Ethics - Situation Ethics

Question 1

What is situation ethics?

Answer 1

Situation Ethics is a teleological ethical theory thought up by Joseph Fletcher which uses a single rule: ‘do what is most loving in any situation”.

Question 2

What is agape?

Answer 2

According to C.S. Lewis, agape is selfless love for humankind or God’s love for humankind.

Question 3

What are the greatest commandments?

Answer 3

Love God and love your neighbour.

Question 4

What does Matthew 22:36-40 say?

Answer 4

‘“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”’

Question 5

Why was situation ethics controversial when it was concieved?

Answer 5

It was a controversial theory at the time of its conception, as the predominant view of morality from the Christian perspective were Divine Command Theory and Natural Law Theory, both of which include the idea that you must follow everything said in the Bible, which Situation Ethics disagreed with, saying that it is more important to do what is most loving, rather than what the Bible says.

Question 6

Why did Fletcher come up with situation ethics?

Answer 6

He wished to re-establish what he viewed as most important aspect of Christ morality – the law of love.

Question 7

How does Fletcher distinguish situation ethics from other normative ethical theories?

Answer 7

Fletcher distinguishes situation ethics from legalistic and antinomian (i.e. ethical nihilism) ethics by positing it as the middle ground between them.

Question 8

What are C.S. Lewis’ four types of love?

Answer 8

• Eros – sensual or romantic love,
• Storge – familial love,
• Philia – brotherly love that unites believers,
• Agape – God’s love for humankind / love for humankind (entails ideas of fellowship, fraternity, altruism).

Question 9

What are the 6 fundamental principles?

Answer 9

• The ruling norm of Christian decision is love,
• Only one thing is intrinsically good, love,
• Only the end justifies the means,
• Love and justice are the same,
• Love fills the neighbours good, whether we like them or not,
• Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.

Question 10

What does ‘The ruling norm of Christian decision is love’ mean?

Answer 10

Jesus consistently replaced OT law with the principle of love. He also summed the ten commandments as being “love God” and “love thy neighbour”.

Question 11

What does ‘Only one thing is intrinsically good, love’ mean?

Answer 11

Love is the only thing good-in-itself, all other things are extrinsically good if they are loving.

Question 12

What does ‘Only the end justifies the means’ mean?

Answer 12

If the end goal is love, any means of achieving it are justified, even if other systems call them immoral.

Question 13

What does ‘Love and justice are the same’ mean?

Answer 13

Justice is love applied rationally and in a calculated manner, not sentimental love.

Question 14

What does ‘Love fills the neighbours good, whether we like them or not’ mean?

Answer 14

Agape love is attitude-based, not feelings- based. A selfless commitment to treat others the best we can

Question 15

What does ‘Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively’ mean?

Answer 15

Love decides in the moment, we must learn the facts of a situation before acting on it, so that we have considered the situation.

Question 16

What are the 4 working principles?

Answer 16

• Relativism,
• Pragmatism,
• Positivism,
• Personalism.

Question 17

What does the working principle of relativism mean?

Answer 17

There are no fixed rules which must be obeyed. (Fletcher avoids absolute rules, such as ‘never steal’. The only thing that is absolute is love, and so what is morally right is relative to love and depends on the details of the situation.)

Question 18

What does the working principle of pragmatism mean?

Answer 18

Moral actions must achieve some realistic goal. (Moral truth should not be understood in a theoretical and abstract way but instead moral truth should be grounded in what works in reality.)

Question 19

What does the working principle of positivism mean?

Answer 19

First place is given to Christian love, rooted in faith in the “God of Love”. (The ultimate foundation for moral judgements is faith. We do not use reason or observation to deduce what is morally right, we instead choose to have faith in love and then work out what is morally right from there.)

Question 20

What does the working principle of personalism mean?

Answer 20

People come first, not rules or ideas. (It is people who can love and be loved, and so moral value comes from people rather than rules.)

Question 21

What is Fletcher’s view on conscience?

Answer 21

Conscience is not a faculty within a human being, instead it is the weighing up of an action before it is taken. The details of the situation and an understanding of agape are necessary for moral decision making. Ultimately means we should act conscientiously, as Fletcher uses it as a verb.

Question 22

Who was Fletcher inspired by?

Answer 22

Fletcher was inspired by Archbishop William Temple, who questioned whether the deontological ideas of Christian morality were the best and Rudolf Bultman, who said that Jesus taught no ethics except ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’.

Question 23

How did Fletcher fail to live up to huis own ethical principles?

Answer 23

Fletcher had ableist sentiments and spoke on them, specifically against those who have Down’s syndrome, thus he arguably failed to live up to his own ethical system, as saying what he said about people with the aforementioned condition is not the most loving thing he could have done, as it can cause emotional harm to them, and perpetuates harmful ideas in society which make the lives of those with Down’s syndrome worse.

Question 24

What did Fletcher do to his theory once he lost his Christian belief?

Answer 24

He adapted his theory towards Aristotelian Eudaimonia rather than following God’s ethic of love and getting into Heaven.

Question 25

How is situation ethics a religious theory?

Answer 25

- Very clearly located in the words of Jesus: ‘Love God’ and ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ sums up the whole of the Jewish Law. - Jesus’ attitude towards the Pharisees in the NT shows a clear opposition to legalism, a good religious ethic does not need to be based on hard rules. - The idea that love is the key evidence of genuine religious belief is found in Jesus’ words: ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ John 13:33-34

Question 26

How is situation ethics not a religious theory?

Answer 26

- Rejected by Catholic church for clear opposition to natural law and condemned by Pope Pius XII. - Fletcher’s reading of Jesus’ word is arguably selective. He clearly condemns divorce and adultery and speaks more on hell than heaven. - Jesus tells his disciples that if they love him they are to obey his commandments – implying there’s more than just love. - Fletcher’s interpretation of agape is not explicitly Christian. In reality, there’s little difference between situation ethics and act utilitarianism. Fletcher isn’t worried by this and at one point suggests that his theory is a Christian utilitarianism. - Why would Jesus make other commandments, such as in Matthew 19:17 and John 14:15. - Romans 3:7-8 condemns the 'ends justify the means' which is a sentiment that is part of situation ethics.

Question 27

What are some arguments supporting the basing of ethical judgements on agape?

Answer 27

- For a religious thinker, agape is an excellent principle, and according to Jesus, sums up the most important commandments. - The principle of agape is useful to help us know when to follow and accept the general rules and when to reject and break them. It is flexible in different situations. - Agape is a relativist principle, but unlike pleasure (act utilitarianism) it does not seem easy to manipulate.

Question 28

What are some arguments attacking the basing of ethical judgements on agape?

Answer 28

- The concept of agape love can be interpreted in various ways. It may conjure up charity and compassion, or a dispassionate wanting of good for others. As such, both the concept and application will produce different results with different people - One difficulty with agape and situation ethics is that it seems set up to deal with exceptional and difficult cases, which lawyers and philosophers both argue set up bad laws. Agape may be the best approach at times, but most cases require us to follow the conventional rules. - There may be better principles on which to base ethics: pleasure, duty purpose, etc. Additionally, believers may argue for divine command theory and that agape thus leads a believer astray from what is good.

Question 29

What are arguments against Situation ethics being too individualistic?

Answer 29

- Rather than relying on external authorities, situation ethics gives people responsibility and autonomy in ethical decision-making, treating individuals as adults. - Situations and context differ greatly and flexibility is thus necessary. Situation ethics recognises that what is right for one person in a specific situation may not suit other people who are faced with a differing situation.

Question 30

What are arguments for Situation ethics being too individualistic?

Answer 30

- Emphasis on individual decision-making means this cannot be applied to a whole society, as views of love differ. - Fletcher’s view on conscience as being a key process is vague. In criticising other views, he arguably misinterprets Aquinas whose views on conscience may be more similar than Fletcher realised. - Other thinkers who’ve used love as a basis for ethical decision making have continued to recognise the importance of community. They recognised the importance of other people for discerning the right course of action. - Situation ethics may be overly optimistic about our capacity to reason clearly and reach moral decisions. Psychologists refer to cognitive dissonance as an example of how we may not have that ability. Theologians like Barth and Augustine would also be cautious about our ability to reach good decisions because of The Fall and its effect on our reasoning. - William Barclay objects, saying that humans have not yet come of age and thus cannot be responsible for moral judgements, also argues that power corrupts, including the ability to make moral decisions.

Question 31

What are arguments claiming situation ethics is not helpful?

Answer 31

- As it is a relativistic theory, it is vague and this can lead to people making immoral decisions from confusion. - Its lack of moral boundaries can be seen as a flaw. In an extreme enough situation, anything could be permitted. Most people would say that this isn’t right (or doesn’t feel right) because they may believe that certain actions are never correct (due to inherent immorality) and no circumstances could make them moral. - It is a teleological theory and thus requires us to make predictions about the outcome, which we cannot always know, as our predictions could be wrong. - Similarly, it may be difficult to determine where a situation begins and ends. A decision to save lives by taking one may have short-term good, but could set in motion a chain of events and revenge lasting for generations. How responsible is the person who made the decision in the first place? - Some critics object to situation ethics by arguing that it is effectively a Christian Utilitarianism, using agape rather than pleasure. Fletcher does not see this as an objection to his theory.

Question 32

What are arguments claiming situation ethics is helpful?

Answer 32

- It is person-centred and as such seems closer to Jesus’ teachings, who consistently put people above rules. A key attraction to it, is its flexibility (like all relativistic theories). It is able to deal with exceptional situations, avoiding legalism that some deontological ethics lead to. It enables people to keep the spirit of the law rather than obsessing over the letter of the law. - Love as a principle is hard to object to, if we love others, we wat the best for them. This seems more compassionate than forms of utilitarianism, which are hyper-focussed on just pleasure and pain (Bentham). - It enables a decision to be made in each situation. Absolutist theories struggle with some complex, difficult situations where there are two conflicting duties. Situation ethics allows us to choose the lesser of two evils.

Question 33

What is Christopher Hitchens' criticism of situation ethics?

Answer 33

Agape is subjective – Christopher Hitchens argued that loving your neighbour as yourself is only good if you love yourself in a good way. (Also, some people do not want to be loved in the way you love yourself) [The idea of loving your neighbour/humankind as yourself (Agape) is subjective.]