moral thinking into?

Answer 1

Legalistic, antinomian and situational.

Question 2

What was Joseph Fletcher’s book and when was it published?

Answer 2

Situation ethics, 1966

Question 3

What does Fletcher think we should strive towards?

Answer 3

Agape (unconditional love).
Greek words adopted by Christians to describe Jesus’ crucifixion.
Selfless, it does not have to be returned.

Question 4

What is Fletcher’s first proposition?

Answer 4

The only thing which is intrinsically good is agapeic love.

Question 5

What is Fletcher’s second proposition?

Answer 5

Love is the ruling norm.

Question 6

What is the third proposition?

Answer 6

Justice is love

Question 7

What is the fourth proposition?

Answer 7

Love does not depend on emotion.

Question 8

What is the fifth proposition?

Answer 8

Love should be the goal.

Question 9

What is the sixth proposition?

Answer 9

Love should be considered in the context of each situation.

Question 10

What are the four working principles?

Answer 10

Pragmatism, relativism, personalism and conscience

Question 11

What is Pragmatism?

Answer 11

Doing the most practical thing.

Question 12

What is relativism?

Answer 12

Depends on situation.

Question 13

What is personalism?

Answer 13

Rules matter more than people.

Question 14

What is conscience?

Answer 14

The process of deciding the loving thing to do.

Question 15

What are some strengths of situation ethics?

Answer 15

• Relativist
• Does not have problems with being outdated.
• Autonomy
• fits well with Christian faith.

Question 16

What are some weaknesses of situation ethics?

Answer 16

• Relativist
• Difficult to apply
• Could be abused to justify heinous actions.

Question 17

What are the three approaches to moral thinking?

Answer 17

• Legalistic- laws.
• Situational- middle ground, depending on situation. Can put laws aside if love is better.
• Antinomian- opposite to legal, every moral decision is unique, no rules just own choices.

Question 18

Love central in the Bible:

Answer 18

Mark 12 says most important commandment, ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’.
St Paul, ‘the greatest of these is love’.

Question 19

Who is Fletcher inspired by?

Answer 19

• Archbishop William Temple, who said love is the ‘only one ultimate and invariable duty’.
• Rudolf Bultmann says Jesus had no other ethics other than ‘love thy neighbour’.

Question 20

How can we disagree with Fletcher through William Temple?

Answer 20

He says that love should be applied but:
‘How to do this is another question’.

Question 21

Fletcher’s conclusion:

Answer 21

‘Love is the only universal’.

Question 22

Relativism:

Answer 22

May be different motives for different situations, but the absolute maxim of love must be applied.

Question 23

Does Fletcher see situation ethics as Christian?

Answer 23

• No, he gives up his Christianity.
• Thinks non Christians are purely driven by love, whilst Christians find some other interior motive.

Question 24

Conscience and situation ethics:

Answer 24

• It is not a guide for human action.
• It is not a store of reliable rules.
• it is not an inner voice with access to divine truth.
• it is a verb, not a noun. It is a doing word, process of moral reasoning formed by love.

Question 25

Biblical example of love:

Answer 25

1 Corinthians, ‘love is patient and love is kind’.

Question 26

Biblical example against love:

Answer 26

• Sodom and Gomorrah ‘brimstone and fire’.
• ‘The binding of Isaac’.

Question 27

William Barclay:

Answer 27

‘first of all we must make a man morally and lovingly fit to make that decision’.
Things like masochism exist, people enjoy watching pain.

Question 28

Strengths of situation ethics:

Answer 28

• Relativist when rule based ethics are not helpful. Should they have abided by the laws of the nazis??
• Provides guides rather than rules, so we can really be gratified for doing the right thing.
• Justice is fair, because it can lead to people taking advantage and using it as a ‘loop hole’, but doesn’t this give us a clearer insight into who should be punished?

Question 29

Weaknesses:

Answer 29

• Teleological (outcome), but how is it possible to predict the outcome?
• Does not provide a simply outcome, just showing love does not give us an answer, just comfort.
• ‘Ripples in a pond theory’, how far should our love go??
• We are selfish, according to Augustine (Original sin) is it realistic for us to be purely based on love???

Question 30

Critiques to Situation ethics:

Answer 30

• Rev John Macquarrie, it’s too individualistic, which can never be a basis for social morality.
• DZ Phillips, ‘whatever one does, one is going to hurt someone’. (Ripple in a pond). Getting someone a nice present, labourers in different countries.