Situation ethics

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Created on: 07-02-18 09:20

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Situation ethics
- Joseph Fletcher
  - Joseph Fletcher (1905 - 1991) was an American professor who formalised the theory known as situation ethics
  - He was an ordained priest but later identified as a humanist
- Antinomianism; a theory of ethics that does not recognise the authority of but promotes freedom from the external rules, from the Greek word meaning lawless
  - Legalism; an approach to ethics that accepts the absolute nature of established rules or principles
    - The legalistic approach - apply set principles rigidly and without consideration of context
      - Fletcher rejects all other approaches within ethics and his rationale for using the religious concept of 'agape' (selfless love) as the "middle way" between exremes of legalism and antinomianism
        agape
        Situation ethics
        Joseph Fletcher
        Joseph Fletcher (1905 - 1991) was an American professor who formalised the theory known as situation ethics
        
        He was an ordained priest but later identified as a humanist
        
        Antinomianism; a theory of ethics that does not recognise the authority of but promotes freedom from the external rules, from the Greek word meaning lawless
        Legalism; an approach to ethics that accepts the absolute nature of established rules or principles
        The legalistic approach - apply set principles rigidly and without consideration of context
        Fletcher rejects all other approaches within ethics and his rationale for using the religious concept of 'agape' (selfless love) as the "middle way" between exremes of legalism and antinomianism
        agape
        The Greek word for christian love
        The word agape expresses pure, unconditional love to set it apart from other Greek words describing different aspects of love
        
        The main focus of the word was the use of it in the parable of the 'good Samaritan' where the 'strategy of love' is clearly outlined
        
        Agape is understood as pure, unconditional, love opposed to sexual, empathetic and affection translations of love
        The word agape expresses pure, unconditional love to set it apart from other Greek words describing different aspects of love
        
        Situation ethics; a relativist theory of ethics made famous by Joseph Fletcher
        The situational approach - to consider each situation on its merits before applying the Christian 'principle' of love (agape)
        
        Antinomian approach - that tended to champion the freedom of the individual without reference to any rules
        
        'Situation Ethics was, as are most books, a product of its times. If we distinguish ethics from morality, the method of Situation Ethics has such widespread appeal partly because of its close fit with the 'new morality. that had emerged or was emerging' (CHILDRESS)
        
        'The simple-minded use of the notions of 'right and wrong' is one of the chief obstacle to the progress of understanding
        
        The role of conscience in situation ethics
        The rejections
        'An innate, radar-like, built-in faculty - intuation'
        'Inspiration from outside the decision maker - guidance by the Holy Spirit'
        'The internalised value system of the culture and society'
        'Reason making moral judgements or value choices'
        
        Four working principles
        To be able to use situation ethics in practise he created the four working principles
        
        Pragmatism
        
        Six fundamental principles
        
        The Greek word for christian love
        
        The main focus of the word was the use of it in the parable of the 'good Samaritan' where the 'strategy of love' is clearly outlined
        
        Agape is understood as pure, unconditional, love opposed to sexual, empathetic and affection translations of love
  - Situation ethics; a relativist theory of ethics made famous by Joseph Fletcher
    - The situational approach - to consider each situation on its merits before applying the Christian 'principle' of love (agape)
  - Antinomian approach - that tended to champion the freedom of the individual without reference to any rules
- 'Situation Ethics was, as are most books, a product of its times. If we distinguish ethics from morality, the method of Situation Ethics has such widespread appeal partly because of its close fit with the 'new morality. that had emerged or was emerging' (CHILDRESS)
- 'The simple-minded use of the notions of 'right and wrong' is one of the chief obstacle to the progress of understanding
- The role of conscience in situation ethics
  - The rejections
    - 'An innate, radar-like, built-in faculty - intuation'
      - 'Inspiration from outside the decision maker - guidance by the Holy Spirit'
        'The internalised value system of the culture and society'
        'Reason making moral judgements or value choices'
- Four working principles
  - To be able to use situation ethics in practise he created the four working principles
  - Pragmatism
- Six fundamental principles
Relativism
- Positivism
  - Personalism
Fletcher identifies six statements on which his 'one' "general" proposition is based
- The one general proposition is the command-ment to 'love God through the neighbour
  - In other words, the fundamental principles are there to help elucidate the nature of agape
- 1) Only one 'thing' is intrinsically good; namely, love; nothing else at all
  - Fletcher calls this the New Testament 'Law of love'. He says love is a verb and that only God is love because men who are finite only do love
- 2) The ruling norm of Christian decisions is love; nothing else
  - Love is the new covenant; it replaces old laws and he refers to the teachings of both Jesus and Paul for justification
    - Fletcher does not disrespect laws but he argues that the situationist recognises the law for what it is - a 'distillation. of the spirit of love rather than a 'compendium' of the legalistic rules
- 3) Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed nothing else
  - Agape is 'giving love' Giving justice is to apportion human being that to which he or she is entitled
- 4) Love wills the neighbour's good whether we like him or not
  - Jesus urged everyone to 'love your enemies' This is a classical statement of the substance and fibre of Christian love leading to a 'radical obligation' Love then becomes kenotic. Pure love then is indiscriminate in its application
    - Kenotic is from a Greek word meaning to empty or make oneself completely receptive to something
- 5) Only the end justifies the means, nothing else
  - There are four factors of judging a situation in ethics;
  - 1) What is the desired end
    - 2) What should be the means to achieve it
      - 3) What is the motive in achieving it?
        4) What would be the consquences
- 6) Love's decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively
  - Fletcher see's it as part of our heritage that we have sought for law to become slaves but this leads to faliure as principles fail in practice
Luke 10;25-37 (good samaritan)
- The biblical evidence used to support Fletchers approach
  - St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 13)
    - If i speak in the tounges of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only resounding gong or a clanging cymbal
      - If i do not have love, i am nothing
        If i give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that i may boast but do not have love i gain nothing
        Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserves'
        This means love is not biased. Love is everything
- An expert in law asked 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
  - He replied 'what is written in law?' 'How do you read it?'
    - The expert answered 'love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and 'love your neighbour as yourself
      - 'you have answered correctly' Jesus replied 'Do this and you will live'
        The expert wanted Jesus to justify himself and asks 'And who is my neighbour'
        Jesus replied by saying ' A man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, when we was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes and beat him and went away leaving him half dead
        A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side
        So too a levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side
        But a samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him
        He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him
        The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, 'look after him' he said 'and when i return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you have'
        'Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?'
        The expert replied 'The one who had mercy on him'
        Jesus told him 'Go and do likewise.'
        Neighbours help one another no matter if you like them or not
An expert in law asked 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'
- He replied 'what is written in law?' 'How do you read it?'
  - The expert answered 'love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and 'love your neighbour as yourself
    - 'you have answered correctly' Jesus replied 'Do this and you will live'
      - The expert wanted Jesus to justify himself and asks 'And who is my neighbour'
        Jesus replied by saying ' A man who was going from Jerusalem to Jericho, when we was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes and beat him and went away leaving him half dead
        A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side
        So too a levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side
        But a samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him
        He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him
        The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, 'look after him' he said 'and when i return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses you have'
        'Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?'
        The expert replied 'The one who had mercy on him'
        Jesus told him 'Go and do likewise.'
        Neighbours help one another no matter if you like them or not
If i speak in the tounges of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only resounding gong or a clanging cymbal
- If i do not have love, i am nothing
  - If i give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that i may boast but do not have love i gain nothing
    - Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserves'
      - This means love is not biased. Love is everything

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Situation ethics

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