Situation ethics Flashcards
Who is Joseph Fletcher?
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
What decade did he develop Situation Ethics?
1960s
What was the 1960’s known for and why?
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
What was SE rejected by and why?
Rejected by Catholic church and many protestants as It is wrong to place the demands of love in opposition to the demands of morality
What is the basis of Situation ethics and the only ethical norm?
Agape love
What is Agapeic love?
A unconditional love of one person for another (especially love that is spiritual in nature)
What were Fletcher’s four working presuppositions?
Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, Personalism
Define pragmatism
Moral actions must work or achieve some realistic goal
Define relativism
There are no fixed laws which must be obeyed
Define positivism
The emphasis is on christian love (agape)
Define personalism
People come first, not rules or ideas
Why does Fletcher reject a legalistic approach?
It doesn’t take the person, outcome, consequence or situation into account
What approach does Fletcher take due to his rejection?
Antinomian ethical approach
What is the same as love according to Fletcher?
Love and justice are the same, justice is love distributed
“Actions are good or evil depending on…
whether the promote the most loving result”
What are Fletcher’s six fundamental principles?
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
How do the 6 principles and 4 presuppositions relate?
The four working presuppositions try to apply the six principles
3 ways Situation Ethics is useful in moral decision making
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
3 ways Situation Ethics is NOT useful in moral decision making
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
