AQA A-Level Religious Studies - Situation Ethics

How can we describe Situation Ethics?

Teleological, relative and subjective

Who was the main proponent of Situation Ethics?

Joseph Fletcher

Proponent

Someone who proposes and is in support of something

What was Joseph Fletcher's key quote about Situation Ethics?

"The morality of an action depends on the situation."

Why did Joseph Fletcher propose Situation Ethics?

To consider more modern issues e.g abortion, euthanasia, nuclear war

When did Fletcher propose Situation Ethics?

The 1960s

What significant ethical issue was invented in the 1960s?

The use of the contraceptive pill

What religion was Fletcher?

He was a Christian and actually used to be a priest, but he later renounced his faith and became an atheist

What are the four types of love?

Agape, philos, storge, eros

Agape

Selfless love of others

Philos

Brotherly love

Storge

Familial love

Eros

Sexual love

In Situation Ethics, which is the main type of love?

Agape

Legalistic Ethics

law-based moral decision-making

Antinomian Ethics

The view that there are no moral principles or rules at all.

Intuitionism

The belief that morality comes from yourself

Existentialism

A philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions

What must a situationist be prepared to do in any moral dilemma?

They must be prepared to set aside legal laws and rules of the community if love is better served by doing so

What type of fixed rules are in Situation Ethics?

There are no fixed rules, but a general principle to apply to every situation.

What did Joseph Fletcher say about the way situationists act in accordance to moral law?

"The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love's needs."

Why are all moral decisions hypothetical to situationists?

Because they have to consider the potential consequences

To a situationist, what does morality depend on?

Maximising love

Will a situationist ever just simply say something is a good thing?

No, they will only say something is a good thing if…

Imitatio Dei

Imitating the example of Jesus and his teachings

Which of Jesus' teachings promote the situationist view of love?

"Love they neighbour as thyself" Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto me"

What were Jesus' two commandments?

Love others, love God

What are two examples of Jesus breaking the law to uphold love?

Healing the lame man on the Sabbath When he prevented the stoning of the adulteress

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

What authority does Situation Ethics follow?

The Bible, but only Jesus' law of love

Agapeic calculus

Used to determine if an action is the most loving thing to do in a situation by weighing up the different consequences and the amount of love that will result from an action

What are the four working principles of Situation Ethics?

Pragmatism, Positivism, Personalism, Relativism

Pragmatism

Situation Ethics is pragmatic because in every situation you consider what achieves the most loving, this flexibility is what makes it pragmatic

The solution to any moral dilemma has to be practical and maximise love.

Expedient

convenient and practical in achieving an end

What did Fletcher say about Pragmatism?

"All are agreed: the good is what works, what is expedient, what gives satisfaction."

Positivism

Situation Ethics is based on a faith commitment to Christian love and this must be considered when making a decision

What did Fletcher say about Positivism?

"The Christian does not understand God in terms of love

he understands love in terms of God, as seen in Christ."

Personalism

People should be at the centre of every decision. Decisions are a concern fir the subject (person) not the object

What did Fletcher say about Personalism?

"Situation Ethics puts people at the centre of concern, not things."

Relativism (SE)

The idea that all situations must be looked at separately, so right and wrong will change from situation to situation. There has to be something constant through considering the situations, for Fletcher this is agapeic love.

What does Fletcher say about Relativism?

"Agapeic love: it relativizes the absolute" (meaning that right and wrong are determined by love)

What does Fletcher say about conscience as a role in decision making?

He thinks it is a crucial aspect of moral decisions

What ideas about the conscience does Fletcher disagree with?

Conscience is innate It is guided by the Holy Spirit It is internalised by society It is reason making moral judgements

What does Fletcher believe about conscience?

Fletcher believes it is prospective and helps you make decisions

it is a verb not a noun

Prospective

Looks to the future

What is the role of conscience?

To choose what love demands in the present situation

What is the first proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

love is the only intrinsic good

What does Fletcher say about the proposition that love is the only intrinsic good?

"Only one thing is intrinsically good

namely love: nothing else at all"

What is the second proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

love is the only norm

love replaces law

What does Fletcher say about the proposition that love is the only norm?

"The ruling of Christian decision is love: nothing else."

What is the third proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

love is justic distrubuted

What does Fletcher say about the proposition that love is justice distributed?

"Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else."

What is the fourth proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

love is not the same as liking

What does Fletcher say about the proposition love is not the same as liking?

"Love wills the neighbour good, whether we like it or not."

What is the fifth proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

loving ends justify the means

What does Fletcher say about the proposition that loving ends justify the means?

"Only the end justifies the means, nothing else."

What is the sixth proposition of the six fundamental proposition?

love is situational

What does Fletcher say about the proposition that love is situational?

"Love's decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively."

Why does Fletcher describe conscience as a verb not a noun?

Because it is not something you have it is something we do

Why is it a strength that situation ethics is based on the biblical principle of agape love?

Because the principle is clearly grounded in the life of Jesus. Jesus acted situationally not legalistically, so Christians should follow Jesus' example of love and how he gave love priority even when it meant breaking the law

Why is it a strength that Fletcher built situation ethics on the presuppositions of personalism, situationism and pragmatism?

As they are built on a platform of moral common sense

What is it that situation ethics promotes through people making their own decisions based on love?

It promotes individual autonomy and empowerment

Why is situation ethics better than legalistic ethics in some aspects?

Because it adapts to the fast evolving technology of the 21st century

What is is it that situation ethics focuses on that legalistic ethics doesnt?

Helping people rather than worship of old laws

What does situation ethics promote through making people analyse every situation?

Societal justice

Why is the responsibility placed on the individual a problem with situation ethics?

Because not everyone has a tendency towards selflessness, so people may choose selfish actions as they have no guidance

What does situation ethics disregard that is significant?

Over 2000 years of church tradition and over 3000 years of biblical authority

What is a problem with deciding the most loving in every scenario?

There may be no consensus, so deciding would be arbitrary

What is the problem often found with the case study examples Fletcher uses?

They are unrealistic solely for the purpose of being able to find a possible answer where legalistic ethics is unable to

What is a potential problem with the focus situation ethics puts on love?

Love may become obsessive, people may think they're demonstrating agapeic love when in reality they are becoming overly obsessed and this is where terrorists fall.