Situation Ethics: Flashcards
(44 cards)
1
Q
Who founded Situation Ethics?
A
Joseph Fletcher in his book ‘Situation Ethics: The New Morality’
2
Q
Introduction to SE:
A
- many argue SE was a product of its age, ie the 1960s is seen as a ‘liberal era’ that resulted in the rejection of traditional ideas and institutions; including a rejection of traditional deontological moral theories.
- Fletcher designed SE as a direct rebellion against the deontological ethics of Christianity, eg Natural Law etc. However; it was still designed to be a Christian ethic, just without all the deontological rules.
3
Q
What is Situation Ethics not based on?
A
- legalism
- antinomianism
- conscience
4
Q
What is Legalism?
A
- the belief that all human actions should be governed by rules.
- in ethics legalism means there will be a rule for every ethical situation situation. Fletcher believe that Christianity had become too legalistic by following the strict rules of the Bible or the precepts of Natural Law.
5
Q
One reason for the rejection:
A
- stops people thinking for themselves - all the answers to moral dilemmas are either written down in the Bible or reasoned through NL.
- e.g. when lying one should only consider the commandment ‘do not lie’ (Exodus 20) and not to think about the issue for yourself.
- “choking web of laws”
6
Q
Another reason for the rejection of legalism:
A
- there are times when legalistic rules are inappropriate to apply in the real world.
- sometimes the situation demands the moral agent to reject the religious legalistic rule and it may be better/more appropriate to lie.
- Fletcher was influenced by Arthur Miller ‘the immorality of morality’
7
Q
What is antinomianism?
A
- the opposite of legalism, an approach to ethics where there are no rules at all.
- moral agents make ethical decisions in an unguided and spontaneous way.
- antinomianism came out of the theory of Existentialism (the belief that everyone is free and is solely responsible for their own actions.
8
Q
Why is antinomianism rejected by Fletcher?
A
- moral agents need some form of ethical guidance other they would do immoral things (rape, murder, etc) and not understand that their actions are wrong.
- society could slip into complete anarchy as people would become amoral.
9
Q
What is conscience?
A
- a God given intuitive ethical guide ie some Christians believe that the HS acts as a moral guide.
- therefore many religious moral agents believe ethical guidance comes from the conscience.
- when faced with a moral dilemma, the HS will guide the moral agent on what is the most God centred action in that particular situation
10
Q
Why is conscience rejected by Fletcher?
A
- he believes the conscience is not a thing but an action.
- therefore the conscience cannot be God working inside is but it’s the brain’s mechanical process of working out moral decisions and AAR the conscience cannot be used as a basis for decision making. “conscience is merely a word for our attempts to make decisions…”
11
Q
What is the middle ground between legalism and antinomianism?
A
- principled relativism - he believed this was the ideal place to put his ethic as it avoids the problems associated with legalism and antinomianism.
- laws can act as guidelines to morality.
12
Q
What is agape?
A
- the single guiding principle used in a moral dilemma that helps moral agents come to the correct decision and whether the consequences of their actions were right or wrong. The single principle was love.
- agape is Greek and translates as ‘selfless love’
13
Q
What are the three parts of agape?
A
- love is directed outwards towards inwards, ie love isn’t selfish
- love is given unconditionally ie love is not dependent on receiving anything back.
- love is given constantly, ie love is given to all.
14
Q
What passage in the Bible best sums up agape?
A
- 1 Corinthians Chapter 13
15
Q
Why is SE relativist?
A
- it states that there are no universal moral right or wrong actions eg the act or stealing in itself is not morally right or wrong
- as Fletcher states about SE: “there are no rules - none at all”
16
Q
Why is SE teleological?
A
- the right and wrong of an action should be judged by the end outcome of the action
- SE is a teleological ethic, the action itself should not be judged when deciding the morality of an action, instead it should be the end outcome of the action that is judged.
17
Q
Why is SE consequential?
A
- consequentialists believe that the morality of an action should be based on the consequence outcomes of our actions.
- SE accepts the consequentialist form of teleological ethics. SE will judge morality in terms of whether the consequences were based on agape.
18
Q
Consequentialist example:
A
- stealing a loaf of bread is morally justified by Situation Ethics or it creates agape consequences eg giving the bread to a starving family.
- however SE would condemn this action as morally bad if it creates selfish consequences.
19
Q
What is the Boss principle?
A
- fletcher believed agape is the boss principle (most important)
- fletcher did accept that this Boss Principle can still be a little vague and thus developed further guiding principles to help moral agents understand the theory better. However, he made it clear that none of these additional principles were more important than the Boss Principle.
- agape is pure, conditional love.
20
Q
Biblical teachings on agape?
A
- Old Testament: the Greek word agape has its origins in the OT from the Hebrew word ‘Aheb’ - impulsive love towards God and fellow human beings.
- New Testament: Jesus argued (Matthew 22) the greatest commandment were: love God and your neighbour as yourself’
21
Q
What are the six fundamental principles?
A
- love is the only good
- love is the ruling norm of Christianity
- love equals justice
- love for all
- loving ends justify the means
- love décides situationally
22
Q
Love is the only good:
A
- Fletcher argues only one thing is truly good within the universe, this is love.
- love is the only intrinsic good
- fletcher believed that actions can only be morally good if they promote the most loving outcome because only love is intrinsically good.
- Fletcher states ‘love is not something we are, it’s something we do’. Agape isn’t a thing, it’s an action.
23
Q
Love is the ruling norm of Christianity:
A
- Fletcher argues that religious moral rules have been given false high stash in Christian ethics. He points to Jesus who broke several religious laws.
- eg when he broke two rabbinic laws when speaking to a Samaritan woman. Jesus clearly considered the religious laws as less important than the loving outcome.
- ## Fletcher argued that is that Jesus illustrated that love was the new covenant between God and his people and so replaced it with the old religious laws.
24
Q
Love equals justice:
A
- fletcher argues love and justice are the same thing - “love and justice are the same thing, for justice is love distributed, nothing else”
- examples of a lack of love include a starving child and a person falsely arrested. If everyone worked towards creating loving outcomes there would be no injustices.
- supporting justice is showing selfless love on a practical community scale.
25
Love for all:
- moral agents should act in a loving way to everyone; even their enemies.
- Matthew 5: ‘love your enemies’ (Jesus). Jesus asks people to love everyone and expect nothing in return.
- Fletcher states “love is love for Tom, Dick and Harry’
26
Loving end justify the means:
- F rejects the idea of NL as the outcome shouldn’t be used to justify the means. Rejects the deontological approach and instead suggests using the teleological approach - judging the outcome.
- loving outcomes can justify breaking a traditional religious rule. Eg stealing bread for starving child example.
- Fletcher adds that it is not justified if the loving outcome was only accidental.
27
Love is decided situationally:
- F believes that there should be no rules about what should and shouldn’t be done in a particular situation. ‘Moral laws are constantly flouted in practice because they are too rigid to fit the facts of life’
- we should have the responsibility to create the most loving outcome in every ethical situation we face.
- we must decide ‘there’ and ‘then’ what action will create the most loving outcome in a particular ethical situation and not fall back onto an ethical rule we may be aware of.
28
What are the four working principles?
- pragmatism
- relativism
- positivism
- personalism
29
Pragmatism:
- F argues that moral decisions need to work in practice (be pragmatic)
- it can state that bad actions can only be justified if the loving consequences are realistically going to occur.
30
Relativism:
- the belief that no action is right or wrong in itself.
- a relativist would not ever say ‘never’ or ‘always’, when faced with a moral dilemma.
- SE is relativist as it believes there are no universal moral rights and wrongs - it depends upon its loving consequences.
31
Positivism:
- SE is based on faith and lot reason. This is because SE is dependent on people accepting, theologian faith alone, that agape is from God.
- F accepts that he cannot prove agape comes from God; you just have to accept it through faith.
32
Personalism:
- F states people are more important than religious rules. “SE puts people at the centre of concern”
- SE would support the operation of conjoined twins even if one died as it meant putting a person’s (the baby that survived) well-being before the religious rule of ‘do not kill’
33
Who are two people who would support Situation Ethics?
- Jesus
| - St Paul
34
Jesus on love:
- two fundamental commandements:
* “love your neighbour as yourself”
* love God with all your heart
- Fletcher points out that Jesus would appear to be agreeing with the fundamental principle of ‘Love for all’
35
St Paul on love:
- he was pivotal in the development of early Christianity. Fletcher argues St Paul’s teachings would also support SE.
- ‘and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of all is love’ (1 Corinthians 13)
- clearly illustrates that St Paul valued agape and love above all other attributes; this is the same as Fletcher’s SE.
36
What 2 practical ethical situations can SE be applied to?
- homosexuality
| - polyamorous relationships
37
What is homosexuality?
- is a romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same gender or the same sex.
38
How can situation ethics be applied to homosexuality?
- religious laws tend to suggest homosexual relationships are wrong. Leviticus ‘you shall not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination’
- Fletcher’s SE offers a potentially opposing view as if loving consequences occur the commandment in Leviticus can be ignored.
- the Boss Principle would never say homosexual relationships are always wrong or always right - relativist ethic. Instead it would just be each homosexual relationship on a ‘case by case’ basis.
However; if the relationship was based just around lust then SE would say it was morally wrong. This is because the homosexual relationship is creating selfish consequences not loving ones.
39
Which fundamental principle can be used?
- love is the ruling norm of Christianity.
- if the homosexual act was carried out for an agape love outcome than this replaces any rules on homosexuality that come from the Bible. Eg in Leviticus it states ‘you shall not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination’
40
Which working principle could be used?
- relativism
- principle makes it clear that homosexual acts can never be considered always morally wrong or right. This is because no action in itself is morally wrong or right.
- the homosexual act can only be judged wrong or right depending upon the loving consequences.
41
What are polyamorous relationships?
- it is the practice of relationships involving more than two people; with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved; often referred to as an open relationship.
42
How can polyamory be applied to SE?
- exactly the same as the homosexuality application as they both break the Biblical idea that sexual relationships should be between one man and one woman.
43
How did St. Augustine develop agape?
- stating that agape love was the ultimate virtue.
| - fletcher states “Augustine was right to make love (agape) … the hinge principle upon which all other ‘virtues’ hang”
44
How did C.S. Lewis use agape?
- it’s the highest level of love known to humanity.
