Joseph Fletcher proposed situation ethics as an alternative to absolute rules. There are four working presumptions: pragmatism, relativism, positivism, and personalism. The six fundamental principles are that agape (love) is the only absolute, love overrides laws, justice follows from love, love has no favorites, love is the end not a means, and what is right depends on the situation. Fletcher provided four examples to illustrate situation ethics: a terminally ill patient's life insurance dilemma, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, a spy seduction dilemma, and a prisoner of war's adulterous act to be released. Critics argue Fletcher's examples are too individualized and exceptional and may misinterpret Jesus'
Joseph Fletcher proposed situation ethics as an alternative to absolute rules. There are four working presumptions: pragmatism, relativism, positivism, and personalism. The six fundamental principles are that agape (love) is the only absolute, love overrides laws, justice follows from love, love has no favorites, love is the end not a means, and what is right depends on the situation. Fletcher provided four examples to illustrate situation ethics: a terminally ill patient's life insurance dilemma, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, a spy seduction dilemma, and a prisoner of war's adulterous act to be released. Critics argue Fletcher's examples are too individualized and exceptional and may misinterpret Jesus'
Joseph Fletcher proposed situation ethics as an alternative to absolute rules. There are four working presumptions: pragmatism, relativism, positivism, and personalism. The six fundamental principles are that agape (love) is the only absolute, love overrides laws, justice follows from love, love has no favorites, love is the end not a means, and what is right depends on the situation. Fletcher provided four examples to illustrate situation ethics: a terminally ill patient's life insurance dilemma, the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, a spy seduction dilemma, and a prisoner of war's adulterous act to be released. Critics argue Fletcher's examples are too individualized and exceptional and may misinterpret Jesus'
In Fletcher’s situation ethics there are four working
presumptions, six fundamental principles and four examples. Situation ethics
The four working presumptions
1. Pragmatism — the action proposed must work in practice.
2. Relativism — there are no fixed rules, but all decisions must be based on agape. ‘Love relativises the absolute, it does not absolutise the relative.’ (Joseph Fletcher) 3. Positivism — using the principles of Christian love, a value judgement has to be made. 4. Personalism — people are the first concern, not laws. Situation ethics
The six fundamental principles
1. Agape — love is the only absolute, it is always good and
right. ‘The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else.’ (Fletcher) 2. This love is self-giving and overrides all laws. This may, for example, give permission to kill if it is the most loving action. ‘Love and justice are the same, for love is justice distributed, nothing else.’ (Fletcher). 3. Justice follows from love and love put into practice can only result in justice. ‘Love wills the neighbour's good, whether we like him or not.’ (Fletcher) Situation ethics
The six fundamental principles
4. Love has no favourites and therefore does not give
preferential treatment to particular people. ‘Agape is giving love — non-reciprocal, neighbour regarding.’ (Fletcher). 5. Love must be the end not a means to an end. ‘Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.’(Fletcher) 6. The loving thing to do depends on the situation, therefore what is right in one situation may be wrong in another. Situation ethics
Fletcher’s four examples
Although most textbooks mention the fact that Fletcher gave
four examples of the possible application of situation ethics, they seldom if ever cite the examples: • Himself Might his Quietus Make • Special Bombing Mission No. 13 • Christian Cloak and Dagger • Sacrificial Adultery (Mrs Bergmeier) The following slides provide summaries of the four examples. Research Fletcher’s work to find the full versions. Situation ethics
Himself Might his Quietus Make
A terminally ill patient has 6 months to live. His doctors can
prescribe pills that will keep him alive for 3 years. However, his life insurance policy expires the following October. If he takes the pills and lives past October, his policy will not be renewed and his family will be left with nothing when he dies. Should he not take the pills, in order that his family are left with some security? Situation ethics
Special Bombing Mission No. 13
‘When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the plane crew were silent. Captain Lewis uttered six words, “My God, what have we done?” Three days later another one fell on Nagasaki. About 152,000 were killed, many times more were wounded and burned, to die later. The next day Japan sued for peace.’ In order to decide whether to use nuclear weapons, the US president appointed a committee: •the military advisors favoured using them •top-level scientists said they could find no acceptable alternative to using them •other, equally able, scientists opposed their use The committee decided that the lives saved by ending the war swiftly by using this weapon outweighed the lives destroyed by using it. Situation ethics
Christian Cloak and Dagger
While reading Biblical Faith and Social Ethics on a plane, a
man is approached by a young woman, who asks him to help her solve a problem. Her government had asked her to seduce and sleep with an enemy spy in order to blackmail him. This went against her morals, but if the plan was successful it could bring the war to an end. Were the thousands of lives that would be saved worth breaking her moral standards for? Situation ethics
Sacrificial Adultery (Mrs Bergmeir)
During the Second World War, a married German woman with
three children was captured by a Soviet patrol and taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in the Ukraine. Once the war ended, she learned that her family were trying to stay together and find her. According to the rules, she could only be released from the camp if she was pregnant. After considering her options, she asked a Volga German camp guard to impregnate her. She was sent back to Germany and her family welcomed her, even when she told them how she had done it. They loved the child because of what he had done for them. After the christening, they discussed the morality of the situation with their pastor. Situation ethics
Criticisms
Although Fletcher gives examples, they are very
individual and exceptional. In some examples Fletcher appears to reinterpret Jesus’ actions in order to defend his own theory.