Situation Ethics

Question 1

Who proposed situation ethics?

Answer 1

Situation Ethics as a principle of morality was proposed by the American moral theologian, Joseph Fletcher

Question 2

How did Fletcher propose situation ethics?

Answer 2

.He published a book called ‘Situation Ethics: A New Morality’ in 1966, in which he outlined an approach to Christian ethics based on agape (unconditional love)

Question 3

Why was Joseph Fletcher presenting a new-form of ethics?

Answer 3

Joseph Fletcher was presenting a new-form of ethics as the 1960’s showed a massive rise in counterculture. This included progression in human sexuality, women’s rights, civil rights and more.

Question 4

Who inspired Fletcher?

Answer 4

Fletcher was inspired by Jesus’ gospel message of love and he appealed to the Biblical scholar Rudolf Bultmann, according to whom Jesus taught no ethics other than ‘love thy neighbour’

Question 5

Who was Bultmann?

Answer 5

Bultmann was liberal Christian and focused on portraying the historical Jesus

Question 6

What led Bultmann and ultimately Fletcher to focus on Jesus’ teaching on love rather than worrying about proving whether or no Jesus was divine?

Answer 6

The focus on portraying the historical Jesus

Question 7

Within ethical studies, there are 3 main approaches, what are they?

Answer 7

1. Legalism – sets of rules and regulations2. Antinomianism – comes from the Greek, means ‘lawless’3. Situationism – in order to make a meaningful ethical decision, the entire situation needs to be considered

Question 8

What is legalism?

Answer 8

Legalistic ethics uses sets of rules and regulations

Question 9

What is situationism?

Answer 9

Situationism is based on the idea that in order to make a meaningful ethical decision, the situation needs to be considered for each individual moral decision and action

Question 10

What is antinomianism?

Answer 10

Antinomianism comes from the Greek meaning lawless

Question 11

Finish the Bonhoeffer quote, ‘The reality of the world …

Answer 11

… means that Christians must be prepared to take on some guilt as well.’

Question 12

How can Bonhoeffer be used as an advocate for situation ethics?

Answer 12

Bonhoeffer can be seen as an advocate of situation ethics because he went against the state for the greater good of love – he disobeyed the power as he was doing it for love; the situation changed his beliefs. He did this through the Barmen Declaration, engaging in civil disobedience and taking part in the confessing church.

Question 13

The author and philosopher C.S. Lewis identified 4 types of love in his work ‘The Four Loves’, what are they and explain them?

Answer 13

1. Eros: erotic, passionate love2. Philos: love of friends and equals3. Storge: love of parents for children4. Agape: love of mankind, unconditional love

Question 14

Finish the Joseph Fletcher quote, ‘Love is the only …

Answer 14

… universal. But love is not something we have or are, it is something we do.’

Question 15

Explode the Joseph Fletcher quote, ‘Love is the only universal. But love is not something we have or are, it is something we do.’

Answer 15

‘universal’ as everyone can access it, it is innate within us and everyone can recognise it‘something we do’ as the acts we commit are what shows love, just thinking it is not loveThese actions could be putting the needs of others first, doing something that requires sacrifice

Question 16

1. By the phrase ‘love is the only universal’, Fletcher means what?

Answer 16

that all humans can agree on what is the most loving thing to do

Question 17

2. Jesus taught his message of love how?

Answer 17

through not only his teachings, but his actions as well. For example when he healed the man with the shrivelled hand on the Sabbath

Question 18

What does agape mean? How is it best understood?

Answer 18

3. Agape means pure, unconditional Christian love, it is best understood as the love shown between a mother and her child

Question 19

How is agape different to desire and liking?

Answer 19

4. Agape is different to desire and liking as ‘love wills the neighbours good’ and this is irrelevant of whether we like our neighbour or not

Question 20

5. The essence of agape love is what? How can Christians understand this?

Answer 20

The essence of agape love is self-sacrifice, Christians can understand this through the death of Jesus

Question 21

What does Fletcher believe about love?

Answer 21

Love is the only universal which means love is the only ethical principle

Question 22

Love is agape, what does this mean?

Answer 22

unconditional self-sacrificial Christian love

Question 23

Difference between Aquinas’ and Fletcher’s conscience

Answer 23

Aquinas’ Conscience – .Natural ability to work out right and wrong.All people want to ‘do good and avoid evil’.Being able to work out what is right and wrong using our reasonFletchers’ Conscience – .Conscience is a ‘verb’ rather than a ‘noun’, it is something you do when you make a decision – an action.The conscience changes for each particular circumstance.There is no definite right or wrong – it depends on the situation.Conscience is a flexible guide rather than prescriptive absolute rules

Question 24

Complete the quote, ‘Sometimes you’ve gotta p…

Answer 24

… ut your principles to one side and do the right thing.’

Question 25

What are the 4 working principles of situation ethics?

Answer 25

1. Pragmatism – practical decision making2. Relativism – situation based ethics3. Positivism – loving outcomes4. Personalism – love people not laws

Question 26

What are the 6 fundamental principles of situation ethics?

Answer 26

1. Only love is intrinsically good2. The ruling norm of Christian decisions is love3. Love and justice are the same4. Love wills the neighbours good5. Only the end justifies the means6. Love’s decisions are made situationally

Question 27

What 3 points does William Barkley make against situation ethics?

Answer 27

.In Ethics in a Permissive Society (1971) Barclay observed that the situations presented by Fletcher were very extreme.He asked how often are we to make these life-and-death choices presented by Fletcher in Situation Ethics.He argued situation ethics would work if ‘all men were angels’.Fletcher was overly optimistic about the capacity of human beings to make morally correct choices, and not to be influenced by personal preferences.He argued that Fletcher overestimated the value of being free from rules and constant decision making.If agape could be used accurately, then laws would not be necessary.But there is no guarantee that it can be, so some degree of laws are necessary for human survival

Question 28

What two problems did David cook have with situation ethics in The Moral Maze

Answer 28

.A problem Cook presented was how we define a ‘situation’.Where does a situation start and end? .Is it when you fist think about something? Or when you perform an action?.As Fletcher cannot be clear on this it highlights a significant problem with the theory.Another problem arises with weighing up love in terms of consequences, how do I know and how may I guarantee certain consequences?.Calculating consequences is a hazardous business with little certainty and with the additional problem of knowing when to stop the calculation.Is the sum to be the most loving thing as judged at the end of this year, next year, or in thirty years time?.The answers may be very different according to when and where we draw the line

Question 29

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, yes, legalism and antinomianism

Answer 29

.It is flexible in that it gives personal freedom to people to decide what the most loving action is.In this sense it is a very helpful method because you are not constrained by the difficulties of legalism.Likewise, it is not antinomian as it uses the rule of agape as a guide.This rule is based on the Christian principle of unconditional love

Question 30

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, yes, one simple rule

Answer 30

.It is based on one simple rule, namely agape (love).Fletcher argues that this simple rules brings positive outcomes, maintains justice and also puts the needs of others (our neighbour) first.In simpler terms Fletcher provides 6 fundamental principles highlighting how decisions should be based on love not laws.These principles offer clear guidance on the application of situation ethics

Question 31

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, yes, relative

Answer 31

.It is relative which means that we are not restricted by moral absolutes.It takes into account the complexities of life and reflects the concerns that people hard with ‘absolutes’.Unlike Kantian ethics which is rigid and fixed situation ethics acknowledges that sometimes doing the right thing may mean treating people as a means to an end

Question 32

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, yes, practical and flexible

Answer 32

.Situation ethics, by its own definition is a practical and flexible system for making moral decisions.For example, Fletcher’s working principles of pragmatism and relativism show that decisions are made situationally and highlights that absolutes such as ‘Do not kill’ or ‘Do not steal’ do not always bring about the most loving outcome.Fletcher provides examples in his own theory when a liberal approach to laws must be taken in order to secure a loving outcome

Question 33

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, no, Barth

Answer 33

.Karl Barth would argue that situation ethics is very vague –It’s impossible to say what you’re supposed to do.How do you work out what the most loving thing is, if it changes from situation to situation especially due to the corrupt nature of human beings?.It would be better to follow divine revelation such as the Bible and Church tradition

Question 34

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, no, if we were like Jesus

Answer 34

.If we were all like Jesus, then doing the most loving thing might work.William Barclay believed we (humans) can’t be trusted to do the right thing, and it would only work ‘if all men were angels’.This is supported by Augustine’s interpretation of humanity which is fallen.We do not act like angels, instead we misuse our free will

Question 35

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, no, Pope Pius XII

Answer 35

.Traditional Christian thinkers have rejected Fletcher’s understanding of Jesus.In 1952 Pope Pius XII called Situationism, ‘an individualistic and subjective’ theory which will ‘justify decisions in opposition to the natural law’.The law and absolutes are there for the protection of society –legalism is therefore the safer and better option than situation ethics

Question 36

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, no, impractical

Answer 36

.The rule of agape can be highly impractical.Situation ethics may in fact offer justification for not only breaking religious laws such as the ‘commandments’ but also civil laws.If society begins to adopt this ethical system over and above the laws of the land then the basis of our society would crumble

Question 37

Is situation ethics a helpful/practical form of ethical decision making?, no, extreme

Answer 37

.Examples used by Fletcher such as dropping the bomb on Hiroshima or a Jewish woman having to smother her own child to avoid capture of the group are extreme and very rare cases.We can argue that situation ethics is weak based simply on these.Fletcher argues that his approach is practical yet his examples are far from it

Question 38

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is a religious ethical approach, biblical basis

Answer 38

.Joseph Fletcher would clearly argue that situation ethics can be considered a Christian form of moral decision making.The ethical theory has a Biblical basis both in the golden rule of Jesus which outlines that we should ‘treat others as we would like to be treated’ and the teaching of St. Paul who clearly outlined in his letter to the Corinthians that love was the most important virtue.These are two Biblical examples of ‘agape’ being used by key Christian figures

Question 39

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is a religious ethical approach, Jesus prepared to set aside some rules

Answer 39

.Jesus seemed to be prepared to set aside some rules in some cases, usually because a person mattered more than the rule.So he was prepared to associate with and touch people traditionally viewed as unclean, the sinners, the sick and the tax collectors

Question 40

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is a religious ethical approach, a principle from Jesus

Answer 40

.Fletcher’s understanding of agape can be seen as religious because it develops a principle from Jesus’ action of breaking the law when the situation demanded it for reasons of love.In this sense it could be argued that SE is more consistent with the New Testament e.g. Jesus healing the man with the paralysed hand on the Sabbath day

Question 41

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is a religious ethical approach, Jesus’ gospel message

Answer 41

.Fletcher was inspired by Jesus’ gospel message of love and he argued that Jesus taught no ethics other than “love thy neighbour as thyself”.Fletcher’s six fundamental principles are all focused on the idea of love, for example: “Love wills the neighbour’s good regardless of whether the neighbour is liked or not.”

Question 42

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is not a religious ethical approach, Christianity is more legalistic

Answer 42

.Christianity today follows a more legalistic character based on absolutes such as those outlined in the ‘Ten Commandments’.In this sense, situation ethics is incompatible with Christianity as it is not a legalistic approach to ethics but rather one that is relative to the situation

Question 43

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is not a religious ethical approach, Catholic Church and sanctity of life

Answer 43

.The Catholic Church have very clear rules regarding the sanctity of life (the idea that life is holy and belongs to God).In this respect they would always view the ending of human life by another human as wrong whereas situation ethics would make this decision relative to the situation.This means that Fletcher’s understanding of agape is not really religious but simply working out what is the best for those involved in a situation

Question 44

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is not a religious ethical approach, Pope Pius XII

Answer 44

.Traditional Christian thinkers have rejected Fletcher’s understanding of Jesus.In 1952 Pope Pius XII called Situationism, ‘an individualistic and subjective’ theory which will ‘justify decisions in opposition to the natural law’

Question 45

Is Fletcher’s understanding of agape really religious or does it mean nothing more than wanting the best for the person involved in a given situation?, is not a religious ethical approach, a number of forms of authority

Answer 45

.The Catholic Church would argue that ethical decision making should be based on a number of forms of authority.Fletcher uses one principle ‘agape’ but the Church would argue that the Bible, tradition and importantly ‘Natural Law’ are preferable ways in which we should make moral decisions

Question 46

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, yes, allow terrible things to happen

Answer 46

.Situation ethics allows terrible things to happen in an attempt to do the right thing.Due to Fletcher’s principle that the ‘end’ can justify the ‘means’ some people worry that dangerous boundary lines could be crossed e.g. wanton murder as opposed to euthanasia

Question 47

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, yes, vague

Answer 47

.Situation ethics is fundamentally vague, resting on a very ambiguous definition of love, and could in practice be used to justify anything.It takes relativism in the sense of opposing a plethora of absolute rules to the extreme of relativism in the sense of ‘anything goes, so long as the motive can be described as “loving”.’

Question 48

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, yes, no boundaries

Answer 48

.There are no boundaries in situation ethics as it does not abide by any form of legalism.In this sense it is close to antinomianism as people make decisions relative to the situation which could be different all the time

Question 49

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, yes, Christian love

Answer 49

.Christian love can become individualistic.The individual has too much control or influence, and people tend to be selfish.If someone is given complete freedom with no rules governing them they are more likely to misuse this power

Question 50

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, yes, agape rarely achieved

Answer 50

.Agape -an unselfish, unconditional love -is a great ideal but is rarely achieved in practice.People need rules to live by, and can’t really be trusted to do the right thing without those rules .Subjectivity can never be the standard for human conduct.“All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes” (Proverbs 16:2)

Question 51

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, no, laws formulated through agape

Answer 51

.Laws, according to Fletcher have been developed or formulated through agape (love).Therefore, if we use love then we are acting lawfully and will not go to extremes.We will not just focus on ourselves but love will mean that we focus on others well-being too

Question 52

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, no, quality control

Answer 52

.Agape is the quality control of situation ethics.If we look at Fletcher’s four presumptions we can see that each of them is a way of testing how the rule of agape can be applied e.g. is it practical or will it bring about a positive result

Question 53

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, no, agape is the rule

Answer 53

.Agape is the rule.It is impossible to see how someone following this ethic of ‘love’ would commit obscene acts such as murder or rape in the name of love

Question 54

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, no, Jesus applied situation ethics

Answer 54

.Jesus applied situation ethics because he seemed to agree that ‘love and justice are the same’.Jesus would not have followed agape if he felt it could be used to justify any act.It was the guiding rule of agape that led to the decisions Jesus made to break Sabbath laws

Question 55

Does the rejection of absolute rules by situation ethics make moral decision-making entirely individualistic and subjective?, no, middle ground

Answer 55

.Situation ethics is a middle ground between legalism and antinomianism.Due to this fact it cannot be said that it has no rules.In fact, situation ethics will abide by rules but just might not follow the same rule in every situation