The Six Fundamental Principles

Question 0

What is The Second Fundamental Principle?

Answer 0

• Second preposition
• The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else.
• Fletcher believes that Jesus replaced Jewish Torah (laws) with love.
• Jewish Laws in general = Halakha

Mark 2: 23-28
Jesus allowed his disciples to pick heads of grain and eat on the Sabbath, he explained to the Pharisees that it was the most loving thing to do it was not work.

Jesus also healed on the Sabbath, Jesus said the commandments are not absolute. This lead Fletcher to believe that the law of “Love” for Christianity is not equalled by any other law.

Question 1

What is the First Fundamental Principle?

Answer 1

“Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else at all.”
Only love is good in and of itself. Actions aren’t intrinsically good, they are evil or good depending on how how much love they produce.

They are extrinsically good depending on their circumstances and consequences.
Extrinsic - not part of the essential nature, coming out or operating from outside the object.
Their goodness comes from the love they produce.

Question 2

What is The Third Fundamental Principle?

Answer 2

“Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else”
- For Fletcher, love and justice cannot be separated from each other
“Justice is Christian love using its head, calculating its duties, obligations, opportunities, resources…justice is love coping with situations where distribution is called for.”

Question 3

What is The Fourth Fundamental Principle?

Answer 3

“Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not.”

• The love that Fletcher is concerned about isn’t a matter of feeling but towards another person.
• It isn’t sentimental or erotic but a desire for the good for the other person to be done.
• Your neighbour is anybody and agape is unconditional; nothing is required in return.
• New Testament = Agape love

Question 4

What is the Fifth Fundamental Principle?

Answer 4

“Only the end justifies the means, nothing else.”

• You should consider every action in result of its consequences
• The consequences of every moral action should be the most loving.
• The end must be the most loving result.

When calculating you must consider:

1. The desired end
2. The means available
3. The motive for acting
4. The foreseeable consequences

Question 5

What is The Sixth Fundamental Principle?

Answer 5

• Loves decisions are made situationally; not prescriptively
• You should not create a moral law for a situation based on love
• You should use love in each situation even if the situations are similar
• Fletcher says that Jesus reacted against the kind of rule-based morality that he saw around him.
• There were Jewish groups that lived within rule-based moral systems but Jesus distanced himself from them.
• Whether something is wrong or right depends entirely on the individual situation.
• If an action brings about the most love then that action is right.