Situation ethics Flashcards
Introduction to situation ethics
o Situation ethics is a Christian ethical theory which differs from natural law and other legalist forms of biblical ethics.
o Its supporters suggest it’s consistent with the representation of Jesus in the Gospel, it’s viewed as a flexible and a practical theory, based on love (agape).
o Critics think it’s unjust, individualistic and socially destructible. It’s viewed by many Christians as controversial and it’s rejected by the Catholic Church and many conservative Protestant Churches.
What is agape love?
o Joseph Fletcher argued that his ethics were supported by the representation of Jesus in the Gospels.
o Joseph Fletcher (1905-91) argued that love was what morality should serve. He thought that someone making a moral decision should be prepared to set aside rules if it seemed that love would be better served by doing so. ‘The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need’ (Fletcher, Situation Ethics).
o Fletcher explains Agape is the unconditional love that every Christian should have between each other. He states that this is shown in the New Testament where it commands us to love our neighbour. This Agape love is the love God showed the world when he sent his son to die. Jesus had no ethics except for “love thy neighbour as thyself” which is the ultimate duty.
What is the first propositions?
‘Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else at all’. This tells us that actions are good or evil depending on whether they promote the most loving result. Particular acts don’t have love in them, they are right or wrong depending on the situation. For example, you may tell a white lie to someone to not hurt their feelings, even though it was a lie it did however promote a loving result.
What is the second proposition?
‘The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else’. Jesus decided to work on Sabbath day, rejecting the obligation of the Sabbath observance and he replaced the Torah with principle love. Another example is euthanasia, while it is forbidden in Christianity it is however viewed by some as the most loving thing to do.
What is the third proposition?
‘Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else’. An example of this is Martin Luther King’s fight for justice towards black people, even though racial segregation was the law.
What is the fourth proposition?
‘Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not’. The love that fletcher talks about isn’t about feeling, but of attitude. It’s a desire for the good of the other person. E.g. treating every customer at a shop equally even if some are rude too you.
What is the fifth proposition?
‘Only the end justifies the means; nothing else’. The end must be the most loving result, whether something is lawful or not is irrelevant. Love is the goal or end of the act and that justifies any means to achieve that goal.
What is the sixth proposition?
‘Love decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively’. So for fletcher, Love has no rules to guide them. In all moral problems, if an action will bring about an end that serves love most, then it is right.
What are the four working principles?
- Pragmatism
- Relativism
- Positivism
- Personalism
What is pragmatism?
Pragmatism- being practical rather than always following belief in ideologies or systems. E.g. in 1990, during the Bosnian conflict many women were raped by Bosnians so they could create a generation of the invader’s offspring. This was a weapon used against civilian women to undermine their communities. While Christianity was pro-life, they did however allow these women to abort these children as it was the most loving thing to do.
What is relativism?
Relativism- There are no fixed rules that must always be obeyed. E.g. Jesus decided to work on Sabbath day which was against the law.
What is positivism?
Positivism- love is positioned as true or good without demonstrating this is the case. When the situationist is approached with a moral dilemma, their thinking begins with faith in love and not obedience to rules or trust in human reasoning.
What is personalism?
Personalism- the legalist puts the law first, but the situationist puts people first as Christians need to take responsibility of each other. Its person centred. E.g. pornography turns people’s into objects of pleasure for others, they are objectified body images as they are not truly loved. So the person is being used.
What is conscience?
o Conscience in situation ethics isn’t an innate radar which guides us towards good. It’s not a part of the human being, like a mind or a soul (as some people suggest), but instead something that describes a process.
o Fletcher adopts Aquinas’ idea that conscience is reason-making moral judgements, though he rejects Aquinas’ other moral thoughts.
o The error is in thinking about conscience as a noun instead of a verb.
o For Fletcher, the conscience doesn’t review our actions, but instead is the process of decisions making.
Do situation ethics provide a helpful method of moral decision-making?
o Sometimes the situations people face are too difficult to apply the rules too, in these situations Fletcher wants to offer something to help people face their own situation with some confidence.
o What’s the definition of ‘situation’? What is its possible length, size, location and who is involved? Situation ethics seems to be mainly focused on the immediate situation. Can situations go on for years, like a war might? It would be difficult to apply the process Fletcher describes on such a scale, which limits its helpfulness.
o Fletcher himself died a self-professed atheist and many Churches reject his account of Jesus for conflating Jesus’ rejection of the cultic practices and social rules of the time with the moral rules. Many Christians believe Jesus was a fulfilment of the moral law of the Hebrew Scriptures.
o Fletcher’s approach to justice raises questions as he advocates personalism (a person-centred approach that pays attention to the needs of the person) but opposes using people for the pleasures of others. So he teaches us to be both people centred but selfish at the same time.
o On the other hand Fletcher wants us to treat people with love, while at the same time he doesn’t want love to form rules. If rules can always be broken, how can any of the principles Fletcher promotes be protected?
