Situation Ethics Flashcards
Situation Ethics is between
Legalism and antinomianism
Jesus summed up all laws as
‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’ Mark 12:31, Matthew 22:39
Why did Joseph Fletcher said Jesus didn’t have ethics?
He didn’t judge like the church did, argued with Pharisees about how law obsessed they were
Agape translates to
charity; is love not based on feelings but an act of will
Criticism of SE
- People who like pain will inflict on others.
- Justifies actions against God/law-some things are never right.
- Individualistic - can’t be certain your view’s right – humans are selfish by nature.
- Agape is near impossible.
- Need law to guide us in right direction.
Positives of SE
- Flexible, choose least bad action, lesser of two evils.
- Know someone’s beng moral out of their own choice.
- Freedom to make own decisons.
- Jesus puts people before law.
- Heavy rules not always best.
SE should look at all possible solutions and find?
What gives most consideration to the person, the most pragmatic, most loving to everyone
Fletcher says conscience is
Weighing up the action before it’s taken
How is SE different to traditional Christian ethics?
- It is situational.
- Not strict.
- Justifies actions against God’s will.
- Only one main rule.
- Pope Pious says it’s ‘too individualistic and subjective’.
SE is similar to Christianity because?
- Jesus did agape (mixed with sinners etc)
- Said love your neighbour,
- Set aside rules to put ppl 1st
Six fundamental principles:
Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else.
The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else.
Love and justice are te same, fr justice is love distributed, nothing else.
Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not.
Only the end justifies the means, nothing else.
Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.
Four presumptions
Pragmatism.
Relativism.
Positivism.
Personalism.
Define Pragmatism
The proposed course of action must be practical and work towards an end which is love
Define Relativism
SE is relativistic: there are no moral absolutes, no fixed rules, but Fletcher says decisions must be relative to Christian love
Define Positivism
Acting on experience rather than just obeying law. Christians freely choose to believe that God is love and act in a way reasonable to this faith
Define Personalism
The situationist puts people first whereas the legalist puts law first. People are more sacred than rules
What is proportionalism?
- Rules should be obeyed unless it’s proportionally worse than not obeying.
- Things are still seen objectively as wrong but morally can be right in some situations.
- A compromise between natural law and SE.
What is contextual ethics?
- Like SE but decisions are made by Christians and keep God’s will.
- Keep love central and avoid generalised laws.
What did St Paul write in Ephesians about Jesus and the law
That ‘Christ Jesus.. abolished the law with its commandments and legal claims’
Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else.
First proposition: actions are good or evil depending on whether they give the most loving result: actions are extrinsically good.
The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else.
Second proposition: The commandments are not absolute, for example Jesus broke the Sabbath in order to heal
Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else.
Third proposition: justice is love coping with situations where distribution is called for
Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not.
Fourth proposition: agape love goes out to everyone, even those we don’t like, it is unconditional and nothing is required in return.
Only the end justifies the means, nothing else.
Fifth proposition: the morality of an action is determined by it’s outcome and Fletcher says the end must be the most loving result: people must weight up the desired end and foreseeable consequences.
Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.
Sixth proposition: whether something is right or wrong depends on the situation, and if it will bring out an end that serves love most, then it’s right.
Who said: the Situationist avoids words like ‘never’ and ‘perfect’ .. As he avoids the plague, as he avoids ‘absolutely’ about relativism
Joseph Fletcher
Who agrees with Kant to treat people as ends and what does it mean?
Joseph Fletcher, and it means all humans have dignity and value so should be treated uniquely and sets them apart from all other creation.
Who said the law of love is the ultimate law?
Tillich
Who said ‘the situationist avoids words like ‘never’ and ‘perfect’ .. as he avoids ‘absolutely’
Fletcher about relativism
What does Fletcher say all decisions must be relative to
Christian love
What is Paul Lehmann associated with
Contextual ethics
Who uses the example of a ‘just war’
Thomas Aquinas: proportionalism says that ‘do not kill’ usually applies but there are circumstances where it is right it overrule the moral principle
Who feels that the freedom from SE is terrifying ‘you - just you - have to make the right decision’
William Barclay
What does Barclay say freedom can become
Licence, selfishness or even cruelty
Who said SE is ‘individualistic and subjective’
Pope Pius XII 1952
Who said SE can ‘justify decisions in opposition to the natural law or God’s revealed will’
Pope Pius XII 1952
What are ‘pastoral reasons’ that sometimes feature in Christian (catholic?) churches
Local ministers differentiate how they apply laws to people in certain situations - they recognise heavy rules in complex/difficult situations might not always be most helpful
Who thinks we are heavily influenced in all sorts of ways and we need the law to push us in the direction of what is right
William Barclay
Who said ‘nothing we do is truly moral unless we’re free to do otherwise’
Joseph Fletcher
Who says that legalism cripples our ability to make moral decisions in the moment when we’re faced with moral dilemmas of our own
Bauman
Who says ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ is the ultimate duty
Bultmann
Who said ‘the situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need’
Fletcher
What does Fletcher say conscience is not?
- intuition.
- form of divine guidance.
- internalised values of your culture.
Who said ‘love relativises the absolute’ and what does it mean
Joseph Fletcher, that all decisions should be relative to love
Fletcher’s quote about conscience
‘Conscience is merely a word for our attempts to make decisions creatively, constructively, fittingly’
Fletcher quote on agape
‘Love is not something we have or are, it is something we do’
Fletcher quote on pragmatism
‘All are agreed: the good is what works, .. what gives satisfaction’
What does Fletcher agape should be for others
In their ‘best interests’
What is the only intrinsic good and the ruling norm of Christian decision making
Agape
One of Fletcher’s examples
Sacrificial adultery
What is situation
The concrete moment when a decision is made
How did Fletcher respond to the idea of fixed moral absolutes
“There are no rules, none at all”
What does Fletcher say love is
The Holy Spirit working within us
Justice is Christian love using its head, calculating its duties, obligations, opportunities, resources.
Fletcher on the third principle
Positivsm
Arational
