A01 Flashcards
(10 cards)
name the aspects of SE
- legalism, antinomianism, situationism
- relativists, teleological
- 6 propositions
- 4 wps/ presuppositions
- agape, sophia, kairos
- conscience
what does fletcher’s situation ethics correct?
love corrects 2 extremes in ethical thought.
1. legalism- an over reliance on applying endless rigid rules. the old testament has 613 rules, which Jesus criticises for focusing on minor issues. fletcher argues later Christian thought has returned to a reliance on rules.
2. antinomianism- rejection of all moral laws and the idea of individuals making their own decisions.
SE argues there’s one moral rule- doing the most loving thing- which should be applied to each situation, love is absolute but we should relativise it to the situation in front of us. it is a type of virtue ethics (guidance is character based, making you question what kind of a person you should be, as opposed to what action you should do).
explain the 4 working principles/ presuppositions
foundations to the theory (things we should think automatically before ethical decision, being cautious of emotion)
1. pragmatism- something must work in practice to count as true, fletcher argues if theoretical solutions don’t work in practice then they aren’t solutions, the decision we make must be one that is a practical solution and produces good outcomes. e.g. Jodie and Mary were conjoined twins, if they weren’t separated both would die, but if they were one would. the decision was made to separate, letting one survive shows practicality over loss of both.
- relativism- the right thing to do is dependent on the context, there’s no always or never, the principle of love always applies and is the reason to act, but the specifics of how it applies varies. Fletchers e.g. adultery, when an German woman was taken prisoner of war but couldn’t return to family without being pregnant, so she made the guard impregnate her.
- positivism- putting belief in God’s love and prioritising what supports agape, we have to be active in bringing about love by the decisions we make. e.g. the good Samaritan, helping another man from a different town at a cost to himself.
- personalism- people centred, unlike legalism, as Jesus placed people above obedience to rules. e.g. God sacrificing Jesus for mankind ‘for God so loved the world he gave his one and only son’.
explain the first 3 propositions
- ‘only one thing is intrinsically good, namely love: nothing else at all’
some things are extrinsically good, they help us to achieve higher purpose (such as running can help us if we’re late but could make us slip), while other things are intrinsically good (good in themselves), only love is truly good. fletcher calls love the one regulative principle of Christian ethics. our view of love is a predicate (describes action, not thing itself). - ‘the ruling norm of Christian decision is love, nothing else’
in new testament, Jesus consistently replaces old testament laws with principles of love (e.g., healing someone, and so, working, on the sabbath). where laws and love conflict we must follow love.
we can follow law and be immoral (when slavery was legal).
nothing itself can be wrong if done out of love. e.g. Dietrich Bonhoeffer tried to bomb Hitler which caused his death, but his actions are now praiseworthy.
Jesus summed up the whole law as love thy neighbour. - ‘love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else’
they aren’t opposites, justice is Christian love applied rationally and in a calculated manner (fletcher suggests this is a calculation of who benefits most). e.g. Trumans use of the atomic bomb. his agapeic calculation determined it right to use, considering possible outcomes.
explain the last 3 propositions
- ‘love wills the neighbour good, whether we like him or not’
love is an attitude not a feeling, its a selfless commitment/ decision to treat others as best we can, not requiring anything in return. it doesn’t make judgements of who it wants to serve. you don’t have to love everyone, just commit loving acts. ‘agape goes out to neighbours not for our own sakes nor for theirs, really but for Gods’
e.g. saving a doctor over your dad (does more good for world) - ‘only the end justifies the means, nothing else’
fletcher argues if our aim/ end is love then any means of achieving is justified, its whether the end is worthwhile that determines whether the action is (teleological). a bad action can be justified to prevent a worse one. we must consider- end we seek, means to obtain it, motive, and consequences.
e.g. angel of Auschwitz aborted 3k Jewish pregnancies to presave the lives of women dying in childbirth. - ‘love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively’
fletcher states love decides there and then, knowing that we should love doesn’t tell us what to do in a specific situation, its not rigid, we have to gather relevant facts. such freedom creates a better society. e.g. thalidomide drug aiming to reduce morning sickness caused babies to be born without limbs, a lady in Arizona was refused the abortion so she had it in Sweden (love can go around rules, so allowing freedom is good). links to relativism.
what is agape?
a summary of the ethics of Jesus, the Greek language has 4 words for love (storage- based on family connections, philia- close friendship, eros- a sexual love, agape- unconditional love).
Jesus says ‘Love the lord your God with all your heart’ and ‘Love your neighbour’
fletchers love refers to agape, the type often explored by CS Lewis (he says its not natural to us, and can only be practiced with God’s help).
Greek background suggests love for humankind. agape relates to altruism (acting at a cost to oneself). agape doesn’t involve desire, emotions lead to action. its the greatest love as it exists regardless of circumstances.
how do we apply love situationally?
for fletcher, love is the ultimate law. we may have general principles which fletcher calls the sophia (wisdom), but love may mean we break these. fletcher places importance on time and situation. he uses the word kairos to state the moment of decision.
when applying love, we consider the sophia and the kairos, and ask how love can be applied in the specific situation. his book uses case studies to show how theory may be applied.
1. in 1962 a young schizophrenic girl was raped in psychiatric hospital by fellow patient, the father asked for abortion of the unwanted pregnancy. hospital refused as abortion was illegal in America unless the girls life was in danger. fletcher argues this is wrong as supporting abortion is more loving.
2. in ww2 Americans dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japanese cities, atleast 150k killed and more died from side effects, yet it did cause Japan to surrender. Truman and advisors were split on whether this was right, whether the bomb prevented more lives lost in future, or if destruction of an uninhabited island could’ve been as effective. decided it was right, as Japan otherwise didn’t seem like surrendering.
explain agape in Christian tradition
emerged from Judaism, which at the time had debates on how far to take the interpretation of law, whether the 613 laws should be kept, or simplified.
Jesus summarises the law as the requirement to love God and your neighbour. he breaks the sabbath to heal people (loving outcome). the good Samaritan story reinforces idea of love for ones neighbour.
fletcher studied work of archbishop William temple who said ‘there is only one ultimate and invariable duty, and its formula is, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’.
fletcher uses such examples to show dangers of legalism and argue Jesus’ ethics were based on agape.
what’s the role of the individual in situation ethics?
fletcher rejects legalism and antinomianism in favour of the one overriding ethical principle of agape, we are required to bring about the most loving outcome. so, there’s emphasis on the individual to make the decision, the person in the situation has the moment of decision (Kairos- critical moment) without external authorities.
this causes the concern of the theory becoming subjective, as its a matter of personal opinion.
Augustine suggested people should ‘love God and do what they will’ AKA if they truly love God they’ll be guided to do the right thing, so fletchers idea of love being key isn’t new, just simply more radical in suggesting love is the only principle needed in Christian ethics.
explain fletcher and the conscience
fletcher argues traditional understandings of the conscience are mistaken, as its seen as a noun.
its traditionally viewed as: voice of God within us/ channel for divine guidance (according to a catholic thinker), an inbuilt reasoning tool (Aquinas), intuition, etc.
fletcher sees it as an activity we do, a function not a faculty, a verb. it refers to the process of deciding. it’s something that looks forward in terms of prospective decision making (a director before and during event) rather than something that retrospectively passes judgement on our actions after the event (reviewer).
