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- Situation Ethics Introduction. In the introduction to The Situation Ethics: The New Morality Joseph Fletcher (1905–1991) develops what he calls an ethical non-system.
- Fletcher’s Overall Framework. Fletcher says there are two unattractive views in ethics: “Legalism” and “Antinomianism”, and one attractive view which sits in between them: “Situationism”.
- The Four Working Principles of Situationism. Principle 1. Pragmatism. The situationalist follows a strategy which is pragmatic. What does that mean? Well it does not mean that Fletcher is a pragmatist.
- How to Work out What to Do: Conscience as a Verb not a Noun. For Fletcher “conscience” plays a role in working out what to do. He says “conscience” is a verb and not a noun.
situation ethics, in ethics and theology, the position that moral decision making is contextual or dependent on a set of circumstances. Situation ethics holds that moral judgments must be made within the context of the entirety of a situation and that all normative features of a situation must be viewed as a whole.
- Situation Ethics Introduction
- Fletcher’s Overall Framework
- The Four Working Principles of Situationism
- How to Work Out What to Do: Conscience as A Verb Not A Noun
- Problems with Fletcher’s Situationism
- Common Student Mistakes
- Issues to Consider
1In the introduction to The Situation Ethics: The New MoralityJoseph Fletcher(1905 – 1991) develops what he calls an ethical non-system. His book caused a “fire storm” amongst the public because it legitimised the general post-war dissatisfaction with authority. At the time it was written it seemed to make some radical claims such as that it is not...
5Fletcher says there are two unattractive views in ethics: “Legalism” and “Antinomianism”, and one attractive view which sits in between them: “Situationism”.
Principle 1. Pragmatism
15The situationalist follows a strategy which is pragmatic. What does that mean? Well it does not mean that Fletcher is a pragmatist. “Pragmatism” is a very specific and well worked-out philosophical position adopted by the likes of John Dewey (1859 – 1952), Charles Peirce (1839 – 1914) and William James(1842 – 1910). Fletcher does not want his theory associated with these views and rejects all the implications of this type of “Pragmatism”. 16What makes his view pragmatic is very simple. It i...
Principle 2: Relativism
17Even with his rejection of Antinomianism and his acceptance of one supreme principle of morality, Fletcher, surprisingly, still calls himself a relativist. This does not mean he is a relativist in the sense that we can simply choose what is right and wrong rather it is just an appeal for people to stop trying to “lay down the law” for all people in all contexts. If situations vary then consequences vary and what we ought to do will change accordingly. This is a very simple, unsophisticated...
Principle 3: Positivism
18His use of “positivism” is not the philosophical idea with the same name but rather is where: 19So when challenged as to howhe can justify that the only law is to maximize love, Fletcher will say that he cannot. It is not a result of logic or reasoning, rather it is a decision we take, it is like the “theologian’s faith”.
22For Fletcher “conscience” plays a role in working out what to do. He says “conscience” is a verb and not a noun. This sounds complicated but it really is not (for complex and sophisticated discussions of conscience see Chapter 9). 23First consider what he means when he says conscience “is not a noun”. Conscience is not the name of an internal fac...
40Fletcher’s Situationism is a hopelessly confused and confusing moral theory. Fletcher’s work has the annoying tendency to present trivially true claims as if they are profound philosophical insights. 41At the most general level, Fletcher commits the fallacy of appealing to authority. This is simply the mistake of thinking that an argument is stre...
Mixing up Fletcher’s use of “Positivism” with Ayer’s use of “positivism”.Thinking that Fletcher’s is a “pragmatist”.Think that situation ethics allows you do to anything you want.Think that love is about feelings.Why do you think Fletcher’s book was so popular at the time of publication?If an alien visited earth and asked “What is love?” how would you answer them?How does Situationism differ from “Utilitarianism” if at all?If we act from love, does that mean we can do anything?- Mark Dimmock, Andrew Fisher
- 2017
- Only one ‘thing’ is intrinsically good; namely, love, nothing else at all. There is one thing which is intrinsically good, that is good irrespective of context, namely love.
- The ruling norm of Christian decision is love, nothing else. As we have seen in the first proposition, the only way to decide what we ought to do (the ruling norm) is to bring about love.
- Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed, nothing else. For Fletcher, practically all moral problems we encounter can be boiled down to an apparent tension between “justice” on the one hand and “love” on the other.
- Love wills the neighbor’s good when we like him or not. This is self-explanatory. As we noted above, agápē is in the business of loving the unlovable.
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What is situation ethics based on?
What are the principles of Fletcher's situation ethics?
What is situational ethics?
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Proponents of situational approaches to ethics include existentialist philosophers Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty, Jaspers, and Heidegger. [2] Specifically Christian forms of situational ethics placing love above all particular principles or rules were proposed in the first half of the twentieth century by liberal theologians Rudolf ...
There are six fundamental things that underlie Fletcher's Situation Ethics: 1. Love is the only absolute (it is intrinsically good) 2. Christian decision making is based on love. 3. Justice is love distributed. 4. Love wants the good for anyone, whoever they are. 5. Only the end justifies the means. 6. Love is acted out situationally not ...
Apr 15, 2002 · 1. Examples. 2. The Concept of Moral Dilemmas. 3. Problems. 4. Dilemmas and Consistency. 5. Responses to the Arguments. 6. Moral Residue and Dilemmas. 7. Types of Moral Dilemmas. 8. Multiple Moralities. 9. Conclusion. Bibliography. Cited Works. Other Worthwhile Readings. Academic Tools. Other Internet Resources. Related Entries. 1. Examples.
