Eduqas Alevel RS Theme 3:C the Application of situation ethics

what do we apply fletchers situation ethics to

homosexuality and polyamorous relationships

how do the 4 working principles apply to homosexuality

1. pragmatism = practically it does not matter, if both people consent it is practical to allow it to happen because legally preventing it will cause both people to suffer which is not practical.

2. relativism = the situation is filled with agape and it doest affect anyone else as long as it is in private then anything is free to happen

3. positivism = choosing to love willingly the most loving thing to do is let them be with who they want to be with. Positive though towards love

4. Personalism = situation ethics put their people first, put love first of their people. People are best served when they can choose to be with who they want to be with.

how do the 6 fundamental principles to homosexuality

1. love, any type, superceeds over everything else, any law becomes less important if love is better severe by not following it.

2. love is a distillation of the spirit of love rather than a compendium of legalistic rules. It makes it hard to show love if it is covered in rules

3. love and justice are the same. if we can control who people love it prevents fairness and justice meaning they go hand in hand and cant exist without eachother

4. love is unconditional for everyone, no one should be limited such as good Samaritan

5. you should not enforce a rule that causes harm and said rule should not be followed as love as not been shown, you can never predict the consequences

6. we should make decisions based on the situation, if you love the not based on the situation then that doesn't have any love behind it. Case by case situation, if there is agape and consent then no rule should prevent it. Jesus didn't adhere to religious laws

what does homosexuality include but not limited to

- a sexual relationship with another of the same gender

- a romantic relationship between humans of the same gender

- a commitment such as marriage or civil partnership between humans of the same gender

what does religion teach about homosexuality

- "God blessed them, and God said to them "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it" Genesis 1:28

- "you shall not lie with a man as you do with a woman it is an abomination" levictus 18:22

what does fletcher say on homosexual relationships

Any rules of commands against homosexuality take a second place against agape (first and second fundamental principles dictate this) So if it is more loving to allow homosexuality than to prohibit them then they should be allowed

what are some of the ideas of a polyamorous relationship?

- the idea that more than two people are willing to be in a romantic relationship together.

- it has been around in the world since the ancient greeks but has gained popularity recently

- it requires honesty and consent from everyone in the relationship

- there have been no universal boundaries of what is right and wrong it is up to those in the relationship to decide

what does religion teach about polyamorous relationships

Christian tradition prohibits it, but there is no clear scripture to say no to it. The NT refers to the Bishops and deacons only marrying once.

- "for this is the willow God your sanctification; that you will abstain from fornication" Genesis 2:24

- "let marriage be held in honour by all and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled: for God will judge fornicators and adulterers"

Although God seemed to allow it in the Old Testament art key times to protect vulnerable women

- "if he takes another wide to himself, he shall not diminish the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first wife."

what does fletcher say about polyamorous relationships

Any laws or rules about polyamorous relationships are of secondary importance to love. We must start from a position where we trust that love is a good thing and then work out how best it is to be loving (positivism). We need to assess the individual situation (relativism)

what do the 4 working principles say about polyamorous relationships

pragmatism = practically if there is no jealously or hard feelings and each person is aware of what is happening and they consent the it is fine t happen. It happens practically then love must come first and does not affect anyone else and ensures fulfilment for all members.

relativism = the relative is love, the situation is filled with love and everyone is happy and it doesn't affect anyone else then it does not matter. Consent and agape should be upheld as long as everyone is equal.

positivism = most loving thing is to be with those who you love and love you back with no obligation to limit themselves provided everybody is happy. Love is best served to them when they are all together.

personalism = decisions like this are personal and up to the individual along as everyone is happy and consent people can choose who THEY want t be with, there should be no rule restricting who people can and cant love. It's an emotion and emotions should not be controlled by universal laws.

what do eh 6 fundamental principles say about polyamorous relationships

1. love of all types supersedes everything, overrules over others love should be served to those who consent and we should respect their wishes

2. the Bible goes agents it but fletcher says that a sin does not equal law. Abandon christian legalism

3. it is fair to allow people to love and be with their people - to limit love is to be injustice. In this case it is forced, you don't get to live your life the way you want

4. love is known to be unconditional and pure, it should not be limited to one person as it would limit the love and that its not agape, don't pass a comment of you don't like it

5. only the end justifies the means and enforcing rules that prevent love would not justify anything

6 we should have our own ability to make decisions our situations not a group In power. Case by case should not be compared.

what would fletcher say in Alan turnings situation

Alan Turing was prosecuted for homosexuality under the law at that time despite being a very intelligent man that saved thousands of lives. The effects of the treatment were damaging and Turning died two years later, it was only in 2005 when the current prime minister publicly apologised for the way he was treated. Fletcher would have said that love is not being best served here, agape is not here. His relationship does not affect anyone else and it it serves love to him, he is positive and happy but by the laws taking that away the agape is gone.

What was the Wolfenden Report

-In 1957, following pressure from church groups and moral campaigners , the Macmillan government published the Wolfenden Report.

-The report had stated that there had been a decline in 'morality' since the war and family life had weakened.

-Lord Wolfenden believed that the law against prostitution should be made harsher but the homesexual activity between consenting adults over the age of 21 , in private, should be decriminalised.

-Wolfenden believed that prostitution was a public display of 'immorality' whereas male homosexuality was at least hidden and took place behind closed doors.

when were the major breakthroughs in the laws

1967 - the age of consent for homosexuality males was 21

1994 - age of consent reduced to 18

2000 - age of consent was lowered to 16

2003 - the sexual offence acts overhauled procedures including gross indecency between men

2013 - same sex marriage legalised on the 13th March

What is polyamory?

the philosophy or state of being in love or romantically involved with more than one person at the same time. Described as being "consensual, ethical, responsible and non - monogamy"

- there are 2% globally 2020

- becoming more positive and attitudes are shifting

- illegal to marry

what are the strengths of situation ethics

- situation ethics is easy to understand and can be constantly updated for new problems and issues as they arise such as genetic engineering and foetal research - opposite to natural law as it os fluid and moves with the time and people

- it is flexible and can take different situations into account, but is based on the Christian concept of love.

- Situation ethics allows people to take responsibility for their own decisions and make up their own minds about what is right or wrong. Bishop John Robinson called it an ethic for humanity come of age.

- situation ethics provides an alternative, christian approach to ethics that is in line with Gospels. Jesus was not afraid of breaking the ritual laws such as the sabbath.

- Individual cases are judged on their own merits irrespective of the past or similar cases.

- it focuses on humans and concern for other agape

what are the weaknesses of situation ethics

- people need to be practical and Fletchers illustrations aren't relevant for most people. Very extreme and binary

- people would mean to do the most loving thing but our personal preferences would always get in the way, ethical egoism and psychological egoism

- people need laws and rules to spell out behaviour in oder to keep us all safe and signing from the same song sheet, too much freedom could spiral into chaos

- This method of design making was condemned in 1952 by Pope Pius XII who said it was wrong to make decisions on individual circumstances if these went against the teaching of the church

- William Barclay said that Fletchers examples are very extreme and rare, how often does someone use fletchers ethics for life or death situations

- Barclay says that it is much easier to agree that extraordinary situations need extraordinary measures than to think that there are no laws for ordinary life

- Barclay says that it is hard for individuals to make their own moral decisions in every situation. We are swayed by emotion or fear and can subconsciously persuade us that we are doing the correct thing but really we are doing the best thing for ourselves

- It is not possible to determine the consequences of actions - how do we know that the result will be the most loving for all concerned, decisions have a long effect of consequences.

- SE is subjective and limited to an individuals perception. It isn't easy to be sure that the ethicist's perception of the situation and their resulting decision is right

what was Fletchers response to the legislation concerning sexual activity

1. unhappy with the inconsistencies in laws concerning sex and sexuality

2. he was unhappy with the religious link many of these laws had and their legalism grounding which he believed didn't base itself in agape love

3. he was unhappy with the church and their whole outlook on sex in general. Put two guys to death if they slept together because it is a capital punishment

he didn't like how sins and crimes were conflated

what were Fletches propositions

there is a range for private choice and personal taste

1. age of consent

2. infringement of public decency

3. act involving assault or violence

- fletcher concluded that sex laws should be based on these not religious sins

what is the degree to which agape is the only intrinsic good

only intrinsic good:

- corinthians 13:13 is clear that agape is more important than any other characteristic

- Jesus states that the law is based upon the command to love God and your neighbour

- Law us useful only if they produce an outcome that is loving

- to be treated with loving kindness and compassion is something that everyone wants

not intrinsically good:

- asap is too subjective to be considered intrinsically good

- some acts seem good without being loving such as the model trolley problem

- you cant love everyone - a mother having an abortion us not loving to the foetus

- age is an over simplification there is more morality than this

Agape is good but not the only one:

- other goods are mentioned in corinthians 13:13

- corinthians mentions joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control

- in exodus, Abrahams obedience to God's commands is of primary importance

- Matthew 5:17 says that Jesus came to fulfil the law not abolish it

whether fletchers situation ethics promotes immoral behaviour

it does:

- human desires are promoted as more important than God's commands

- It encourages people to reject god's commands if it suits them more

- some actions are simply wrong such as rape but the situation ethics could technically excuse it

- Jesus never broke any of the 10 commandments on the pharisaic laws

does not:

- situation ethics cannot promote immorality because the only moral thing is love

- it follows Jesus' example of love first

- It only requires law breaking when the situation is so extreme that the law fails

- manipulation of agape for selfish ends is a risk but is nit advocated.

allows it but does not promote it:

- it tries to do what is best but inadvertently leads to immorality

- you cant love everyone equally, so it is too idealistic to be realistic

- it doesn't required people to murder but accepts that such acts might be necessary

- it allows us to too choose between two bad options when that is all that is available

The extent to which situation ethics promotes justice

promote justice:

- one of the six fundamental principles is that love and justice are the same thing

- personal aims accepts that circumstances make it easier for some to obey rules

- justice is a fair outcome. People have diverse needs to reach the same goal

- loving your neighbour means that we don't give preferential treatment to anyone

does not promote justice:

- the agapeistic calculus disregards the minority to bring love to the majority

- Justice is an equal treatment, not the same outcome. the same rules should apply to all

- it is impossible to legislated for SE in society so it cant promote justice

- It encourages a free choice of behaviours. This promotes anarchy not justice

Promotes justice just does not achieve it:

- justice is impossible. We can't show love to everyone even though fletcher wants us to

- situation ethics is idealistic not realistic

- some people are resistant to help and so we cannot provide love if they don't want it

- it is not fair to the victims of crime to show equal love to criminals

the effectiveness of situation ethics in dealing with ethical issues

effective:

- it allows for individual autonomy to weight up the situation for themselves

- it is adaptable to new ethical scenarios that present themselves in society

- it can make allowances for extreme situations

- but not rejecting law entirely, it still provides stricture to society

ineffective:

- it is not possible to judge the actions and laws of others because everything is relative

- it allows actions that most others would recognise as intrinsically bad

- laws are put in place for a reason, to prevent problem s that have arisen historically

- we cannot know all the fixture consequences that will Arie from this decision

partially effective:

- laws help govern society: agape is useful for the individual

- agape combined with other factors could regulate each other

- it is beneficial to us all to make sure that land are applied in a loving and compassionate way

- situation ethics can address our attitude but cannot protect us form others immoral acts

whether agape should replace religious rules

should replace:

- Justus set the precedent that we can put laws aside if it is loving to do so

- the new testament preaches freedom from the restrictions of Judaic law

- if we follow agape then we will usually end up doing what the law suggests anyway

- focus on the law means we become like the Pharisees, Jesus preached against them

should not replace:

- God's laws do not change they are absolute, I the lord do not change Malachi

- Jesus said that he had not come to replace the law but to fulfil it

- religious laws protect the vulnerable and persevere our relationship with God

- our reason is flawed, we cannot be trusted to know the best way to be loving

work alongside each other:

- agape is useful for individuals but cannot run a society

- rules are useful for society to make sure vulnerable people are protected

- agape is a useful personal ethic for when rules font address the situation

- agape can ensure that the rules doesn't become too cold hearted

the extent to which situation ethics provides a practical basis for making moral decisions for both religious and non religious believers

practical for both:

- while God is the basis, it is possible to be loving whether you are religious or not

- the principle of positivism requires faith In love not God

- a principle of situation ethics is pragmatism - practicality is written right into the theory

- it requires use of reason to see how best to be loving, so anyone can apply it

impractical for both:

- humans are not omniscient, we cannot judge in advance what the loving ends might be

- love is too subjective for anyone to use it to judge behaviour

- non believers cannot view Jesus as a rile model without faith in his divinity

- it is a impractical way to run a society, multi cultural be secular society without proselytising

practical only for believers:

- non believers have not reason to be interest in the teachings of Christ

- non believers will prefer util which does not resort to scripture

- practically means useful agape is not useful since the world is only meaningful to believers

- non believers do not share any motivation to emulate God by following His theory