Situation Ethics Flashcards
Agape
Greatest form of Christian love and is known for being a selfless act without expecting anything in return
Who was it developed by
Joseph fletcher in the mid 20th century
What are the 4 working principles
Personalism, pragmatism, positivitism, relativism
Where does it lie on the scale
Between antinomianism (no rules or restrictions) and legalism creating moral standard due to law)
Criticism of situation ethics
William Barkley: fletcher only used extreme samples to justify his decisions, he also argued to optimistically about the capacity of humans to make the correct decisions and lastly he states that fletcher was too unrealistic in term of his free humans are every if there is no law to guide them as environment and upbringing all have an impact on the choices we make
Fletchers view on homosexuality
• He argued that human laws and attitudes towards sex and homosexuality were outdated inconsistent, hypocritical and unjust
• He was said to have states that to treat people with prejudice and discrimination on account of their sexuality was not a proper legal approach
• Fletcher argued that any law based upon the presupposition of apparent ‘sin’ is unreliable and controversial
What 3 criteria did fletcher say in order for homosexuality to take be considered ethical in his opinion
the age of consent, infringement of public decency and acts involving assault violence distress or fraud
Fletchers view of polyamory
• Pragmatism - a person may find it hard to practically walk away from polyamory
• Positivism - relying on values like trust and communication and honesty rather than focusing in NMLs (which would go against these types of relationships)
• Relativism - suggests that are no absolute rules when it comes to polyamorous relationships
• Personalism - championing individuals over fixed rules