The Six Fundamental Principles of Situation Ethics Flashcards
Define: extrinsically
Not part of the essential nature, coming out or operating from outside the object. Their goodness comes from the love they produce.
What is the first Fundamental Principle?
“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 or evil, they are evil/good depending on how much love they produce.
What is the second proposition?
The ruling of Christian decision making is love: nothing else. Fletcher believes that Jesus replaced the Jewish Torah laws (Halakha) with love. The law of “love” for Christianity is not equalled by any other law.
Mark 2:23-28
Jesus picked and ate on the Sabbath and explained to the Pharisees how it was acceptable because it was the most loving thing to do.
What is the third proposition?
“Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else.” This means that justice is the most amount of love distributed to everybody.
What is the fourth fundamental principle?
“Love wills the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not” do the most loving thing to people even if you don’t like them. Agape love.
What is the fifth proposition?
“Only the end justifies the means, nothing else” the outcome is what determines how loving it is, not necessarily the means.
Must consider: the desired end, the means available, the motive for acting, the foreseeable consequences.
What is the sixth proposition?
Love’s decisions are made situationally; not prescriptively. You should not creat a moral law for situation based on loved. Whether something is right on wrong depends entirely on its situation.
