Situation ethics Flashcards
Who was Fletcher?
-Introduced Situation Ethics
-Humanist
-Disagreed with ‘absolute’ principles
“Nothing is inherently right or wrong, everything should be done according to the most loving thing specific to the situation” - Fletcher
What are Fletcher’s 3 approaches to moral thinking
-Legalistic (laws)
-Situational (depends on situation)
-Antinomian (no laws, rules or principles of ethics, opposite of legalistic)
What are the 4 working principles
Relativism= only love is absolute, rules/laws are relative to the situation.
Pragmatism= what is good is what works in practice and maximises love.
Positivism= “only one thing is intrinsically good; namely, love” (love is the most important moral value and should be the guide for all moral decision-making).
Personalism= rules should serve people as they are at the centre of concern, we should only follow rules that benefit us. “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath”.
What are Fletcher’s Six Propositions?
Love only is always good.
Love is the only norm.
Love is justice distributed.
Love is not liking.
Love justifies its means.
Love decides there and then.
What is the main argument of situation ethics?
Decisions should be made based on how much agape an action will produce.
The most morally good decision is the one that produces the most agape.
Strengths of situation ethics
-Flexible and practical
-Takes into account the complexity of human life.
-Doesn’t treat humans as autonomous beings.
-Takes into account subjective nature of situations and modern issues.
-Puts humans first.
-Don’t have to follow legalistic rules that may bring about unloving consequences.
Weaknesses of situation ethics
-Catholic Church fully rejects it.
-Makes decision-making complicated.
-Some may abuse the idea that ‘love justifies the means’ e.g rape.
-Places too much pressure on the individual.
-Inconsistent with some Bible teachings.
