✅Situation Ethics Flashcards
what is situation ethics in terms of key words?
Ethical, normative, teleological, relative, Christian theory
Who is Joesph fletcher?
American professor.
What inspired situation ethics?
Origins in the radical movement of the late 1950 to 1960. During the 1960, America was involved in the futile war against communism in Vietnam. Fletcher opposed war and wanted to re-establish what he considered the most important aspect of certainty, the law of love.
How does Jesus fit into situation ethics?
It is imported by Jesus’ gospel message of love (agape) .
Fletcher appealed to the biblical scholar Rudolf bultmann, according to whom Jesus taught not ethics other than:
“Love they neighbour as thyself”
“God is love”
John 4:8
What is legalistic ethics?
Have set moral rules and regulations
Judaism and Christianity are legalistic ethical traditions
Why does fletcher think legalistic ethics is flawed?
As it doesnt help when there’s naturally complexities in laws, such as war, abortion, self defence etc.
It becomes complex, a textbook morality that leaves people simply looking to see if an action is right or wrong, and fletcher said that’s not good enough.
What is antinomians ethics?
Against law, reverse of legalistic ethics. It has no ethical system at all, and decision making is completely unique depending on the situation. Fletcher also criticised this approach, due to the adhoc of having no rules at all.
What are the rules of agape?
If a decision is made that follows agape, then it is a true and right decision. This means it is self sacrificing and unconditional love.
What did emus say about the sabbath?
“Sabbath made for man, not man for the sabbath”
What is fletcher definition of conscience?
As long as your conscience is lined up it the idea of love, then you will make the right choice. Fletcher believed the conscious is a verb, and a doing action. It described the process of weighing up the possible action before it is taken, the process of reasoning through to come to a decision
“The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to loves need”
Fletcher
what i situation ethics in the chime of legalistic and antinomist?
Most loving and compassionate. In the middle of the two extremes, it has no complete rules apart from follow love, and it shows the right thing to do.
What are the 4 working principles?
Pragmatism
Relativism
Positivism
Personalism
What is pragmatism?
Moral action must work or achieve some realistic goal, and be practically possible.
What is relativism?
There are no fixed laws high mist always be obeyed. Even if fixed laws reject action, doesnt men you can’t pursue it
What is positivism?
First place is given to Christian love, rooted in faith. Have to place Christianity at the heart of the decision
What is personalism
People come first, not rules or ideals. Action which puts people at the heart of the decision
What are the 6 fundamental principles or 6 propositions?
Only one thing is intrinsically good-love, nothing else
The ruling norm of Christian decision is love, nothing else.
Love and justice are the same, justice of live is distributed .
Love wills neighbours good whether we like him or not
Only the end justified the means, nothing else
Loves decision are made situationally not prescriptively.
Corinthians 13:13
“And now faith, hope and love abide, these three, and the greatest of these is love”
Who developed fletchers ideas in 1960?
Bishop JOhnRobinsion. He was supportive of situation ethics
John Robinson quote about situation ethics
“Assertions about God are in the last analysis assertions about love”
Basic strengths of situation ethics
Up to date, situation ethics can change with the time
Autonomous, allows individual to make their own decisions
WWJD? Focus on Jesus’ teachings “all laws and prophets hang onto these 2 commands”
Focus on motive, UT focuses on consequences, but there are out of our control.
Basic weaknesses for situation ethics
Not all can make right choice.
Isolates the church, individuals act independent, therefore church has no place in moral decision making.
Idolises individual, gives person more authority than the bible.
Focus on the motive, just cause you act out of good doesnt mean you did the right thing.
Strength of situation ethics, about the sabbath
“Sabbath made for man, not man for the sabbath”
Fletcher quote about relativism
“Sometime you have to push aside your principles and do the righ thing”
Rules are useful, but there are exception. SE is flexible
Robinson about SE
Strength, “the only ethics for the man come of age”.
SE is autonomous and acts out of love.
Ted Koppel about SE
We are supposed to follo rules.
“They weren’t called the 10 suggestions” 1987
St. Paul about SE
Misguided. Christians should not do evil that good may come of it.
Robinson about SE
“It will all descend into moral chaos”. It idolises the individual, and gives people more authority than the church.
Barclay on SE
“If all men were angels”
If everyone was like jesus, it may work. But we aren’t and cant be trusted to always do the right thing.
Callahan on SE
Irrational. “By 1970s, situation ethics wont be an ethics at all… should be objective, rational, coherent, … “
D Z Phillips on SE
Raises the question whether we can, in moral dilemmas, be every truly confident we did the right thing?
Bultmann on SE
“Love thy neighbour” is the ultimate duty jesus taught us.
Robinson’s book
“Honest to God” 1963
Fletchers book
“Situation ethics” 1966
What does Robinson believe in?
“Jesus laid down certain precepts which were universally binding”
He sows a law that was fixed in the sermon on the mount. He wasn’t setting down a new law, you should be able to make own agape decisions.
What do augustine and Niebuhr believe?
No such thin as a truely selfless act as we are all inclined to sin.
