Examine what is meant by situation ethics Essay

Joseph Fletcher an Anglican theologian was the chief(prenominal) person to ch whollyenge the view that good motive and godliness have to be based around honors and rules. He developed three styles of devising moral closings, these were1. The antinomian flair2.The legalistic valetner3. The steadal wayThe antinomian way was a way of reservation decisions without any fairnesss or rulers. It is what feels office at that peculiar(prenominal) time and on no bases whatsoever, only on how it feels to you. This was excessively where existentialism arose. Existentialism existence a regulation developed by a 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. His supposition was that the outperform way to murder decisions was for from distri hardlyively one individual to discern their own unique bases for morality the plungeation for his argument was that no objective or rational bases could be grounded in moral decisions. So the antinomian come out is wherefore that in every existential moment or unique event the place itself provides the ethical solution.The legalistic set about being at the former(a) force out of the scale. This is a way of making decisions with regard to laws or rules. The legalist will live their intent in accordance with a set of guidelines or rules. For recitation Jews will place upright by the rules of the Torah and make their decisions primarily from this source. Joseph Fletcher suggested a third way of making moral decisions and this was called the situational way, which consists of a compromise between antinomianism and legalism. In the situational approach every decision is make on one universal principle and that is applaud.In situation moral philosophy his view was to look at each situation individually. His main line of argument was that the only moral principle that could be app hypocrisyd to all situations is that of eff, orTo do whatever is the some lovely thing. (Fletcher quoted by Jenkins, Ethics and religion p47). Whereas Natural law theorists aim what the law states, Fletcher asks what is the best realistic decision to help others and provide hunch over in doing so. thitherfore in his view this is non a law in itself, and its not dictating what should be done in any particular situation but rather an approach that informs moral choice. In other words you should forever and a day have someones best engagement at heart.Another one of Fletchers arguments was that Christians argon meant to bonk and c ar for each other and God is as well as portrayed to be all-loving. As this is the oddball for Christians shouldnt morality also be based around this theory to do the al some loving thing? The Christian perspective equivalent many other religions is based around the idea of born(p) law. The earthy law ethic arose in the 4th century BCE by Aristotle. The Christian theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas further developed the ideas first effect forward by Aristotle. He argued that the natural purpose of the world is found in God. He outlined natural law in the following(a) way by suggesting that all deal should follow the law of God. He also believed that Human purpose was to re nominate, to learn, to live harmoniously in order of magnitude and to worship God. (Jenkins p26, quoted by www.faithnet.freeserve.co.uk/situation_ ethics.htm).His ultimate belief was that Natural law describes not only how things argon, but also how they ought to be furthermore this happens when things fulfil their natural purpose. Natural law is only c oncerned with what seems to be the natural human body of procedureion for humans to take and this is where the conflict arises with situation ethics. There atomic number 18 many terms where what appears to be natural doesnt appear to be loving. This is why theologians such as Joseph Fletcher dont tick off with the natural law ethic as it causes much controversy. For typesetters case the Catholic Church undertoo k the natural law approach to guide them in footing of their sexual behaviour. They saw the natural purpose for sexual intercourse to be procreation, so at that placefore anything that proves to be a barrier to this end conduct is not allowed i.e. contraception.When developing an approach to point ethics Fletcher suggested 4 running(a) principles and 6 fundamental principles to outline his ideas. The 4 pull ining principles be1.Pragmatism- being ideas and theories that have to work in practice, to be right of good it has to produce a desirable outcome that satisfies savours demand. The main emphasis is that the practical course of the action should be motivated by love.2.Relativism- To be relative, on has to be relative to something, as situation ethics maintains it has to have-to doe with to love and should forever respond to love in each situation. Fletcher sound outs it relativises the arrogant it does not absolutise the relative (Fletcher quoted from Vardy Puzzle of ethics p126). Meaning each irresponsible can be made relative to love but relativism cannot be utilise to a concrete situation as love acts otherwise in different situations, it depends on how its applied and this varies with each circumstance.3.Positivism- this is accepting to act in love by faith rather than by reason, once faith is decl atomic number 18d it is supported by logic. In situation ethics positing a belief in God as love or a higher good and then reasoning what is enquired in any situation to support that belief.4.Personalism- This is the desire to put people not laws first. It is always what is the best to help a person that makes a decision a good one. As God is meant to be personal therefore morality should also be person-centred.However It is the main framework of situation ethics that is outlined by the 6 fundamental principles. These are1. There is only one thing that is intrinsically good- love. Actions are good if they are fulfilling love by helping them but reversibly they are naughtiness if they hurt people. No single act in itself is right or amiss(p) it always depends on the situation the circumstance occurs in. discern always decides the actions that are good or bad.2. The ruling principle of Christian love is agape love. Agape love is self-giving love and this doesnt require anything in return. The overriding principle of decision-making is love.3. Love and rightness are the alike. In Fletchers words love and justice are the same thing, for justice is love distributed. (Fletcher quoted by William Bailay p73). He also claims that justice is love at work in the community in which human beings live. (Vardy, Puzzle of ethics p128).4. Thout shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (William Temple quoted by Vardy, puzzle of ethics p123). As the neighbour is a member of the human family therefore love wills the neighbours good. Love is practical and not selective. Christian love is said to be dictatorial so we should show love to ev eryone and that includes are enemies.5. Only the end dissolver justifies the means, love is the end- never a means to something else. Love can let off anything in situation ethics as longsighted as the end resoluteness satisfies love.6. Loves decisions are made in the circumstance of each situation and not prescriptively. Humans have a office of freedom. No one is bound by laws, so with this responsibility comes the flightiness to do the most loving thing and to apply this to every situation.Fletcher claims that it is a mistake to generalise. You cant say Is it ever right to lie to your family? The answer must be, I dont know, give me an mannikin. A concrete situation is needed, not a generalisation. It all depends whitethorn closely be the watchword of the government agencyist. (Puzzle of ethics, Vardy p.130)There are many moral dilemmas when tending(p) certain situations, and taking the situational view we are faced with the duty to do the most loving thing realizable, and to serve agape love. Taking an example from William Bailay, on a wilderness trial to Kentucky many people scattered their lives to Indians who hunted them down. In one look there was a charr who carried her child with her and her child was crying. The go bads crying was betraying the rest of the refugee camp as the cries were orchestrateing the Indians to them. The mother clung to her child and as a entrust the whole camp was found and they were all killed. In other case a Negro fair sex and her party found themselves in the same situation, their lives were in danger, as they too would be found out if the baby continued to cry.However the Negro woman strangled her child to halt its cries, and as a result the whole party escaped. How can we prove which action was love? The Mother who kept her baby and brought death all, or that of the mother who killed her own child to save the lives of her family and friends? This is a perfect example of the type of decisions that si tuation ethics confronts us with. In situation ethics there is no definite right or wrong, it has to be applied by each circumstance. Likewise there is no intrinsic value, no goodness or badness held purely in an action itself. Situation ethics says it all depends on the situation and whether or not it fulfils love. worthiness and badness are not properties of moral actions they are predicates.This demonstrates one of the find aspects and an advantage for situation ethics. Sometimes morality can be jolly restricted however in taking the situational approach there are no moral rules. If someone with morals can only abide to duty they cant go outside their own boundaries. This is the case in many orthodox religions. Whereas situation ethics maintains that there are no absolutes, you are allowed to go outside certain boundaries if in doing so you are providing the most loving result. Take the Islamic faith for example. Muslims follow the laws of the al-Quran one law is do not steel , which is an absolute. But say if there were a single mother living in the poorer regions of the country who had no money and was struggling to feed her starving children. Would it be right for the mother to let her children starve?Or would it be break away for the woman to go against the law and perhaps steel some food in order for them to survive? If the woman followed her religion seriously then it would not be morally right for her to steel and as a result her children lives would be at stake. This is the advantage of situation ethics, it says that words like never and absolute cant be used because their will always be exceptions. Another advantage of situation ethics is that people are always put first, it is a personal matter. People are made more great than principles. This goes against the legalistic approach. Where legalism put laws in first place conversely situation ethics makes people the main emphasis.Furthermore we often find that the outside world is constantly c hanging. As we live in the forward-looking day and age we are on a constant roster coaster of changing situation. As a result of this many religions find it extremely difficult to apply their laws to the modern-day world. Take the Torah being applied to the modern age or orthodox Jews attempts to conserve laws against modern relativism to be an example. Because situation ethics can change with time this gives it a huge advantage. Situation ethics also makes the important link between love and justice, which is another key aspect and this is shown as the third of the six fundamental principles. To Fletcher justice is love distributed and Justice is love working out its problems. (William Bailay p73)However there have also been many criticisms of Situation Ethics. When referring to the meaning of love, this is sometimes seen to be too general. As love has no definite meaning, it changes according to the situation, it becomes relative, and so it cannot be said that there is only on e moral absolute. As there are no specific guidelines for agape love it could be said that it is possible to justify any action. These are dangerous boundaries. The query What might happen if I allow euthanasia once? could be asked. It may be hard to know where to draw the line people all over the place might start killing their grandparents because they are too oldin the name of love Situation ethics sometimes relies on spontaneity, however spontaneity can sometimes be misguided. It may turn out to be irrational and foolish.The abandonment of rules may in turn reduce situation ethics to antinomianism. It may lead to a state of moral flux as rules play an important part in sociological maintenance. It is also been decided that there are certain examples of absolutes. Take rape, child abuse and genocide, these are all examples of absolutes that are wrong and under no circumstance would they be right. You would not be able to justify this with love. It is often quite hard to understa nd merely what is meant by the meaning of love. It can be hard to know what they most loving thing to do is. It is also hard to know what the most loving thing is in terms of the consequence. How can we predict all the consequences of an action? This can be shown by euthanasia. Say their was a man who had aids and had only a 5% accident of getting better again, he approached his friend and asked him if he would end his life for him. What happens if he got better?Even if there is only a very tiny chance there is still a chance. The man might suddenly make a recovery and go on to lead a long and prosperous life. How can we predict the consequences? It is also hard when attempting to share love out fairly in a particular situation. This can also be shown by this example of euthanasia it is hard to know what is the best for the person, friends and family. It might be best for the man but what might be best for him might not necessarily be the most loving thing for the family or their friends. It is also quite hard to view a situation from a totally unbiased perspective.There is a speculation that a decision could be made selfishly with or without realising it but as its in the name of love it is justifiable. This again makes the limit for love very hard to distinguish. It is also questionable as to whether it is possible for all members of society to judge each situations by its merits. A agglomerate of time and energy has to go into the decision this isnt always affable to everyone. How practical is situation ethics? Finally on what basis is it possible for the situationist to make moral decisions? What happens when there are no ultimate ethical principles? The situationist is making prejudiced decisions based potentially on personal whims. An example of a danger caused by this can be seen in the actions of Adolf Hitler and his situation towards the Jews in the Second World War.For those who felt that situation ethics went to off the beaten track(predicat e) in attempting to set itself free from any conception of law, there is an approach that combines both theories of natural law and of situation ethics. This approach is known as proportionalsim. Proportionalists hold the belief that there are particular situations where moral rules should be abided to unless there is a proportionate reason for not contending with them.This reason would be grounded in the situation itself. In this way the primary precepts of natural law could be accepted (e.g. killing, stealing, lying etc) as the ground rules unless there was a sufficient reason for not doing so. Proportionalists hold a clear note between moral and non-moral acts. For example proportionalists would say abortion is wrong, but it may be morally right in the circumstances of that situation. However irrelevant situationalists they say that love does not then make a wrong action right. Furthermore they still incur the same problems that situationalists face in trying to determine what bests serves love in a situation, and on making decisions by selfish means.