Situation Ethics Flashcards
Give 4 keywords to describe SE
It is teleological,
relative, consequential, agapeistic
What does Fletcher say about SE breaking laws for love’s need?
‘The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need’
What does the taxi cab example tell us about SE
‘Sometimes you’ve gotta put your own principles to one side and do the right thing’.
What does Bernard Hoose say?
Bernard Hoose devised proportionalism where there are fixed rules which may be broken during certain circumstances.
What is SE the middle ground of
legalistic and antinomian ethics.
What does Paul Tillich say?
Rules should offer guidelines- Paul Tillich
What is personalism based on?
People always come first, based on Jesus breaking the law on Sabbath to heal a man.
What quote does Jesus use for personalism?
‘Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’.
What is Fletcher’s main quote to support personalism?
Fletcher suggests that the legalist asks ‘’what is the law?’’ whereas a situationist asks ‘’who is to be helped?’’. Fletcher suggests that Jesus replaced Law with Love by the Great Commandment to love God and your neighbour as yourself.
What is love is the only means?
love is the only means through which the end consequence of love justifies the means.
What does relativism mean?
CONSEQUENCES
Explain the Mrs Bergemeir example which working principle does it support?
Mrs Bergemeir who was imprisoned by the Russians at the end of the Second World War, the only way for her to be reunited with her family in Germany was to be pregnant, consequently she had sex with a guard in order to become pregnant and was sent back to Germany. This example illustrates a rule being broken of adultery in order to serve love’s purpose.
How does agape love differentiate between other types of love?
Fletcher differentiates from eros and philia through his principle of love is not liking, and willing the neighbour’s good we should show love even towards our enemies.
How are justice and love connected?
Fletcher suggests through agape love we have a duty to everyone. ‘Justice is love distributed’. If love is put into practice, it can only result in justice and justice is the giving to every person what is their due.
Fletcher stated his theory was more flexible than legalism and more principled than antinomianism
what does this mean .
Fletcher’s SE is seen as the middle ground of the legalistic and antinomian ethics because unlike legalists it does break rules for love’s need and unlike antinomian it doesn’t support life without rules and chaos.
What does kairos mean? Where does it come from?
Fletcher uses a Greek word ‘Kairos’ which is often used in the New Testament, Fletcher uses it to mean a ‘moment of decision’ of which your own rules or principles need to be put aside.
What is pragmatism?
give 2 examples
Embryonic research
Mary and Jodie, conjoined twins
As a strength what does Rudolf say
Rudolf Bultmann ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’
A ……… version of Christian Ethics that allows Christians to cope with the …….e.g. homosexuality and premarital sex of modern society.s a strength, fill the gaps..
Modernised
liberalism
What does Pope Pius XII say
Pope Pius XII SE contravenes natural moral laws ‘God’s revealed will’ which are the specific guideline of God.
What does Barclay say about human nature
Human nature craves rules
What does Barclay say about Fletcher’s extraordinary situations?
Fletcher’s cases are extreme one we are not likely to make life and death choices everyday ‘it is much easier to agree that extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures than to think that there are no laws for ordinary everyday life.’
What does Paul Ramsey say?
Our ideas of love may be subjective rather than objective e.g. euthanasia family members will not want this but person in pain will, raises the issue on whose
Paul Ramsey we need the insight of rules decisions to be made more straightforward.
What does Barclay say on individualism?
Barclay ‘too much individualism means the weakening of the law” humanity is not mature enough.
