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ETHICS > SITUATION ETHICS > Flashcards

SITUATION ETHICS Flashcards

1
Q

What kind of theory is it, who developed it, what is it inspired by

BASIC DETAILS

A
  • A relativist, consequentalist theory. It doesn’t prescribe fixed rules; it considers outcomes of actions
  • First developed by Joseph Fletcher in Situation Ethics (1966)
  • Inspired by Jesus’ gospel of love (agape).
  • Fletcher appealed to the biblicar scholar Rudolf Bultmann, who said “Jesus taught no ethics other than love thy neighbour”
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2
Q

What does it translate to and what does it mean when used in the bible

AGAPE

A
  • Translates as ‘love’ - not to be confused with other forms e.g Eros (erotic love)
  • Refers to an unconditional sacrificial love that intentionally desires another’s highest good.
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3
Q

st louis taxi driver

KEY QUOTE

A

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

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4
Q

What is it and what does it result in?

LEGALISM

A
  • An overreliance on rules e.g by time of Jesus, Pharisees had 613 specific rules (mitzvahs) to uphold
    -Puts people below the law= suffering and pain
  • People serving laws, not laws serving people
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5
Q

What is it and what does it result in?

ANTINOMIANISM

A
  • Means no laws
  • Antinomians believe in freedom to act as one sees fit in any circumstances e.g some Christians may claim to act ‘as the spirit leads’
  • Yet, having no rules leads to anarchy + chaos
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6
Q

What is it and what does it aim to do?

SITUATIONISM

A
  • lnvolves taking the principles of your community and using them to ‘illuminate’ situations.
  • For Fletcher, this means knowing when to apply the principle and when to recognise exceptions
  • Situationists know what agape requires in that situation
  • Attempts to make a middle way between legalism and antinomianism and is, according to Fletcher is the right approach between the two extremes
  • Key principle of Situation ethics: DO WHAT AGAPE REQUIRES IN THE SITUATION
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7
Q

Compromising/Following or Violating/Morality

KEY QUOTES FOR SITUATIONISM

A
  • “He is prepared in any situation to compromise them [ethical maxims of his community] … if love seems better served by doing so”
  • “The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need”
  • “The morality of an action depends upon the situation”
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8
Q

welfare of parents and children

DIVORCE LAW QUOTE

A

**If the emotional and spiritual welfare of both parents and children… can be served best by divorce… then love requires it **

Cited in Honest God, 1963 by John Robinson

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9
Q

Some of Jesus’ teachings that fit the message of situation ethics

INSPIRED BY JESUS’ EXAMPLES

A
  • Jesus’ disciples working on the Sabbath- broke one of the commandments: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27)
  • The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37): Jesus exposes the limitations of legalism in compared to serving agape. The Priest did the right thing according to law but the wrong thing according to love.
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10
Q

what is a presupposition

THE FOUR WORKING PRESUPPOSITIONS

A

AN ASSUMPTION- WHAT THE THEORY IS BASED UPON

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11
Q

THE FOUR WORKING PRESUPPOSITIONS: PRAGMATISM

A
  • Being practical rather than ideological
  • Based on experience rather than theory
  • “A pragmatist… turns away from abstraction and insufficiency… bad a priori reasons… fixed principles… towards correctness and adequacy” William James

James W, Writings 1902-1920

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12
Q

THE FOUR PRESUPPOSITIONS: RELATIVISM

A
  • There are no fixed laws which must always be obeyed
  • This doesn’t mean it was a free for all- it is based on making the absolute laws of Christian ethics relative
  • e.g: Love is the absoluye, everything else is relative to it. Love is the ‘why’ of our action- that never changes, it’s fixed + absolute
  • Fletcher sees relativism in Jesus’ behaviour- rejecting fixed rule mentalty + being prepared to break rules in ways relative to love
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13
Q

THE FOUR PRESUPPOSITIONS: POSITIVISM

A
  • Love is posited as true or good without demonstrating this is the case
  • Situation ethics depends on Christians freely choosing faith that God is love so giving 1st place to Christian love.
  • It begins with belief in the reality and importance of love.
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14
Q

THE FOUR PRESUPPOSITIONS: PERSONALISM

A
  • People come first, not rules or ideals
  • The situationist puts people first and asks what to do to help humans best
  • “Situation ethics puts people at the centre of concern, not things” - Fletcher
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15
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 1

A
  • Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely love: nothing else at all
  • Actions are not intrinsically good or evil- they are good or evil depending upon whether they promote the most loving result
  • Only love is truly good in itself
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16
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 2

A
  • The ruling norm of Christian decision is love, nothing else
  • In the New Testament, Jesus consistently replaces the Old Testament laws with the principle of love
  • Where law and love conflict, we must follow love
  • Fletcher reminds us that Jesus summed up the whole Jewish law as “Love God” and “Love thy neighbour”
17
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 3

A
  • Love and Justice are the same for justice is love distributed, nothing else
  • “Justice is Christian love using its head, calculating its duties, obligation, opportunities, resources” - Justice is Christian love being applied rationally, in a calculated manner
18
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 4

A
  • Love wills the neighbour’s good whether we like him or not
  • Love is an attitude, not a feeling
  • Agape love is selfless but not necessarily reciprocal- the neighbour can be anyone we come across
  • Fletcher notes that Jesus’ command to love even extends to our enemies ‘ Love thy enemies’
19
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 5

A
  • Only the end justifies the means, nothing else
  • Fletcher is not suggesting that any end is justified by any means, but that any loving end is justfied by any means
  • It is whether the end is worthwhile that determines if the action is worthwhile e.g WWII Resistance fighters who routinely lied, stole and killed its own members (the means) to serve a loving cause (the end)
20
Q

THE SIX PROPOSITIONS: NUMBER 6

A
  • Love’s decisions are made situationally, not presciptively
  • Love is the norm, but it doesn’t tell us what to do in a certain situation
  • We have to gather the facrs rather than decided the case before we know the facts
  • e.g sexual ethics- Christians have become overly obsessed with rules at the expense of deciding on a situational basis
  • Fletcher doesn’t answer the question as to whether adultery is wrong, he replies “Give me a real case”
21
Q

before abortion became illegal

CASE STUDIES: ABORTION AFTER RAPE

A
  • 1962- young patient at a psych unit becomes pregnant after being raped by a fellow patient
  • Patient’s father requested an abortion takes place but doctor refused on ground that abortion was only permitted when the mother’s life was in danger
  • KEY POINT: This case study illustrates how legalism can make the wrong decision
22
Q

Insurance

CASE STUDIES: SACRIFICIAL SUICIDE/EUTHANASIA

A
  • Terminally ill man offered expensive medical treatment that will probs prolong his life for a few extra months, keeping him alive long enough for his med insurance to run out- his family wouldn’t benefit when he dies
  • If he refuses the medication and dies before his insurance runs out, his family would recieve a generous sum
  • KEY POINT: Situation ethics is a teleological, ethical theory. What makes an action right is that it leads to a good outcome
  • Fletcher is a pragmatist- it’s more important that a course of action works rather than is right, therefore in this case it may be permissible to break the normal moral rule and refuses treatment
23
Q

Prisoner of War

CASE STUDIES: SACRIFICIAL ADULTERY

A
  • German woman, Mrs Bergmeier, was in Russian prisoner of war camp. Became aware her family were alive in Germany but the only way to obtain release was through pregnancy (would be returned as a liability)
  • Persuaded a friendly camp guard to help her become pregnant and returned to her family
  • KEY POINT: SE relativist theory- what’s right or wrong depends on the situation. We should avoid words such as ‘always’ and ‘never’. In Mr Bergmeier’s case, adultery was morally justified and was the most loving thing.
24
Q

seduction to reduce war

CASE STUDIES: PATRIOTIC PROSTITUTION

A
  • A female government agent is asked by her superiors to seduce an enemy spy to order to obtain important information but she is unsure as to whether she could compromise her integrity in this way
  • The information she could get would shorten the war and save many lives- what should she do?
  • KEY POINT: Fletcher doesn’t suggest an answer. He has given us a method that will help us to decide for ourselves, it up to the young woman’s conscience. For Fletcher, conscience is a verb not a noun
25
Q

FLETCHER ON CONSCIENCE

A
  • According to Fletcher, conscience is not a thing we possess
  • Conscience is an active process, it is a verb not a noun
26
Q

CASE STUDIES: JUSTIFIABLE MASS KILLING

A
  • First atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • Over 150,000 people were killed and even more than this were to die of their injuries in the months and years that followed. President Truman appointed a committee to decide on whether to use the weapon. Most favoured using it as it would shorten the war by years. Japan surrendered immediately after bombs were dropped.
  • FLETCHER LEAVES THIS OPEN ENDED
27
Q

STRENGTHS OF SITUATION ETHICS

A
28
Q
A

ETHICS (7 decks)

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