Situation Ethics Flashcards
What does fletcher emphasise?
The idea of being Christ like
He disagrees with the traditionalist view of ethics
What did fletcher consider situationalism a middle way between?
Antinomianism
Legalism
What is antinomianism?
Means ‘against law’ in Greek
No moral principles
What is legalism?
Decisions should be made in accordance with strict rules
What are teleological theories interested in?
The ends of actions rather than the means
Life shouldn’t be governed by a strict code of conduct
What does teleological derive from?
The Greek telos meaning end/purpose
What situationalist thing does Jesus do in Mark?
Let disciples pick the heads of grain on the sabbath
‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath’
What is agape?
A Greek term used to refer to the Christian ideal of selfless love
‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self’
What are C. S. Lewis’ four loves?
Philia- friendship
Eros- sexual
Agape- charity. The highest form of love for Lewis
Storge- affection
What does fletcher say about love?
‘There is only one thing that is always good and right, regardless of the context, and that one thing is love’
Name fletchers 4 presuppositions
Pragmatism
Positivism
Personalism
Relativism
What is pragmatism?
Moral demands should be practical and achieve the intended outcome, love
What is positivism?
Being able to say that god is love on the basis of faith
What is personalism?
The needs and importance of people are considered first
What is relativism?
All situations should be assessed on how best to demonstrate love
What are intrinsic goods?
Good in themselves
What are instrumental goods?
Only considered good because they lead to some other good
How many fundamental principles does fletcher have?
6
List 3 of fletchers fundamental principles
Love is the only intrinsic good
Love and justice are synonymous
Love should be shown whether you like the person or not
What is fletchers mrs bergmeier example?
Mrs Bergmeier persuaded a Russian guard in World War Two to impregnate her so she could go back to Germany
What does fletcher say about rules?
‘The situationalist follows a moral law or violates it according to loves need’
What does William Barclay say about fletchers cases?
They’re too extreme
What is negative about eradicating the law?
It has several vital functions
What is negative about the human responsibility of SE?
Our ideas of love are subjective
Hard to determine the outcome of an action
What does J. A. T. Robinson say about SE?
It is ‘an ethic for humanity comes of age’
Allows people to be responsible for their own decisions
What is positive about the flexibility of SE?
Not tied down to the observance of rules
Proportionate reason to break ethical principles
