Situation Ethics

Question 1

What is a quote said by Joseph Fletcher to show the importance of love?

Answer 1

‘We ought to love people and use things; the essence of immorality is to love things and use people’

Question 2

What is situation ethics the mid-way between?

Answer 2

Legalism and antinomianism

Question 3

What is the bible story of the Woman caught in Adultery?

Answer 3

A woman who committed adultery is sent to Jesus.
The men ask what he says about it, expecting him to want to punish her.
Jesus asks which ever one of the men who hasn’t sinned to throw the first stone.
They all walk away one by one.
Jesus says ‘go and sin no more’

Question 4

What does the story of the Woman caught in Adultery show?

Answer 4

It shows how Jesus did not always support the idea that laws should underpin everyone’s actions as this can be hypocritical.

Question 5

What does Jesus mean when he tells the Pharisee’s that they have a tendency to ‘strain out a gnat but swallow a camel’?

Answer 5

There is too much focus on smaller, insignificant things rather than that which matters eg. justice.

Question 6

What happened on the William Brown ship in 1841?

Answer 6

The male passengers were ordered into the sea, when they refused they were thrown overboard.

Question 7

Why did Fletcher approve of what happened on the William Brown ship?

Answer 7

Fletcher states ‘it was bravely sinful, it was a good thing’

Question 8

What quote from Jesus shows that he taught agape?

Answer 8

‘Love the Lord your God with all you heart…Love you neighbor…there is no commandment greater than these’

Question 9

What quote from Corinthians teaches agape?

Answer 9

‘If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing’

Question 10

What are the four working principles?

Answer 10

Pragmatism

Positivism

Personalism

Relativism

Question 11

What is pragmatism?

Answer 11

The focus on ethics must be on what works - work out what will produce good outcomes.

‘A pragmatist turns towards concreteness and adequacy, towards facts, towards action and towards power’ - William James

Question 12

What is positivism?

Answer 12

Whereby you posit faith in love.

‘Thus Christian ethics posits faith in God…’ - Fletcher.

Eg. soldier in battlefield will shoot friend out of faith in God.

Question 13

What is personalism?

Answer 13

Idea of ethics being people centered.

‘Things are to be used, people are to be loved. It is immoral when people are used and things are loved’ - Fletcher

Question 14

What is relativism?

Answer 14

No fixed rules - avoids words like ‘never’ and ‘always’.

Situation ethics ‘relativizes the absolute, it does not absolutize the relative’ - Fletcher.

Question 15

What are the six propositions?

Answer 15

‘Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely love; nothing else at all’

‘The ruling norm of Christian decision is love; nothing else’

‘Love and justice is the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else’

‘Love wills the neighbor good whether we like him or not’

‘Only the end justifies the means, nothing else’

‘Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively’

Question 16

Abortion after rape - situation ethics applied

Answer 16

In 1962, a young patient at a psychiatric unit became pregnant after being raped by a fellow patient.
The doctors refused abortion as the mother’s life was not in danger.
Fletcher suggests that this was a wrong decision.

Question 17

Adultery - situation ethics applied

Answer 17

A Russian woman was in a prisoner of war camp, she became aware that her family were alive in Germany and were looking for her.
She persuaded a camp guard to help her become pregnant as this was the only way that she could be released.
She was then able to reunite with her family.

Question 18

Strengths of situation ethics

Answer 18

It is flexible - deals with exceptional situations.

It enables a decision to be made in each situation.

It always for there to be a choice between the lesser of two evils.

It is person-centered - close to the teachings of Jesus.

Love as a principle is hard to object to - it is a compassionate theoretical framework.

Question 19

What is the Truman dilemma?

Answer 19

America dropped a nuclear bomb in order to end the war.
Truman had a moral dilemma as dropping the bomb arguably saved lives as no more people died from fighting, bit many lives were still lost.

Question 20

What is ‘sophia’?

Answer 20

Wisdom of the church and culture.

Question 21

What is ‘kairos’?

Answer 21

Moment of decision where a person considers whether love can be served in sophia.

Question 22

Advantages of agape

Answer 22

According to Jesus, it sums up the most important commandments.

Useful in knowing what rules can be accepted and broken - it is flexible.

It is relativist and hard to manipulate.

Agape prevents self-centered decision making.

Question 23

Disadvantages of agape

Answer 23

Can be interpreted in more than one way.

Most cases require rules to be followed.

Too optimistic

Question 24

How is Fletcher highly selective when using Jesus’ words?

Answer 24

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law’ - Sermon on the Mount

Jesus arguably said that you should follow rules as well as being loving.

Question 25

What did Pope Pius XII call situation ethics?

Answer 25

‘an individualistic and subjective appeal to the concrete circumstances of actions to justify decisions in opposition to the natural law or God’s revealed will’.

Question 26

An example of where Jesus breaks the Sabbath rules?

Answer 26

Jesus picks corn on the Sabbath day - shows how not all rules are reasonable.

Question 27

Weaknesses of situation ethics

Answer 27

It is subjective in its interpretation of Jesus.

It overlooks the importance of consequences.

There are challenges with how it should be applied.

It undermines moral authority.