Situation Ethics

• AGAPE: God's love, equal, compassionate and non preferential.
• Storge: Family love
• Eros: Romantic Love
• Philia: Friendship love

Situation eithics is a teleological theory based on consequences, it is a relative theory as it decides in the moment. It lies between legalism(rules) and Antinomianism(No rules).

• The main idea being you should do what is the most loving action in that situation for that individual
• Fletcher: put forward situation ethics and said decisions shpuld be based on the circumstances of the decision not on fixed laws. Love should be the motive

• Pragmatism: It must work
• Positivism: Must use God's love and reason together
• Relativism: The action must be relative to the situation
• Personalism: Must put people first

e.g// Doctor saving the life of a man in cardiac arrest in the middle of a busy shopping centre

By performing CPR the doctor is performing an action that is pragmatic, he is using God's love and reason as he wants to save the man. He is also being relative to the situation in that he is performing CPR and not the Heimlich manover and he is putting the man's life before the buissness interests of the shopping centre. 

• Justice is love given out
• Love not like always wills good
• Love is only always good
• Love is the only law
• Love decides then and there
• Love is the only means

• John Robinson: Supported the law of love, said it was the only ethic for a 'man of age' (modern man). He said to resist wont stop it, it will only ensure it is an anti-christian theory.
• William Temple: There is only one ultimate and invariable duty: ''Love thy neighbour and love God''
• Paul Tillich: The law of love is the ultimate law because it is the negation of the law, it is absoloute because it concerns everything.
• Follows Jesus' teachings
• Gives dignity to humans as no obedince is required
• Middle ground between no rules and too many
• Modern, applies to all new issues of medicine and society
• Flexible
• Has some guidlines in agapeic calculus, the four working principles and six fundamentals

• Altruistic- Caring for the sake of caring
• God is love- foundation for our loving
• Attitudinal- not emotional decision
• Philanthropist- non-preferential, applies for all human beings
• Egoism- done for nothing in return

• Kant: Act through reason not emotion, an act should be able to be universalised(against relativism) and awareness of moral status shpuld be the motive not love.
• Barclay:Situation ethics is too optimistic about human ability to make choices without bias. We need rules to avoid chaos
• Open to abuse- can perform any action even ****, murder ect
• Teleological- Must be able to predict the future
• No advance certainty as to the decision the individual will make
• Hard to distinguish type of love

• Fletcher said lying could be morally right or morally wrong depending on the situation
• Lying by withholding information can be seen in two aspects Fletcher says, One in which the lie results in a harmful consequences, for example a doctor and a syphillic man(man with syphilus) lie to his fiance regarding his medical condition- this would be a bad outcome as it could cause direct harm to the fiance and is therefore not the most loving action. The other being withholding the truth but acting out of love for the majority of people.
• The action is decided by agapeic calculus that considers the amount of risk, the distribution of love , the best interests of the majority and the long term consequences.
• Fletcher also addreses a lie by reassurance, this is where an idividual lies to give another reassurance. For example a nurse lying to a schizophrenic about the severity of their symptoms.
• Fletcher says their is NO INTRINSIC RIGHT OR WRONG with regard to lying. The rightness or wrongness is situationsal and the only absoloute is to affirm christian love

The action is decided by agapeic calculusthat considers the amount of risk, the distribution of love , the best interests of the majority and the long term consequences.

• Fletcher refers to the example of a student who wants to buy a new useful book, but the means he uses to obtain it may be stealing, borrowing,buying- which could include stealing, saving, begging, borrowing or gambling to obtain the money.
• He does not reach a conclusion on this however if the student stole the book froma library for example, his action would be pragmatic, it puts the person first (personalism), is relative to the situation (relativism), however it would not be allowed in situation ethics as it is not a loving action. It also fails the fundamental principle of love is justice given out.
• Therefore in the issue of theft you must consider the four working principles and the six fundametals before making a decision.