Normative ethical theories - situation ethics - Revision Cards in A Level and IB Religious Studies

Situation ethics

Fletcher's situationism is a teleological ethical theory, in that it is concerned with the outcome or consequences of an action.
It was developed as a result of Fletcher's critique of legalism and antinomianism as approaches to morality.
Legalism is the idea that there are fixed moral rules which we must obey, and antinomianism is the idea that there are no fixed moral principles, but a person's ethics are spontaneous. Situationism advocates a 'middle way' between the two.
Fletcher founded his model upon a statement found in the New Testament of the Bible 'God is love' (1 John 4:8).
Situation ethics considers each situation on its own merits before applying Jesus' gospel message of love (agape).
The only absolute rule is love; love should be the motive behind every decision. As long as love is your intention, then the end justifies the means.

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Pragmatism: a moral solution is only good if it is workable in practice;
Relativism: agape should be applied in a way that is relative to each individual situation - 'love relativises the absolute, it does not absolutise the relative.' (Joseph Fletcher);
Positivism: agape is accepted through faith, and reason is used to work out the practical application of that faith;
Personalism: ethics and morality concerns itself with people rather than laws or principles.

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Fletcher's understanding of the conscience is not one of reviewing past actions or apportioning guilt and shame.
The conscience is a 'function, not a faculty', it functions by choosing what love demands in the present situation.

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Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love - an action is only good if it brings about agape;
The ruling norm of Christian decision-making is love - the most important commandment is to love God and 'love thy neighbour';
Love and justice are the same - justice is love using its head, calculating its duties, obligations, opportunities and resources;
Love wills the neighbour's good whether we like him or not - agape is not an emotion as it sometimes involves sacrifice, we must love not expecting anything in return;
Only the end justifies the means - you must recognise that anything may be done if its brings about the most loving outcome;
Love's decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively - the right decision in one circumstance does not become the blueprint for all other circumstances.

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Jesus himself was opposed to legalism and broke rules in order to do the most loving thing. An example of this is when Jesus heals on the Sabbath (Luke 13: 10-17);
The individual is able to work out for themselves what is morally right or wrong without relying on religious authority, scripture or tradition. Robinson argued 'Dr Fletcher's approach is the only ethic for man to come of age';
The theory takes into account the complexities of human life and can make tough decisions where legalistic approaches can't;
An ethic that is 'personalist', puts people before rules and 'situational', looks at the situation as it really is, is based on a platform of moral common sense;
SE promotes social justice because it forces people to analyse situations in terms of the desired end;
Cox argued situation ethics is 'democratic' as all people are capable of making decisions based on love.

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'For the situationist, there are no rules - none at all', yet the ruling norm of Christian decision-making is love, so Fletcher is contradicting himself;
Barclay states Fletcher is overly optimistic about the capacity of human beings to make morally correct choices, and not to be influenced by personal preferences;
How can we arbitrate a case in which two people reach different conclusions about an action, yet both claim to be acting in the interests of love?;
SE ignores thousands of years of Christian tradition and throws away the wisdom of our greatest teachers because we think we can make a more informed decision on the 'spur of the moment';
SE uses a consequentialist approach to ethics; how do we know that the consequences of an action will be good before we act?
SE does not necessarily reflect New Testament views on morality, e.g. the NT sets out clear moral views on theft and adultery.

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