Evaluating Situation Ethics
Evaluating Situation Ethics
Agree Disagree
● Six Propositions (Fletcher) - The ● Power Corrupts (Barclay) -
six propositions, or six fundamental Situation Ethics gives moral agents
principles, explain what ‘love’ is to a dangerous amount of freedom.
Fletcher and within Situation Ethics. For freedom to be good, love has to
These are: love is the only intrinsic be perfect but without it ‘freedom
good, love is the ruling norm of can become selfishness and even
Christian ethics, love is justice for cruelty’. Mankind has not yet come
justice is love distributed, love wills of age and so ‘still needs the crutch
the neighbours good whether we and protection of law’.
like them or not, only the ends justify
the means, love’s decisions are Counter : Humanity come of Age
situational and not prescriptive. (Fletcher + Robinson) - Humanity
has ‘come of age’, meaning now
● Four Working Principles people are more civilised, to the
(Fletcher) - Fletcher provides four point that granting them more
rules of thumb for guiding action in autonomy will increase love without
Situation Ethics. These include: risking the stability of society
Pragmatism (acting to achieve love
as an end), Positivism (Ethics is Counter Counter : Facade of
about decisions, not conclusions), Improvement (Barclay), People
Personalism (places people before might appear improved, if granted
all else), and Relativism (the the freedom (and thus power) to do
appropriate action is relative to the what they want, they won’t choose
situation). the loving thing they will choose the
selfish or even the cruel thing.
Counter : Unchristian Principles, the
Four Working Principles are ● Disregards Jesus (Mouw + Pius
unchristian and have no basis in XII) - It makes no sense to reduce
scripture. The Bible does not Christian ethics to only one of Jesus’
support relativism or pragmatism as commands when Jesus made other
it’s morality is focused around fixed commands too. Pius XII makes a
rules which do not vary between similar criticism, as Christ himself
situations. The moral system frequently spoke of the importance
accepted by most churches either of following all the commandments
stems directly from the bible (e.g. (Matthew 19:17 & John 14:15) and
divine command theory) or from saying he came to fulfil the law, not
Aquinas’ Natural Law theory. to replace it (Romans 13:10)
● Agape (Fletcher) - Agape is perfect Counter : Begging the Question.
love which could be the basis of The example of Jesus himself goes
finding the best outcome in any against the legalistic method of
situation. Agape involves selfless ethics that Fletcher is criticising, with
love of your neighbour; loving your Fletcher viewing biblical laws as
neighbour as yourself. Agape is thus illuminators to avoid legalism
Evaluating Situation Ethics
Agree Disagree
● Six Propositions (Fletcher) - The ● Power Corrupts (Barclay) -
six propositions, or six fundamental Situation Ethics gives moral agents
principles, explain what ‘love’ is to a dangerous amount of freedom.
Fletcher and within Situation Ethics. For freedom to be good, love has to
These are: love is the only intrinsic be perfect but without it ‘freedom
good, love is the ruling norm of can become selfishness and even
Christian ethics, love is justice for cruelty’. Mankind has not yet come
justice is love distributed, love wills of age and so ‘still needs the crutch
the neighbours good whether we and protection of law’.
like them or not, only the ends justify
the means, love’s decisions are Counter : Humanity come of Age
situational and not prescriptive. (Fletcher + Robinson) - Humanity
has ‘come of age’, meaning now
● Four Working Principles people are more civilised, to the
(Fletcher) - Fletcher provides four point that granting them more
rules of thumb for guiding action in autonomy will increase love without
Situation Ethics. These include: risking the stability of society
Pragmatism (acting to achieve love
as an end), Positivism (Ethics is Counter Counter : Facade of
about decisions, not conclusions), Improvement (Barclay), People
Personalism (places people before might appear improved, if granted
all else), and Relativism (the the freedom (and thus power) to do
appropriate action is relative to the what they want, they won’t choose
situation). the loving thing they will choose the
selfish or even the cruel thing.
Counter : Unchristian Principles, the
Four Working Principles are ● Disregards Jesus (Mouw + Pius
unchristian and have no basis in XII) - It makes no sense to reduce
scripture. The Bible does not Christian ethics to only one of Jesus’
support relativism or pragmatism as commands when Jesus made other
it’s morality is focused around fixed commands too. Pius XII makes a
rules which do not vary between similar criticism, as Christ himself
situations. The moral system frequently spoke of the importance
accepted by most churches either of following all the commandments
stems directly from the bible (e.g. (Matthew 19:17 & John 14:15) and
divine command theory) or from saying he came to fulfil the law, not
Aquinas’ Natural Law theory. to replace it (Romans 13:10)
● Agape (Fletcher) - Agape is perfect Counter : Begging the Question.
love which could be the basis of The example of Jesus himself goes
finding the best outcome in any against the legalistic method of
situation. Agape involves selfless ethics that Fletcher is criticising, with
love of your neighbour; loving your Fletcher viewing biblical laws as
neighbour as yourself. Agape is thus illuminators to avoid legalism
