SITUATION ETHICS

SITUATION ETHICS

1. Principle of morality proposed by Joseph Fletcher for 'man come of age' based on the fact the only principle that should be followed it to do the most loving thing

2. Followed after comments by Bishop Robinson ( no ethical system can claim to Christian) and Rudolf Buttman (Jesus has no ethics except to love thy neighbour)

3. TEOLOGICAL

   • From greek word end or purpose
   • Morality of action judged by ability of consequences to promote agape
   • Rather than deontological- from word duty, actions are intrinsically good or bad regardless of the context and consequence. More Concerned with what people do rather than the outcome
   • Evidently some knowledge of our consequences are necessary for us to make the correct moral decision

4. MIDDLE WAY

   • Between anti legalism and antinomianism
     • Legalism
       • rules and regulations followed at all times
       • Pharisaic Judaism- law based approach to life
       • Criticises this approach because it requires many additional laws being necessary for every little thing, choking web of laws result which create more questions than answers.
     • Antinomianism
       • No rules regulations at all
       • “it is literally unprincipled purely ad hoc and casual"
       • Means against law
       • no obligation
       • Criticised as it leads to choas
     • Believed both were too extreme for the more secular world, lessening of legalism gave a more humane response, sensitive to variety of life complexities
   • Situationist Approach
     • A more meaningful response is allow by considering the individual situation and basing decision on practical application of love to the specific situation. Rules can be disobeyed if love it best served by doing so.
     • Jesus showed to take same approach- Jesus prevented an adulterous women being stoned to death despite the law allowing her to be, Broke rules on the Sabbath day where Pharisees stated that absolutely nothing could be done on the day.
     • “The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to loves needs"
     • “Sometimes you gotta put principles to one side and do the right thing” St Louis Cab driver
     • “I have not came to abolish the laws but to fulfil them"

5. AGAPE

   • “Love is the only universal but it isn’t something we have or are, it’s something we do”
   • Christian type of love shown in the new testament
   • Only absolute to follow
   • From God who’s very nature is too love
     • “Greater love has no one than this man, that he lay down his life for his friends”
   • Unconditional, selfless, unique and active principle distinguished by its nature
   • ‘All others are only guidelines on how to achieve love’

6. CONSCIENCE

   • Rejects traditional views; isn’t intuition, channel of divine guidance (anything to do with God), value system of culture/society, bag of reliable rules , reason to make us feel guilty for using 4WP to do most loving thing or reason to make the final decision
   • Conscience should be considered but in a special sense
   • •Creative thinking tool which helps us make decision , would make us feel guilty if disobeyed law to do the most loving thing
   • "“There is no conscience it is merely a word to describe out attempts to make decisions creatively, constructively..”

7. 4WP

   • Pragmatism-
     • how practical? Has to be practical and work towards the end (bring about love), if more problems are created decision isn’t practical
   • Relativism
     • All decisions should be relative to love, there is no fixed rules and words such as ‘always’ are avoided as doing the same thing in every situation isn’t going to bring about love
     • “Relativism relativises the absolute it doesn’t absolutise the relative”
   • Positivism
     • Aim of decision should always be a positive one. Situation Ethics depends on us choosing faith that God is love thereby giving first place to love, over laws of reason
   • Personalism
     • People always put before the rules, why agape (concern of people rather than the concern of things) Situationists do this.
     • “ value is what happens to something when it happens to be useful to love for the values of persons”

8. SIX FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. • •

   • Love has no favourites- Agape is undiscriminatory, unrequited, selfless- it goes out to anybody we should love thy neighbour regardless of who that neighbour is, whether we like them or not •
   • Agape replaces law- Love is most significant, not equalled by any other law, why it is the only rule. Jesus demonstrated this by replacing Torah with principle of love, acting on Sabbath day etc.
   • Only love is good in and of itself- Loves the only rule we should followed. Actions are extrinsically good depending on love
   • Love and justice are inseparable- can’t be separated, can’t be loving if decision is unjust and vice versa. •
   • End justifies the means- theory’s teleological, if consequences promote agape what was done to reach outcome e.g break rules, doesn’t matter
   • Most loving thing depends on situation- freedom necessary for real decisions, situationist
   • Backs up and justifies decisions made using 4WP, basis for the practical