Situation Ethics Flashcards
Define ‘justice’
Referring to notions of fair distribution of benefits for all
Define ‘pragmatism’
Acting in moral situations in a way that is practical rather than ideological
Define ‘relativism’
The rejection of absolute moral standards such as laws or rights, good and bad are relative to an individual or a community (Fletcher believes this is to act in love)
Define ‘positivism’
Proposes something as true or good without demonstrating it, Fletcher posits love as good
Define ‘personalism’
Ethics centred on people rather than laws or objects
Define ‘conscience’
May be used variously to refer to a faculty in us, a process of moral decision making, insights from God or psychologically. Fletcher describes it as a function
Define ‘teleological ethics’
Moral goodness determined by the end result
Define ‘legalistic ethics’
Law based moral decision making
Define ‘antinomian ethics’
Ethics which doesn’t recognise the role of the law in moral decision making
Define ‘situational ethics’
Ethics focused on the situation rather than the fixed rules
Define ‘agape love’
Unconditional love which is the only ethical norm in situation ethics
Define ‘extrinsically good’
Good defined with reference to the end rather than the good in and of itself (Fletcher argued love is intrinsically good)
Where in the Bible does Situation ethics get its roots from?
New Testament references to Jesus setting aside the law or breaking established rules
Who was Joseph Fletcher?
Ordained priest and American academic who taught Christian and medical ethics
What are Fletcher’s three basic kinds of moral thinking categories?
Legalistic, antinomian and situational
Describe Fletcher’s ideas of legalistic ethics
Set of predefined rules to direct behaviour e.g. Pharisaic Judaism has a law based approach to life based on the Halakha which is a collection of traditional written and spoken law on all aspects of life
Describe Aquinas’ take on legalistic ethics
He founded the precepts but believed they were discoverable in nature and not human ordinations
What is the potential downside to legalistic ethics leading Fletcher to reject them?
Laws have to accumulate to cover all eventualities and so a legist must continually update a ‘web of laws’ found in Catholicism, Protestant Christianity and Judaism
Describe Fletcher’s approach to antinomian ethics
Reverse of legalistic ethics without rule, law or principles so each moral decision is unique
Why was Fletcher critical of antinomian ethics?
“Literally unprincipled… no forecastable course… exactly anarchic”
Describe Fletcher’s approach to situational ethics
Moral dilemma is approached by ethical rules by their community or tradition but rules can be set aside to act in love as a more beneficial approach but reason is the instrument of moral decision making
Hypothetical about what best serves love
Give a quote from Fletcher describe situation ethics
“The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need”
Describe the beliefs of Rudolf Bultmann
Argued against the idea that Jesus sought to establish some new ethical ideology
Describe the beliefs of Karl Barth
Not opposed to the idea of morally bad actions as it could be a chance that it would be right to break a moral law
