what is SE Flashcards
- consequentialism
what is personalism
consequentialism is not completely compatible with serving agape love. One of Fletcher’s four working principles is personalism, which means that people should always be put at the centre of ethical judgement, as opposed to objects.
what is se based on?
In contrast to utilitarianism, Situation ethics is based on Christian principles and primarily the promotion of agape. Fletcher’s liberal, less rule-based theory is based on one absolute law, which when applied properly, handles every situation. everybody and not harming anyone.
what is relativism
Another attribute of SE are the 4 fundamental prepositions one of them is relativism which means that any laws can be broken in order to do what is right e.g. If a teenage girl was pregnant by getting raped she could get rid of the baby without having to consider the baby as she is doing what is best for herself.
what is SE
Situation ethics is an ethical theory pioneered by Joseph Fletcher in the 1960s, a time in which society and the church were facing drastic change. It is an idealistic, teleological, consequentialist theory that resolves ethical and moral issues relative to the situation.
what does Fletcher reject
the deontological view of ‘right and wrong’ decisions in a situation and believes that ethical decisions should follow flexible guidelines rather than absolute rules
what is pragmatism
Pragmatism states that a proposed course of action should be practical and work, its success or failure should also be judged according to the principle
what is positivism
Positivism recognises that love is the most important criterion of all.
conclusion
To conclude, while Fletcher would expect people to be mature enough to rationally approach moral judgements with a focus on agape; it could be corrupted by selfishness or an emphasis on results rather than people. Ultimately, some would argue it falls short of true agape because it is really a humanist system of ethics rather than Christian.
