A-level ethics: situation ethics

what is situation ethics?

view espoused by Joseph Fletcher that there is a single, absolute principle of love to be applied in each situation, to produce the best outcome

what were the influences on Fletcher’s situation ethics?

• Aristotle is specific that right judgement requires us to pay specific attention to circumstance and we cannot have firm rules of what will be true in each situation.

• Temple: ethics was personalist and self-centred

• liberal Christianity

what are the 3 possible approaches to the moral life?

• legalism

• antinomianism

• situationism

what is legalism?

reduces moral life to fixed regulations which are universal

what is antinomianism?

the view that rules and principles should be rejected

what is situationism?

Fletcher’s position believes absolutely in the rule of love but that it needs to be applied situationally

• using love for other people as opposed to following laws – a principled approach to ethics based on circumstances and love

why did Fletcher see his ethics as a middle ground?

avoids the problems of each extreme while retaining the benefit of each.

The downside of legalism is that it cannot take the situation into account, the downside of antinomianism is that it leads to moral chaos.

The upside of legalism is that it has clear guidance for people to follow, the upside of antinomianism is that it takes the situation into account.

what is the purpose of the four working principles?

the application of the guiding principle of agape to moral situations.

what are the four working principles?

• positivism

• pragmatism

• personalism

• relativism

what is pragmatism?

by which he means that we must seek practical solutions which work to achieve success

-           An action must be calibrated to the reality of the situation.

what is relativism?

whatever we do must be related to both the facts about ourselves and what we are able to do and the particular facts of the situation

Fletcher claimed his theory “relativizes the absolute, it does not absolutize the relative”.  It is always relative to love which means that only moral claims which are valid when relative to love will be justified for Fletcher.

what is positivism?

the commitment to a God of love and that to love is the main requirement of the ethical life

-          Fletcher thought ethics had to begin with faith in love because Fletcher thought no rational answer can be given for why someone should love as it is a matter of faith in Jesus’ command to love your neighbour as yourself.

what is personalism?

Situation ethics puts people above rules.

As Jesus said “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. Fletcher claims this shows that Jesus knew rules could be broken if it was for the good of humanity to do so.

why did Fletcher create the six propositions?

axioms which follow from agape being at the centre of ethics. Only love is intrinsically good. Everything else has conditional value depending on whether it helps or hurts people, but love is always unconditionally and therefore intrinsically good.

what is the first proposition?

‘Only one ‘thing’ is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else at all’

Actions are never good or evil – they always form part of a cause and chain effect – good or evil based on whether they promote the most loving result

what is the second proposition?

‘The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else’

 

Fletcher commands that the Commandments are not absolute -> Jesus broke them when required by love – love replaces law and is not equalled by law

what is the third proposition?

‘Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else’

what is the fourth proposition?

‘Love wills the neighbour’s good whether we like him or not’

 

Love is about attitude not feeling – a desire for the good of others. Agape is unconditional love of which nothing is required in return.

 

what is the fifth proposition?

‘Only the end justifies the means; nothing else’

The end must be the most loving result

what is the sixth proposition?

 

‘Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively’

- More categorical

Whether something is right/wrong depends on the situation – love decides on the situation as it arises

what are the two types of love?

eros and agape

what is eros?

sexual desire – physical quality and when peoples care and desire for others has a bodily aspect

what is agape?

love people feel for humankind – closely tied to the idea that we need to do good for other people and the virtue of charity

why does Fletcher use agape?

Fletchers appeal to agape – an active love which involves us in doing as much good for people as possible

The importance of Agape in Christianity is drawn from Jesus saying that the ‘greatest commandment’ is to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’. Fletcher interprets that as suggesting all other religious rules, principles and commandments only have value insofar as they enable Agape.

what is the conscience?

only reasoning for future actions

Fletcher thought that the conscience was what enabled you to figure out the requirements of agape in your situation

why does Fletcher say conscience is a verb not a noun?

He said conscience was a verb not a noun, indicating he disagreed with the traditional view that conscience is an internal moral compass or mental ability to intuitively know what is right or wrong.

Is something that describes a process – is a word that describes our attempt to make moral decisions.

- describes our performing an act in a particular way -> we should act ‘conscientiously’

what is a strength of situation ethics (designed for a modern society)?

Fletcher and Robinson argue (influenced by Bonhoeffer) that humanity has ‘come of age’, meaning become more mature.

In medieval and ancient times, people in general were less educated and less self-controlling -t they needed fixed ridged clear rules to follow, because they could not be trusted to understand and act on the nuances and complexities in how a rule could justifiably be bent or broken if the situation called for it.

However, now people are more civilised, to the point that granting them more autonomy will increase love without risking the stability of society.

why does Barclay disagree with situation ethics?

argues that situation ethics gives moral agents a dangerous amount of freedom. For freedom to be good, love has to be perfect. If there is no or not enough love then ‘freedom can become selfishness and even cruelty’.

• Barclay argues mankind has not yet come of age and so ‘still needs the crutch and protection of law’.

Barclay’s argument fails because legalism has worse downsides. It may be true that some would abuse the autonomy situation ethics grants them. However, that is arguably not as bad compared with the dangers of legalistic morality, which is inflexible and outdated. 

what is a weakness of Fletcher’s legalistic approach?

Although love is central, it is not the only element of Biblical Christian ethics.

Martin Luther’s theory of ‘sola scriptura’ argues that the ‘Bible alone’ is the source of moral authority, not the autonomous individual deciding the demands of agape in their situation.

Sola scriptura protestant W. L. Craig argues that the Bible shows that God’s Justice is just as important as his love.

Fletcher has diluted Christian ethics into just loving and wanting the best for others - too vague and not applicable

how is flexibility a strength of situation ethics?

situation ethics is perpetually relevant due to its flexibility in taking the situation into account.

Fletcher’s approach to conscience also enables this flexibility. It doesn’t reveal strict rules or precepts but is simply the way that an individual figures out what has a loving outcome in their situation.

This allows Christian ethics to adapt to the new ethical situations and issues associated with modern society and technology.

why does Pope Pius disagree with situation ethics - natural law/relativsm?

Pope Pius XII accepts there is some truth in ethics depending on the situation. However, he argued that Aquinas’ Natural law approach to conscience already sufficiently does that job.

Catholics believe in ethical absolutes such as the sanctity of life. No matter what the pragmatic situation is, the value of life cannot be relativized. Fletcher’s working principles of pragmatism and relativism are wrong. The stability of society is threatened by relativistic ethical theories like Fletcher’s.

why does John Robinson disagree with situation ethics?

we want certainties -> Fletcher is overly optimistic about the capacity of human beings to make morally correct choices -> it is individualistic so it gives people an excuse for not obeying the rules when it suits them

why does Anthony O’Hear disagree with situation ethics?

difficult to follow the situationist principle that nothing is intrinsically wrong, no matter the circumstance. 

There is no situation where things would be deemed as morally correct, no matter the circumstance. 

He also argues that this lack of absolute and moral laws lead into anarchy (antinomianism) as judging acts on the situation means that there is no set structure or set of guidance for society to abide by or follow, meaning that any act can be excused. 

what is an issue with situation ethics (subjectivity)?

fails to recognise that people’s subjective perspective is fallible

• fails to consider the interests of others or the weaknesses of the conscience

Barclay - ‘we must make man morally fit to take that decision; otherwise we need the compulsion of law to make him do it’

what is an issue with situation ethics (removal of laws)?

the impact on justice of the removal of laws

universal human rights are relied on to ensure that minorities are protected and justice happens

absolutely wrong actions and the removal of laws leaves people vulnerable

why do Niebhur and Brunner disagree that love is justice?

Niebuhr says that love is impossible, only justice is possible in the present.

· Brunner says that love is between persons, justice is between groups.

How does Fletcher justify the principle that love is justice?

1. Justice is giving each man his due.

2. The one thing due to all men is love.

3. Therefore love and justice are the same

Fletcher says it is justice that settles how love is to be distributed. Love has got to calculate. In some circumstances, Fletcher says it may be 'right' to set aside one of the Ten Commandments. It all depends on the circumstances.

what are Fletcher’s examples of love being justice?

You must not steal. But a homicidal maniac has a gun, would you steal it? (T.Hamilton in Dunblane).

· You must not lie. But what about Kant's case of the inquiring murderer?

· You must not commit adultery. A German woman is separated from her family in the last days of WW2 and taken to a Russian prison camp in the Ukraine. She is told that a prisoner can only be released if she has a disease = transfer to a Russian hospital. Or pregnant = Repatriation. Mrs Bergmeier asked a friendly camp guard to make her pregnant. He did. Sent back to Germany, received with open arms. What she had done thoroughly approved of by her family.

why does Barclay disagree with Fletcher’s love is justice principle?

It is easier to agree that extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures than that nothing is absolutely right or absolutely wrong.

why does Barclay disagree with se overall?

Men want security, rules and law because freedom means responsibility. Fletcher is right, the use of freedom requires love, for without love, freedom becomes licence, selfishness and cruelty.

· Barclay follows Aristotle's doctrine of habituation: A child has to be taught what to do according to the laws of goodness when he has not got the wisdom, experience or ability to take the long view or calculate consequences.

how does Ahluwalia support situation ethics?

The theory can never become obsolete, it can adapt & apply to any situation.

It provides Christians with a way of making moral decisions about modern situations that aren’t explicitly mentioned in the Bible.

how does Bowie support situation ethics?

It is flexible, practical & fits with the modern day world.

It provides an alternative Christian ethic, consistent with the Gospel representation of Jesus.