Situation Ethics

Situation Ethics

1. Joseph Fletcher

   • maintained that there are 3 ways of makings moral decisions
   • book 'situation ethics' 1966
   • presented SE as an alternative ethical system for Christians

2. Legalism

   • has a set of prefabricated moral rules and regulations
   • creates a 'textbook' morality which requires humans to check what is right or wrong
   • This rigid and fanatical way of sticking to moral laws is not morally good or bad therefore Fletcher rejects legalism

3. Antinomianism

   • 'against the law'
   • has no rules and treats each situation as unique
   • 'They follow no forecastable course from one situation to another. They are anarchic'

4. Situationism

   • middle ground between legalism and antinomianism
   • each moral dilemma is treated separately