Situation Ethics
Background:
• Joseph Fletcher 1960’s.
• Book - Situation Ethics: A New Morality
• Rejection of legalism and antinomianism in favour of teleolgical/situational approach.
• Christian thinker. Keen to advocate principle of agape - unconditional, selfless love applied to all.
• Have to make your own decisions in order to be moral.
• Felt traditional deontological systems were struggling to provide realistic answers to emerging
ethical questions.
• Reason is the instrument of moral judgements. All moral decisions are hypothetical.
• “The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need” - Fletcher - Situation
Ethics: A New Morality.
Four Working Principles
1. Pragmatism - It is pragmatic if it works and maximises the level of love.
2. Relativism - Each moral decision is made based on the unique situation - laws are abstract
whereas situations are concrete - the only absolute rule is to love another.
3. Positivism - Ethical norms/expectations are an act of judgement and faith; they are unverifiable,
as is God. Faith has to come first in order to understand the true meaning of love (stemming
from God and Jesus) and make a commitment to it (and therefore good decisions).
4. Personalism - Puts people at the centre of the concern and not things. You must love people
first and foremost and not rules for the sake of rules.
Fletchers Six Propositions:
A quite to how Fletcher thought love is best served.
1. Love only is always good - So goodness depends on the situation and the extent to which it
helps or harms people.
5. Love is the only norm and has no equal - It should replace law/commandments if it allows for
more love. “Drop the legalist’s love of law, and accept the laws of love.”
6. Love and justice are the same for justice is love distributed - justice is love using its head to
work out problems, calculating its duties and obligations.
7. Love is not liking - Love is conative, you should will yourself to promote the wellbeing of others,
regardless of who they are. Agape is selfless, unconditional love.
8. Love justifies its means - The end justifies the means.
9. Love decides there and then - “Loves decisions are made situationally not prescriptively” -
Rules cannot be formulated in advance and simply followed.
Strengths Weaknesses
People want the crutch of legalist/deontological sys- John Waters argues that rules provide a “good an-
tems to lean on, liking the security of rules. How- chor” for people who may otherwise “drown in a sea
ever, weighing up situations individually actually re- of limitless possibilities,” not knowing what to do with
sults in preferable outcomes. It promotes individual that freedom. Situation Ethics places too much re-
autonomy. sponsibility on the individual.
It is pragmatic, seeking the best outcome for those Fletcher’s case studies tend to be quite extreme. In
involved. Sometimes a rule has to be sacrificed, or a everyday life, rules are more reliable and practical.
decision made where an uncomfortable act is car-
ried out, on the basis it is a means to a good end.
For example, Fletcher poses the scenario of a Jew-
ish prisoner in a concentration camp who commits
adultery (with a Nazi prison guard) in order to be im-
pregnated, released and return home to care for her
family.
It prioritises people, not laws. Deontological theories People are ruled by emotion not a level-headed con-
fail to factor in the outcomes and welfare of those in- sideration of what is selfless, non-partisan love. Sit-
Background:
• Joseph Fletcher 1960’s.
• Book - Situation Ethics: A New Morality
• Rejection of legalism and antinomianism in favour of teleolgical/situational approach.
• Christian thinker. Keen to advocate principle of agape - unconditional, selfless love applied to all.
• Have to make your own decisions in order to be moral.
• Felt traditional deontological systems were struggling to provide realistic answers to emerging
ethical questions.
• Reason is the instrument of moral judgements. All moral decisions are hypothetical.
• “The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need” - Fletcher - Situation
Ethics: A New Morality.
Four Working Principles
1. Pragmatism - It is pragmatic if it works and maximises the level of love.
2. Relativism - Each moral decision is made based on the unique situation - laws are abstract
whereas situations are concrete - the only absolute rule is to love another.
3. Positivism - Ethical norms/expectations are an act of judgement and faith; they are unverifiable,
as is God. Faith has to come first in order to understand the true meaning of love (stemming
from God and Jesus) and make a commitment to it (and therefore good decisions).
4. Personalism - Puts people at the centre of the concern and not things. You must love people
first and foremost and not rules for the sake of rules.
Fletchers Six Propositions:
A quite to how Fletcher thought love is best served.
1. Love only is always good - So goodness depends on the situation and the extent to which it
helps or harms people.
5. Love is the only norm and has no equal - It should replace law/commandments if it allows for
more love. “Drop the legalist’s love of law, and accept the laws of love.”
6. Love and justice are the same for justice is love distributed - justice is love using its head to
work out problems, calculating its duties and obligations.
7. Love is not liking - Love is conative, you should will yourself to promote the wellbeing of others,
regardless of who they are. Agape is selfless, unconditional love.
8. Love justifies its means - The end justifies the means.
9. Love decides there and then - “Loves decisions are made situationally not prescriptively” -
Rules cannot be formulated in advance and simply followed.
Strengths Weaknesses
People want the crutch of legalist/deontological sys- John Waters argues that rules provide a “good an-
tems to lean on, liking the security of rules. How- chor” for people who may otherwise “drown in a sea
ever, weighing up situations individually actually re- of limitless possibilities,” not knowing what to do with
sults in preferable outcomes. It promotes individual that freedom. Situation Ethics places too much re-
autonomy. sponsibility on the individual.
It is pragmatic, seeking the best outcome for those Fletcher’s case studies tend to be quite extreme. In
involved. Sometimes a rule has to be sacrificed, or a everyday life, rules are more reliable and practical.
decision made where an uncomfortable act is car-
ried out, on the basis it is a means to a good end.
For example, Fletcher poses the scenario of a Jew-
ish prisoner in a concentration camp who commits
adultery (with a Nazi prison guard) in order to be im-
pregnated, released and return home to care for her
family.
It prioritises people, not laws. Deontological theories People are ruled by emotion not a level-headed con-
fail to factor in the outcomes and welfare of those in- sideration of what is selfless, non-partisan love. Sit-
