RS a level ETHICS - situation ethics

whole topic with key terms and evaluation

which archbishop was fletcher influenced by and in what aspects of SE

William Temple

values of love, situationism and personalism

what is antinomianism

an ethical theory that does not recognise the authority of rules, but promotes freedom from external law

Fletcher rejected this because “it is literally unprincipled”, suggesting such a society would fall into anarchy

what is legalism

an ethical theory that there are fixed moral rules which should be followed universally

Fletcher rejected this because in a truly ethical approach a person must come first

traditional, deontological Christian ethics are a form of legalism

what is situationism

a normative ethical theory that believes absolutely in the rule of love, but that it needs to be applied situationally

give a Fletcher quote on love and morality

“the situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need”

Jesus last supper quote

“just as i have loved you, you also should love one another”

what are the four working principles

pragmatism, relativism, positivism, personalism

what did Fletcher say about conscience

“conscience is a function not a faculty”

describes our attempts to make decisions creatively and constructively; it is not innate intuition, but the method used to discern agape

shows agape is not subjective, and humans should seek agape as we have a God-given capacity to do so

give 2 of Fletcher’s 4 examples

special bombing mission no. 13, wartime sacrifice

Pope Pius xii quote about situation ethics

“(it is) an individualistic and subjective appeal to the concrete circumstances of actions to justify decisions in opposition to the natural law or God’s revealed will”

what did Barclay say about situation ethics in his book “Ethics in a Permissive Society”

people need rules to live by, as freedom can become selfishness or cruelty

“to discard the law is to discard experience”

what did Barclay comment about Fletchers belief in free will

humans are not wholly free; their actions are controlled by their upbringing, culture and personality

4 limitations of situation ethics

unfair as justice cannot be served when everybody is not treated equally e.g. Hiroshima and Nagasaki (special bombing mission no.13) example

idolises the individual, which would cause a society to descend into moral chaos

undermines the value of the church and the bible

agape is too vague

which Biblical figure taught agape

Jesus

1 strength of situation ethics

relativist structure allows for its relevance in a modern society, in which relativist ethics are increasingly more popular and accepted than deontological ethical theories like natural moral law

quote from Fletcher on conscience

“the traditional error is in thinking about conscience as a noun instead of a verb”

Quote from William Temple on overarching duty to love

“one ultimate and invariable duty, and its formula is ‘thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’”

Quote from Fletcher on the overarching principle of SE

“there is only one… law that is binding and unexceptionable, always good and right regardless of the circumstances. that is love”

2 quotes showing agape from the New Testament

John 5:9-10: “as the Father has loved me, so have I loved you”

John 4:8: “let us love one another, for love comes from God”

2 quotes showing God’s wrath/lack of agape in the Old Testament

Nahum 1:2-3: “the lord is a jealous and avenging God; the lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath”

Exodus 32:10: God says to Moses “my wrath may wax hot against them”

what is pragmatism (1st WP)

grounding ethics in experience not theory, focusing on what practically works

what is relativism (2nd WP)

basing ethics on making the absolute laws of Christian morals relative

what is positivism (3rd WP)

starting with the belief in the reality and the importance of love

what is personalism (4th WP)

people being the ultimate moral value, coming before rules

quote from Fletcher in ‘Situation Ethics’ on personalism

“love is of people, by people, and for people”

6 propositions/fundamental principles in order

love is the only intrinsically good thing

love is the ruling norm in ethical decision-making and replaces all laws

love and justice are the same

love wills the neighbour good always

love is the end of the act which justifies any means to achieve that end

love decides on each situation as it arises with other no governing laws

Fletcher example that highlights 4 working principles

a family is hiding from bandits and their baby starts crying

if they are all discovered, they will all be killed

Fletcher says it might be the loving thing to kill their own baby

J.A.T Robinson on Barclay’s criticism that SE is too autonomous

humanity has “come of age,” such as since medieval times, and can be afforded more autonomy without becoming corrupt

Mouw criticism

nonsensical to reduce Christian ethics to only one of Jesus’ commands when Jesus made other commands too

Fletcher’s response to Mouw

Jesus allowed the breaking of rules (like working on the sabbath)

Jesus’ greatest commandment was to love your neighbour

MacQuarrie quote and criticism

“as well as suffering from individualism, radical situation ethics suffers from the vice of subjectivism”

SE offers no system or solutions for communities, being incurably individualist

Bonhoeffer’s situationism

dependent on God’s will, not agapeic love

Fletcher quote relativism

SE “relativizes the absolute, but does not absolutize the relative”

Barth’s criticism

the only command that exists outside of rules is “God’s commanding”