Situation Ethics
- Created by: AroojTahir
- Created on: 29-03-19 18:31
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- Situation Ethics
- Fletcher and Agape
- Key feature of agape-love. Testament: duty to love God.
- "There is only one ultimate and invariable duty, it's formula is 'though shalt love thy neighbour as thyself'" Temple
- Taxi Driver: 'Situation Ethics' he would vote Democrat in the elections. "There are times when a man has to push his principles aside and do the right thing".
- Fletcher's moral thinking divided into three
- 1) Legalistic, based on fixed laws.
- 2) Antinomian, no laws at all.
- 3) Situational, look at the context and do the most loving thing.
- Three different approaches to ethics by Fletcher.
- Legalism: over reliance on rules. Fletcher argues Natural Law is guilty due to excessive legalism.
- Situationism: right approach between two extremes. Application.
- Antinomianism: no laws. Freedom to act as however one wished.
- Four working principles of situationism
- 1) Pragmatism: Fletcher wants a practical solution.
- 2) Relativism: love is absolute, relative.
- 3) Positivism: values through faith in God and positive reasoning. Create good.
- 4) Personalism: humans moral value. Related to the good of people.
- "Love is of people, by people and for people. Things are to be used; people are to be loved" Fletcher.
- Fletchers Six Propositions
- 1) Intrinsically good= agape love. Things good due to the loving outcome.
- 2) Love is the ruling norm of Christian ethics.
- 3) Justice is distributing love.
- 4) Love doesn't depend on emotion and dislikes.
- 5) Love is the goal of moral action.
- Situation Ethics as a religious theory.
- For: Fletcher says Jesus says 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
- For: Jesus rejected legalism. Moral principles given.
- For: Jesus argues love is the primary evidence.
- Against: Fletchers selected. Reading about adultery etc.
- Against: Jesus tells disciples if they love him they wouldn't obey commandments- like love.
- Against: agape of unconditional-similar to situation ethics.
- Situation Ethics and the conscience
- Fletcher's focus on conscience linked to religion.
- Fletcher doesn't see conscience as a thing as possess.
- Fletcher isn't conscience as an active process. Make moral decisions as a functions.
- Advantages
- Right that legalistic approaches aren't flexible.
- Helps us answer when we have conflicting duties.
- Good principle- do the most loving thing and avoid bias.
- Person centered.
- Disadvantages
- Never and always avoided. No boundaries.
- Concept of agape and application vague. What the most loving thing varies.
- Mc Quarrie: situation ethics individualistic, difficult to see how it can be applied across society.
- Difficult to see when a situation begins and ends. Chain of consequences aren't a loving outcome.
- Going further: C.S. Lewis
- C.S.Lewis said that there's four type of love: storage, Philip, eros and agape.
- Lewis said agape was the greatest love. We can't practise agape love without God.
- Fletcher and Agape
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