Situation ethics

What kind of theory is situation ethics?

• Situation ethics is a religious approach

• It is teleological, subjective and relative

• Furthermore it is a consequentialist theory/based on consequences.

When, and why did Fletcher introduce a new approach to Christian ethics?

• Joseph Fletcher in 1966 (just come out of WW2) introduced a new approach to Christian ethics because the world was becoming more secular/non religious.

• And people had stopped listening to the church and their teachings on what was ethically right.

What did Fletcher reject and why?

Legalism:

• An approach to accept the church/religious authorities’ rules fully, like NL.

• Fletcher rejected this because the rules were too rigid & suffocating & there was no room for individual circumstances.

• The rules will always take priority over the people in a situation

• Times had changed, ‘man has come of age.’

Antinomianism:

• Means the complete abandonment of the rules presented by the church/religious authorities, people can make their own decisions free from any direction, e.g. from an eternal being.

• Fletcher rejected this behaviour because it will be directionless, leading to ad hoc ethics (random, no thought process.) with no way of judging what is good and bad.

Conscience:

• Means people are spiritually led/the voice of God will guide us.

• Fletcher rejected this because it is unreliable & unpredictable.

What did Fletcher say about the 3 approaches he rejected in relation to moral absolutes?

• Fletcher’s main argument was that the above 3 approaches cannot be moral absolutes because they are problematic and don’t work in real situations.

• E.g. ‘thou shall not kill’ cannot be a moral absolute because what about war? self defence?

• Fletcher argued that the situation needs to be considered first by applying the principle of Christian selfless unconditional love - agape.

• He still accepted using reason/natural law, and scriptures/divine law.

• But the one principle of doing the most loving thing/agape needs to be applied in every situation.

• According to Fletcher, selfless unconditional love/agape is the middle way between the extreme’s legalism and antinomianism.

So what would be morally good, or morally bad?

• Something that is morally good = the consequences of our actions create selfless love/agape.

• Something that is morally bad = the consequences of our actions create selfishness.

What does situation ethics say agape is, and what does it say about rules/laws?

• Agape is the only moral absolute & the only motivation for moral actions.

• The moment a rule/law ceases to serve love it should be ignored:

• E.g. ill person asks to help end their live, it might be more loving to help them rather than obey the law that forbids killing.

What are some quotes about agape/love?

• ‘God is love’ - Bible

• ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself’ - Jesus

• ‘The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love.’ - Fletcher

Fletcher used biblical evidence to support SE, what are these and what do they say about agape?

Jesus’ teachings in Luke - Parable of the good Samaritan

• To enter the kingdom of heaven you should love thy neighbour as you love yourself.

St Pauls teachings in 1 Corinthians 13

• Love/agape, faith, hope

• St Paul says love is the highest, without love you cannot have the others.

What are other examples in scripture which show love is best served depending on the situation?

• Jesus forgave the adulterous woman instead of stoning her according to law.

• Healed the sick on the Sabbath instead of worrying about the law that forbade work.

What is the boss principle + key quote?

• Fletcher believed agape love is the most important principle - hence it is the boss principle.

• Highest principle, in charge, must follow the boss.

• Agape is an attitude rather than a feeling

• ‘what a difference it makes when love, understood agapeically is boss’

• It is loving of the unloving

What did Fletcher develop to make agape clearer?

• 4 working principles

• 6 fundamental principles

Why did Fletcher introduce the 4 working principles?

What are the 4 working principles?

• To help us understand how situation ethics works & why it is a good idea as they do not lead to unfairness and prejudice.

• Pragmatism

• Positivism

• Personalism

• Relativism

What is pragmatism + key quote?

• Practical, works towards love.

• Situation ethics is good as it is always what works for the best.

• No matter the situation, going with what is the most loving thing can only lead to more good than bad.

‘Pragmatism is a practical posture’ - Fletcher

• creates a good premise/stance

What is positivism + key quotes?

• Christians freely choosing the faith that God is love.

• Love is the most important criterion of all and has to be accepted voluntarily.

• And love is good.

‘The Christian understands love in terms of God’ - Fletcher

‘God is love’ - Bible

• If you understand love, you will understand God.

What is personalism + key quote?

• Puts people first, they are more important than rules.

• Situation ethics puts human beings and their concerns first rather than rules.

• The command that is given is to love people and not laws or principles.

‘Situation ethics puts people at the centre of concern, not things’ - Fletcher

What is relativism + key quote?

• There are no fixed rules that need to be followed except the principle of agape.

• Love is the only thing that is relevant to all situations unlike law which work for some things and not others.

• Situation ethics uses one principle so its easy to remember and never changes.

‘There must be an absolute of some kind if there is to be any true relativity’ - Fletcher

What are the 6 fundamental principles seen as?

What are the 6 fundamental principles?

• Fletcher explains agape even further through the 6 fundamental principles.

• These are seen as the heart of situation ethics as they help people assess the most loving action in any given situation.

• Love is the only good

• Love is the ruling norm of Christianity

• Love equals justice

• Love for all

• Loving end justifies the means

• Love decides situationally

What is - Love is the only good? + key quote

• Only one thing is intrinsically good - namely love nothing else.

• Only one thing is truly good and that is love.

• Agape is 100% pure goodness.

• Actions are only good if they help humans/showing love for one another, and they are bad if they hurt people.

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

What is - Love is the ruling norm for Christianity? + key quote

• When a person makes a decision they have to follow the rule of love, nothing else - agape is the agreement between God and humanity and it replaces the old religious laws.

• E.g. Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman (Jews were forbidden to talk to Samaritan women in public) or Bonhoeffer tried to kill Hitler.

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

What is - love equals justice? + key quote

• Love and justice are the same, love equals justice

• I.e. in any injustice in the world is an example of a lack of love, e.g. poverty.

• Thus ‘Make Poverty History’ is an example of a campaign which tries to create justice and loving outcomes at the same time.

• Love and justice cannot be separated

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

What is - love for all? + key quote

• We should act in a loving way towards everyone even strangers & enemies, even if they don’t deserve it.

• ‘Love thy neighbour’ refers to anybody and we should always show kindness and fair treatment

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

What is - Loving end justifies the means? + key quote

• A loving outcome can justify the means taken and may require breaking a religious rule.

• E.g. stealing to feed a starving child.

• The only end that is good in itself is love.

‘Only the loving end justifies the means nothing else’

What is - love decides situationally? + key quote

• In every ethical situation only the most loving outcome should be practiced, the rights and wrongs of a situation are relative to love.

‘Love’s decisions are made situationally not prescriptively’