A-level ethics: situation ethics

what is ethics?

ethics is the morals and principles in which people follow what is right and wrong

what is meta ethics?

means above and beyond- the study of ethical concepts, what does good mean, does it exist?

what is normative ethics?

considers ethical theories that give advice on how to behave, natural law and utilitarianism

what is applied ethics?

discusses specific problems in ethics

what is descriptive ethics?

explores different ethical views that vary across cultures- such as the sociological study of ethics

what does absolutist mean?

a belief that moral rules are fixed and applied at all times and places

what does relativist mean?

a belief that moral rules are not fixed and applied in situations

what does deontological mean?

an ethic that concentrates on whether an action is good

what does teleological mean?

an ethic that judges the right of the action by consequence

what type of ethic is natural law?

absolutist and deontological

what type of ethic is Kantian ethics?

absolutist and deontological

what type of ethic is utilitarianism?

relativist and teleological

what type of ethics is situation ethics?

relativist and teleological

who created situation ethics?

Joseph fletcher

what are the 4 working principles?

pragmatism

relativism

personalism

positivism

what is pragmatism?

considers what's the most practical thing to do in the situation

what is relativism?

rules can be changed

what is personalism?

people matter more than law, so considers them more than laws

what is positivism?

doing the most positive thing in the situation

what is conscience?

what enables us to figure out the difference between good and evil and do the most loving thing in a situation

what does agape mean?

unconditional love

what does legalism mean?

the idea that ethical decision making is by a system of laws

what is the only absolute thing for fletcher?

agape

what is moral absolutism?

a philosophical idea that people are subject to absolute standards of conduct. that does not change with circumstances- consequences of the action are not taken into account

what are the strengths of moral absolutism?

provides universal code

it is easier to apply than relativism

life contains situations which takes an absolute approach

what are the weaknesses of moral absolutism?

it doesn't consider different circumstances

how does anyone know what absolute morals are?

it is not concerned with the motive or outcome

what is moral relativism?

a moral approach where there are no situations that are exactly the same- there is no fixed objective moral reality or if there is, it cant be discovered

what are the strengths of moral relativism?

it is flexible

it focuses on people

it allows people to take responsibility

what are the weaknesses of moral relativism?

judgements are always subjective

it is more difficult to apply than absolutism

no two people may agree on a judgement

how is situation ethics useful?

sometimes there are situations and circumstances where rules are harder to apply and situation ethics reviews the situation and takes it into account- focuses on the persons reasoning behind the action rather than being absolute on the action itself

how is situation ethics not useful?

everything can be justified and it does not set universal boundaries, the concept of agape is not clear as to how to apply it and the most loving thing can vary due to personal opinion

what are the three different approaches to ethics according to fletcher?

situationism, legalism and antinomianism

what is situationism?

fletcher believed that this was the right approach as it meant knowing when to apply a principle and when to make an exception- to know when agape is required in a situation

what is antinomianism?

means to have no rules at all- this is to act freely on the situation

what are the 6 fundamental principles?

1. Love is the only good

2. Love is the ruling norm in ethical decision making

3. Love and justice are the same thing

4. Love for all whether liked or not

5. Love is the end goal that justifies any means to achieve

6. Love decides on each situation as it has no set of laws

what does Barclay say about situation ethics?

he argues that it gives too much flexibility, Robinson said that situation ethics was "the only ethic for man come of age" but Barclay points out that "man has not come of age" and he felt that ignoring God's grace is wrong and we need some kind of guidance to keep society safe

what does Tillich say about situation ethics?

he said that allowing people to make individual moral choices will lead to chaos and we need some rules or moral absolutes

what does Bowie say about situation ethics?

he said that it is flexible, practical and fits with the modern day world, it provides an alternative christian ethic, consistent with the gospel representation of Jesus

what are the strengths of situation ethics?

it is relativist- flexible, allowing individual responses to different contexts, pushing aside principles to do the right thing

it is positivist- focuses on love which is not self- seeking

it is pragmatic- suggests solutions that work and it useful

it is autonomous- allows individuals to make their own decisions, acting out of love frees us from having to follow established authorities of which we become distrustful

it promotes social justice- agape motivates people to change things for the better to get rid of discrimination, help those who are poor etc as a system of rules does not help bring change

it is up to date- situationism allows you to change with the times this includes ideas about marriage, sexuality, medical ethics etc

not limited to reason- whilst rationality may play apart in working out what is the best interest of others, love is not limited to reason and rationality cannot motivate our actions as it is dispassionate. love moves us to do what reason shows us is the best outcome

what are the weaknesses of situation ethics?

it follows rules- we are supposed to follow rules, they weren't called the "ten suggestions"

it is vague- it is impossible to say what your supposed to do, how do you work out what is the most loving if the situation is always changing

it is evil- allows terrible things (theft, adultery, lying, murder etc) in the name of love

it is unfair- justice requires us to to follow the law and treat all people equally, situation ethics allows us to treat people differently, break the rules, lie, steal in individual circumstances and it is not fair

isolates the church- as the individual acts independently, the church has no place in moral decision making, the situationist approach ignores thousands of years of church tradition