Situation ethics

Question 1

Who is Joseph Fletcher?

Answer 1

He was a Episcopalian priest and American academic who taught Christian and medical ethics
Served as president of the Euthanasia Society of America
Seen as the chief philosopher of the euthanasia movement

Question 2

What decade did he develop Situation Ethics?

Answer 2

1960s

Question 3

What was the 1960’s known for and why?

Answer 3

Great social change
Civil rights (MLK delivered his famous ‘i had a dream speech’ in 1963 in Washington DC
More women in workplace (in the 1960s, two-thirds of all new jobs went to women in America)
Intake of drugs such as LSD and Weed became very popular
More people taking birth control pill

Question 4

What was SE rejected by and why?

Answer 4

Rejected by Catholic church and many protestants as It is wrong to place the demands of love in opposition to the demands of morality

Question 5

What is the basis of Situation ethics and the only ethical norm?

Answer 5

Agape love

Question 6

What is Agapeic love?

Answer 6

A unconditional love of one person for another (especially love that is spiritual in nature)

Question 7

What were Fletcher’s four working presuppositions?

Answer 7

Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, Personalism

Question 8

Define pragmatism

Answer 8

Moral actions must work or achieve some realistic goal

Question 9

Define relativism

Answer 9

There are no fixed laws which must be obeyed

Question 10

Define positivism

Answer 10

The emphasis is on christian love (agape)

Question 11

Define personalism

Answer 11

People come first, not rules or ideas

Question 12

Why does Fletcher reject a legalistic approach?

Answer 12

It doesn’t take the person, outcome, consequence or situation into account

Question 13

What approach does Fletcher take due to his rejection?

Answer 13

Antinomian ethical approach

Question 14

What is the same as love according to Fletcher?

Answer 14

Love and justice are the same, justice is love distributed

Question 15

“Actions are good or evil depending on…

Answer 15

whether the promote the most loving result”

Question 16

What are Fletcher’s six fundamental principles?

Answer 16

1 - love is the only thing intrinsically good
2 - the ruling norm of decision making is love
3 - love and justice are the same
4 - love wills the neighbours good
5 - only the end justifies the means
6 - loves decisions are made situationally not prescriptively

Question 17

How do the 6 principles and 4 presuppositions relate?

Answer 17

The four working presuppositions try to apply the six principles

Question 18

3 ways Situation Ethics is useful in moral decision making

Answer 18

1 - SE provides something rules can not, ideas to keep in mind when acting in the face of a moral dilemma
2 - advocates personalism, pays attention to the needs of the person
3 - six propositions are praticle

Question 19

3 ways Situation Ethics is NOT useful in moral decision making

Answer 19

1 - rule based ethics provide simple answers to difficult questions (SE does not)
2 - mainly focused on immediate situations not long term
3 - difficult to apply Fletcher’s processes on a large scale, this limits its helpfulness