situation ethics Flashcards
situation ethics is an x theory
- relativist
- teleological/consequentialist
4 working principles
- pragmatism - for a course of action, it must be practical
- relativism - rules don’t always apply, acts are moral relative to the outcome
- positivism - values are decided by starting with faith and ‘positively’ reasoning what is right from there
- personalism - people are of ultimate moral value, they come above the law.
legalism
over reliance on rules. natural law is an example of excessive legalism.
antinomianism
‘no laws’ - can act as they see fit in any circumstance as they interpret the spirit. BUT could lead to anarchy
situationism
the right approach between legalism and antinomianism. using community principles to “illuminate” your situation, knowing when to apply and when there should be exceptions
strengths of fletcher
+ flexibility
+ one principle to follow enables us to address difficult moral dilemmas eg axe murderer
+ agape is a good principle
+ jesus supports over legalism
+ practical and realistic even in modern times
+ not limited to reason alone
+ follows the golden rule
C.S. Lewis
- differentiates between types of love eg Storge is family , Philia is friends, Eros, and Agape (an unconditional love, greater than all others
situation ethics weaknesses
- in banning absolutes, theory has no clear boundaries
- vague, what is most loving may be a matter of opinion
- McQuarrie - situation ethics is hard to apply across all society
- too subjective, can individuals discern the right action without reference to rules
- too individualistic - new testament emphasises love from duties and communities but S.E. isolates the church by abandoning tradition
- consequentialist, cannot predict future.
fletcher on conscience
“the traditional error lies in thinking about conscience as a noun instead of a verb”
mark 12:28-31
jesus is asked what i s most important commandment - he answers “love the lord then love thy neighbour”
matthew 5:44
“love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
mark 3:1-6
jesus - “which is lawful on the sabbath: do good or do evil, to save a life or kill”
= response to pharisees who refused to do anything on the sabbath, sabbath made for man, not man for the sabbath
luke 10:25-37
the good samaritan
= rejects legalism
fletcher quote on love
“love is the only universal”
6 propositions
- only one thing is intrinsically good - LOVE
intrinsic fallacy, assrrts that good and bad are properties in our actions, so there are acts that are either intrinsically good/bad. - the ruing norm of christian decision is LOVE
jesus consistently replaces old testament with love eg healing someone on the sabbath. jesus protests legalism with the pharisees. good samaritan - “love and justice are the same - justice is love distributed”
quote from situation ethics - love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not
your neighbour is ANYONE - only the ends justify the means
teleological. Mrs Bergemier and other examples - love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively
fletcher justifies as jesus reacted against legalism w/ pharisees
fletcher examples - sacrificial suicide
- doctors offer pills that could keep him alive for 3 years but if he didnt he woudl die in 6 months.
= if he didnt take the pills, the insurance would come thru and his family would be left with some security
=> die
fletcher examples - mrs bergemeier
- sacrificial adultery
- can only leave concentration camp if you’re pregnant but she has a family to look after.
= she should get pregnant and use the man as a means to an end.
BUT where does it end, is any immoral act justified if you are getting back to children.
fletcher examples - patriotic prostitition
- had to seduce and sleep with an enemy spy in order to lure him into blackmail and use him as a double agent.
= do it
neil messer
S.E. has not worn well and is little more than historical curiosity - looks “distinctly thin”
pope pius 1952
rejected S.S. as it can justify opposition to natural law.
also that it is “individualistic and subjective”
augustine and barth and calvin and William Barclay
- humans lost ability to reason in the fall, presupposes human capacities of intuition
- barth also said that S.E. is vague as what is “the most loving thing” = better to follow divine revelation eg bible and church tradition
- Barclay - humans cannot be trusted to do the right thing and would only work if “all men were angels”
calvin, we should rely only on scripture, therefore reduces christianity to agape
fletcher rejection of christianity
in Situation Ethics ‘67 describes christianity as “weird and untenable” = the theistic theory collapses.
