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A Level Religious Studies > Situation Ethics > Flashcards

Situation Ethics Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
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1
Q

Who is the key scholar for situation ethics?

A

Joseph Fletcher

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2
Q

What was Fletchers approach to Christianity?

A

His approach embodies liberal christianity through the rejection of the traditional Christian approach to ethics of strict moral laws.
He attempted a reduction of Christian ethics to what many would agree is the overarching theme of Jesus’ ethics: love.

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3
Q

Legalism

A

The view that people require fixed rules to follow.

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4
Q

Antinomianism

A

The view that there are no rules or laws to follow at all.

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5
Q

Downside of legalism

A

Legalism cannot take the situation into account.

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6
Q

Downside of antinomianism

A

It leads to moral chaos.

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7
Q

Upside of legalism

A

It has a clear guidance for people to follow.

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8
Q

Upside of antinomianism

A

It is able to take the situation into account.

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9
Q

How does situation ethics meet a middle ground of legalism and antinomianism?

A

Situation ethics takes the situation into account, gives clear guidance and avoids moral chaos.
It does this by claiming that love is the one single absolute principle which should be applied in all situations.

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10
Q

Agape

A

Jesus says the greatest commandment is to “love your neighbour as yourself”.
All other religious rules, principles and commandments only have value insofar as they enable agape.

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11
Q

Pragmatism

A

An action must be calibrated to the reality of the situation.

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12
Q

Relativism

A

Absolute laws become relative to love.

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13
Q

Positivism

A

Ethics had to begin with faith in love.

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14
Q

Personalism

A

Puts people above rules and absolutes.

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15
Q

The six fundamental principles

A

Axioms which follow from agape being at the centre of ethics.

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16
Q

Only love is intrinsically good

A

love is always unconditionally and therefore intrinsically good.

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17
Q

The ruling norm of christian decision is love; nothing else.

A

Christian teaching of agape is at the centre of decision making.

18
Q

Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else.

A

Maximising agape is the only ethical goal.
Justice reduces to love.

19
Q

Love wills the neighbours good whether we like him or not.

A

Jesus called on us to love thy neighbour no matter who they are.

20
Q

Only the end justifies the mean; nothing else.

A

If the consequence of an action is the most loving then it is good, it doesn’t matter what the action is.

21
Q

Love decides there and then.

A

we have to decide there and then in that situation what the right thing to do is.

22
Q

Conscience

A

Conscience was a verb not a noun, indicating he disagreed with the traditional view that conscience is an internal moral compass or mental ability to intuitively know what is right and wrong. (Natural Law)

23
Q

How is situation ethics designed for a modern society?

A

Now people are more civilised, to the point that granting them more autonomy will increase love without risking the stability of society.

24
Q

William Barclays argument

A

Situation ethics gives moral agents a dangerous amount of freedom.
For freedom to be good, love has to be perfect.
Mankind has not yet come of age and still needs the crutch and protection of law.

25
Q

Weakness of William Barclay’s argument

A

Legalism has worse downsides such as inflexibility and outdatedness.
It makes sense for Fletcher to develop a morality which reflects the fact that people can be trusted with more freedom.

26
Q

Defence of Barclays argument

A

Power corrupts.
It echoes the debate to what extend is human nature corrupted by original sin.
Relevant in psychology like the Stanford prison experiment and literature like the lord of the flies.
The freedom to decide what is good or bad without external supervision of legalistic laws grants humans more power and thereby corrupts them.

27
Q

Taking the Bible literally and the downsides of this

A

People could take the Bible literally, but no one ever can live that way.
They could interpret the Bible, however it is impossible to know which interpretation is correct.

28
Q

Weakness of sola scriptura

A

Although love is central, it is not the only element of Biblical Christian ethics.
Fletcher has diluted Christian ethics info just loving and wanting the best for others, this is not distinctive from secular morality or a general well-wishing.

29
Q

W.L Craig

A

The bible shows Gods justice is just as important as his love.
Fletcher could be right that justice is love distributed.

30
Q

Representation of Jesus

A

Jesus overturned rules, allowed the breaking of the Sabbath and said that the greatest commandment was to love your neighbour as yourself.

31
Q

Richard Mouw

A

It makes no sense to reduce Christian ethics to only one of Jesus’ commandments when Jesus made other commandments too.
We either regard Jesus as a source of moral authority or we don’t.

32
Q

Defending Situation ethics, Jesus’ teachings

A

Jesus himself was an example of taking a progressive and situationist approach to ethical commands.

33
Q

Critiquing Situation ethics representing the ethics of Jesus.

A

Would Jesus have bothered to make any other commandments if agape is the only one which ultimately matters.
By calling love the greatest commandment may have meant something else, such as the one which is relevant in most situations.

34
Q

C. Hitchens

A

To love your neighbour as yourself is only good if the way you love yourself if good.

35
Q

Defending the subjectivity issue

A

Agape is not treating your neighbour as you would like to be treated, it is living your neighbour as yourself.

36
Q

Critiquing the subjectivity issue

A

Fletcher has diluted Christian ethics into just doing what a person subjectively perceives to be loving, his theory is sliding into antinomianism.

37
Q

Catholics and sanctity of life

A

Ethical values such as the sanctity of life, no matter what the pragmatic situation is, the value of life cannot be relativized.
The stability of society is threatened by relativistic ethical theories.

38
Q

Mother Theresa and sanctity of life

A

“The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion. If a mother can kill her own child in her womb, what is left for you and me to kill each other”.

39
Q

Social order arguments faults

A

Northern Europe countries, being mostly atheistic, are some of the most stable and happy in the world.
It doesn’t seem true that ethical principles are a requirement for social order.
Fletchers situationism doesn’t lead to antinomianism.

40
Q

Defence of Catholic argument

A

If a culture devalues life that could threaten social stability.
Fletchers overly individualistic situationism thus leads to antinomianism.

41
Q

What is according to Peter singer the universal viewpoint?

A

everyone looks at things with the same set of eyes, and that can hardly be true.

A Level Religious Studies (7 decks)

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