Situation ethics
- Created by: scarlett fountain
- Created on: 10-10-13 12:21
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- Situation Ethics
- The right moral behaviour can be different for different people according to their circumstances.
- Relative theory
- 1960's- tension felt between trditional christian morality and the 'new freedon' of the 60's.
- Attempts to move away from a blind following of moral rules and encourages people to think for themselvs using reason and common sense.
- Joseph Fletcher-3 main elements
- It is relative- nothing is intrinsically right or wrong, or universally good or bad.
- Every judgement about right and worng depends on the individual situation.
- The principle you use to decide in each case is 'what is the most loving action'
- 3 possible appoaches to ethics: legalistic=based on unalterable laws, antinomian=lawless or unpricipled approach, situational approach.
- Fletcher wrote from a christian perspective but rejected tradtional christian views.
- Ten commandments are always right.
- Morality was also about autonomy-taking responsibility for own actions.
- Rejected legalism and antinomianism
- Wanted to find the middle ground-agape.
- It leads people to do the right thing regardless of the consequences.
- Based his ideas on the thinking of st. Augustine- "love with care, and the what you will, do."
- Presuppositons
- Pragmatic- to be right, it is necessary that the propsed couse of action should work and gve good consequences.
- Positivist- love is the most important criterion of all.
- Personalist-people should be put first
- Realative
- The right moral behaviour can be different for different people according to their circumstances.
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