an intro to situation ethics

key words:

justice: just behaviour or treatment

pragmatism: acting in moral situations in a way that is practical

relativism: good and bad are relative to an individual/community - a rejection of absolute moral standards eg laws

positivism: some ‘truths’ should be accepted as self-evident

personalism: ethics centred on people rather than laws

conscience: the weighing up of the possible action before it’s taken - a kind of moral deliberation, rather than a faculty within a human being

teleological ethics: moral goodness is determined by the end or result

legalistic ethics: ethical decisions based on laws

antinomian ethics: ethics which do no recognise the role of law in morality

situational ethics: another term for situation ethics

agape love: unconditional love, the only ethical norm in situationism

extrinsically: external to a thing, its essential nature, or its original character

key scholars:

  • joseph fletcher

  • j.a.t. robinson

key questions:

  • might doing the right thing involve breaking the rules?

  • does the morality of an action depend on the situation:

  • is love at the heart of ethics?

joseph fletcher (1905-1991):

  • american professor

  • founded theory of situation ethics in 1960s

  • pioneer in bioethics n was involved in the areas of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia n cloning

    “the morality of an action depends on the situation”

  • legalistic: set of predefined rules n regulations which direct how you should behave.

    • eg

  • antinomian: reverse of legalistic (law-based) ethics. doesn’t use any kind of law, rule or principle

  • situational: how moral an action is depends on the situation

john robinson (1919-1983):

  • english new testament scholar, author n anglican bishop of woolwich

  • lecturer @trinity college, cmabridge n dean of trinity college until his death in 1983 from cancer

  • considered major force in shaping liberal christian theology

historical context:

  • 60s = mass social revolution in western world

  • younger generation wanted to be liberated from conservative way of life lived by their parents esp regarding love, sex n marriage

  • intro of contraceptive pill revolutionised attitudes to sex n women were no longer willing to accept living life as ‘good housewife n mother’

  • church attendance dwindled due to strict teachings

  • fletcher n robinson fearful that church was alienating wider society

  • intro of situation ethics = response to these social changes

    • felt need to modernise tradish church teachings

  1. How is situation ethics different from other types of Christian ethics?

  • different from natural law n legalistic forms of biblical ethics

  • its supporters suggest it is consistent with the representation of Jesus in the gospel

  1. Why do some Christian thinkers criticise situation ethics?

  • critics think it’s unjust, individualistic, unduly demanding of individual conscience n socially destructive