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Examine the Following Ideas as They Appear in the Theory of Situation Ethics: * Situation * Conscience * Relativism

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Examine the following ideas as they appear in the theory of Situation Ethics: * Situation * Conscience * Relativism

First of all, Situation Ethics would produce a situation by setting aside all rules in a situation if love seems to be better served in doing so. Each situation is different and unique therefore reason is required make a moral decision, but only good lies with love. According to Fletcher, the Situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to love’s need. All decisions are hypothetical and so they depend on another thing being correct so the moral worth of this action depends on if love is being maximised. So, in the situation that an insane murderer asks you the whereabouts of his next victim, when using Situation Ethics you would follow the most loving thing to do. Here lying, although usually viewed as an immoral action, would produce the most love in this situation. Once the consequences are assessed and the action that would produce the most amount of love is determined, the moral judgement can be finalised and the action performed.

Fletcher’s view on conscience (and therefore the way in which it appears in Situation Ethics) is that it is a verb and not a noun, the conscience is not a thing it is the process by which a moral decision is made by the individual. It is not a so-called intrinsic moral guide or a faculty of God, it is also not, as stated by Freud, the internalised views of society. When your conscience is used, you are thinking through possible actions that could be taken in order to produce love in any situation. Your conscience is not used to make up your mind only you, the individual, are the decision maker. This means that when making a moral decision you are acting freely and of your own accord, and so, you are in control of your own destiny and the individual is evidently given true moral

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