Situation Ethics Flashcards
Who created Situation Ethics?
Joseph Fletcher
Why did Fletcher propose situation ethics?
He was opposed to war
-> wanted to re-establish what he considered, the most important aspect of Christain morlaity = the law of love (agape)
When did Fletcher propose situation ethics?
1950s-1960s
-> during the radical movements and the war
What was situation ethics inspired by?
Jesus’ gospel message of agape love
-> grounded in the gospel
-> Jesus taught no ethics apart from “love thy neighbour”
-> inspired particularly by “God is love” - John
What is Agape?
Unconditional Christian love which reflects the love of God, and is based on mutual acceptance
What did Fletcher believe you should do when making moral decisions?
Always do the most loving thing in every sitaution
What are the key principles of agape love?
-> it is unconditional
-> it takes an active interest in the true welfare of others
-> it is a human immitation of God’s love for humans
What are the four working principles
1) Pragmatism
2) Personalism
3) Positivism
4) Relativism
What does the 4WP of Pragmatism mean?
For a course of action to be right, it has to be practical, and must work
-> based on experience not theory
What does the 4WP of Personalism mean?
People, not laws or anything else, are at the centre of SE
What does the 4WP of Positivism mean?
You must start with a positive choice and want to do good
-> begins with belief in the reality and importance of love
What does the 4WP of Relativism mean?
Based on making absolute laws of Christian ehtics relative
What are the six propositions?
1) Love is always good
2) Love is the only norm (rule)
3) Love and justice are the same
4) Love is not liking
5) Love justifies the means
6) Love decides there and then
Which 6P’s link to which 4WP’s?
Pragmatism =
-> 5. Love justifies the means
-> 6. Love decides there and then
Personalism =
-> 4. Love is not liking
Positivism =
-> 1. Love is always good
-> 3. Love and justice are the same
Realtivism =
-> 2. Love is the only norm (rule)
What are Fletcher’s three ways of making moral decisions?
He maintained that the three ways to make moral decisons are:-
1. Legalistic Ethics
2. Antinomian Ethics
3. Situation Ethics
What did Tillich say about love?
Tillich - “the law of love is the ultimate law”
What did Fletcher say about the conscience?
Conscience is a VERB
-> something you do when making moral decisons = an action
-> to act on our conscience we must be in the situation and experiencing it
-> outcome could not have been known beforehand = revealed
What does Fletcher reject about the conscience?
1) Its an intuition
2) Its a channel for divine guidance
3) Its the internalised values of an individuals culture
4) Its the part of reason that makes value judgements
What are the strengths of Situation Ethics?
-> 4WP’s and 6P’s provide useful guidance and stops it being too subjective
-> Jesus broke the Sabbath law in favour of personalism (e.g. plucked grain)
-> Bultmann = jesus had no ethics other than “love thy neighbour”
-> Libby Ahuluwalia = theory can never become obsolete, because it can adopt to any situation
-> Archbishop Desmond Tutu = expressed importance of gaining justice to uphold love for the oppressed
-> Bowie = flexible, practical and it fits with the modern day world
-> One persons conscience may be different to anothers, which explains why we come to different decisions
What are the weaknesses of Situation Ethics?
-> Pope Pius XII = condemned the situationist approach, stating “it is an opposition to the Natural Law or God’s revealed will”
-> “Love thy neighbour” is only half the rule, loving God is te other half and so we should follow the divine laws
-> St Paul = rejects the idea that we may “do evil so that good may come” because the ends never justify the means
-> Macquarrie = too individualistic and people tend to be selfish
-> Barclay = too subjective and it ignores whether an action is right or wrong, just opinion “man has not yet come of age” - we need rules
-> Tillich = allowing individual moral choices will lead to chaos
