...I. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of Situation Ethics. (21) May 2013 Situation Ethics is a teleological theory which takes a relativist approach by doing the most loving thing according to the situation and the predicted consequence regardless of laws and rules. The theory also focuses on which action will be most loving for the most people. Joseph Fletcher introduced this theory in 1966 when he released his book “Situation Ethics: The New Morality.” He expresses that he wanted to create a middle ground between legalism and antinomianism as he felt people were becoming secular. He wanted to bring Christians back to the Church. Situation Ethics (SE) has many strengths, firstly it’s very flexible it allows you to consider the different aspects to the situation unlike many other deontological theories that have a much more legalistic approach. For example, Christians believe that murder is wrong in any context or situation however a SE approach would accept the choice of abortion if the person who is pregnant had been raped as it could be considered as the lesser of two evils as the mother didn’t want a child and may not want to be constantly reminded of the traumatic event. Another strength is it follows the teaching of Jesus in the sense that it’s main focus is agape love which is a core belief in Christianity. It’s important that SE was influenced by Jesus as Fletcher introduced it with intentions to bring Christians back to the Church because people were becoming...
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...Situation ethics is an ethical theory pioneered by Joseph Fletcher in the 1960's, a time in which society and the church were facing drastic change. It is an idealistic, teleological, consequentialist theory that resolves ethical and moral issues relative to the situation. In contrast to utilitarianism, Situation ethics is based on Christian principles and primarily the promotion of agape. Fletcher's liberal, less rule based theory is based on one absolute law, which when applied properly, handles every situation. Subsequently, Fletcher rejects the deontological view of 'right and wrong' decisions in a situation and believes that ethical decisions should follow flexible guidelines rather than absolute rules. Situation ethics developed in the 1960's, a time of social, cultural and moral change in the Western countries. After the Second World War, the post war generation threw off the shackles of paternalism, authority plus the law and government. Sexual liberation advanced as methods of contraception became freely available and more reliable. The introduction of the contraceptive pill allowed women to express their new individualism and freedom. Many people began to turn away from the church and blamed factors such as "Greater independence; more money.the weakening of family bonds and religious influences; the development of earlier maturity, physically, emotionally and mentally; the impact of modern books, television and periodicals" (Sex and Morality, SCM). The world was...
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...Situation Ethics is a teleological theory, which evaluates certain acts in light of their situational context. It is not a universal law, but it is the law of agape. The ethical theory is based on the main Christian duty to, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself’; therefore, love is the prerogative as it’s the only aspect that is intrinsically good. Many debates have been developed around the argument whether ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’. According to Joseph Fletcher, ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’. The philosopher developed the teleological theory of Situation Ethics according to the teachings of Jesus Christ, a being who lived his life according to how God demands mankind to live. Within The New Testament, Jesus implies that we do not have to follow a set of rules and laws, especially when love is demanded. This can be seen within the example Jesus set, when The Son of God defended his friends for working on the Sabbath day. The New Testament highlights, Jesus taught his followers that all Christian actions and decisions should be seen in the light of love. Therefore, this supports Fletcher’s claim that ‘Situation Ethics is always practical’, as he developed a series of rule breaking principles according to Jesus’ teachings, which would bring about the most loving outcome, and serves the majority according to those in loves need. An example of this is Fletcher’s principle that, ‘only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love – nothing else’. This supports...
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...Outline the main principals of situation ethics Situation ethics is based on the idea that you do the most loving thing in a situation, even if it leads to breaking the law. It is known as a relativistic theory. It has no absolute rules that have to be followed in every circumstance. It is also a consequentialist theory, where the end result is held to be of great importance. Finally it is a teleological theory, claiming the morale truth can be found through nature and purpose. Joseph Fletcher, who focused on situation ethics, came to the conclusion that the most loving thing must always be done, as love overwrites anything else in the world. He described situation ethics as a ethical theory based on the single principal of love and people should enter every situation prepared to act in the most loving way. The right thing to do in any given situation is the mist loving thing to do. Fletcher defined love as always being good, love and justice are the same, for love is justice distributed. He said the end result of love justifies the means and it makes a decision which is unique to each individual situation. Fletcher described loved using the word ‘agape’ which in translation means ‘God’s love of humanity’. His view is strengthened by the Bible as ‘agape’ come from what Jesus taught us, to ‘love thy neighbour’. Situation ethics consists of 4 main principals highlighted by Vardy and Grosch as: pragmatism, relativism, positivism and personalism. Vardy and Grosch first principal...
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...Identification of the Ethic Ethics can be defined as a reflection of rules and norms, virtues and role models that give orientation to human decisions. The supreme aim of moral action thereby is to lead a good and decent life individually as well as in community (Gabriel, 2013, p.98). I chose Love as my ethic because I agree with Fletcher in that it is the most powerful and important force on earth. Love can move mountains, for the better or the worse. Love is the most important force in my life and I believe it is in most peoples’ lives. One of my favorite quotes is “A life without love is no life at all” by Leonardo Da Vinci. There are four working principles he assumed before setting out the theory of Situational Ethics, which include: Pragmatism, Relativism, Positivism, and Personalism. Pragmatism states that the course of action to be taken must be practical and work. Relativism states that there are no fixed laws which must be obeyed within this ethic. Positivism states the person must freely believe in the Christian concept of agape love which forms the basis of the ethic. Personalism states that people come before rules or ideals in a society, as reflected in his statement, “Man was not made for the Sabbath” (Wilkens, 2011, p.168). The ethic reviewed in the exposition, and the ethic that Fletcher believes is all encompassing is love. Love; however, is a situational ethic according to Fletcher. This is a deceptively simple ethic in the way that love can...
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...Ethics: 1. As the manager of an event planning company, you get asked by friends to plan several events throughout the year. During one of these events, your close friend asks you to take a break and have some drinks with them. Knowing that one of your main policies is to never drink during an event, you… A. Drink it up! B. Take a few sips since they are one of your friends but get straight back to work. C. Do not drink at all. D. Wait until the party is almost over to make sure everything went well and then have some drinks. 0. A- No! Our policy is to never drink. 5. B-Although they are your friend, it is still unprofessional and against policy. 10.C- is the correct answer. Our policy is to NEVER take a drink no matter what the event is unless you are a guest and not involved in the process of planning or working the event. 5. D- You must wait until the event is completely over. 2. You have been planning a wedding for a bridezilla (one of the worst brides you have ever dealt with) and the event is only a few days away. When you pick up the placement cards you realize that 3 names are missing and the ink of some of the cards is also faded. The bride will probably go crazy if she finds out… A. Just give her the cards, she is too busy with everything else and won’t notice. B. Have them reprinted and tell her about the situation. C. Have them reprinted but don’t mention the situation to her so she does not get mad. D. Rewrite...
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...Describe the main features of situation ethics Situation ethics is a theory used to make decisions that are personal to each unique situation. It allows rules to be bent and it rejects prefabricated decisions and ‘prescriptive rules’. In short, right and wrong depend on the situation. Situation ethics arose in a time when the Church was going through a major change in its moral rules. Joseph Fletcher was a part of this change in the Church’s perspective. He was inspired by Jesus’ gospel message of love. Situation ethics has one single rule; the rule of agape. This love is not merely an emotion but it involves doing what is best for the other person or what decision will cause the greatest amount of good in a situation. He identified three approaches to morality. The first is legalism. Legalism is a conservative approach to morality that is rule-based, stiff and unchanging. It resembles a traditionalist Christian view where something is based on absolute morality. For example, some Christians would see abortion as murder so it is wrong in all situations, independent of the situation, due to ‘Do not kill’ being one of the Ten Commandments. Fletcher explained that this approach can run into problems because life’s complex situations require additional laws. For example murder is wrong but what about self defence? Killing in war? Etc. The second approach is antinomianism. This is the complete opposite of legalism. It’s literal meaning is ‘against law’. Antinomianism is...
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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...
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...Situation Ethics * Situation ethics was most famously championed by Joseph Fletcher (1905-1991). * He believed that we should follow the rules until we need to break them for reasons of love. * It is based on agape love (Christian unconditional love), and says that we should always do the most loving thing in any situation. * Fletcher rejected following rules regardless (legalism) and also the idea that we should not have any rules (antinomianism) and said that we need to find a balance between the two. Four working principles When establishing his version of Situation Ethics, Fletcher used four key principles which he aimed to fulfil in writing his theory: 1. Pragmatism (it has to work in daily life - it must be practical) 2. Relativism (there should be no fixed rules) 3. Positivism (it must put faith before reasoning – "I am a Christian, so what should I do?") 4. Personalism (people should be at the centre of the theory) Six Fundamental Principles There are six fundamental things that underlie Fletcher's Situation Ethics: 1. Love is the only absolute (it is intrinsically good) 2. Christian decision making is based on love 3. Justice is love distributed 4. Love wants the good for anyone, whoever they are 5. Only the end justifies the means 6. Love is acted out situationally not prescriptivally Advantages of Situation Ethics The key advantage is that it uses rules to provide a framework but allows people to break rules to reflect life's complexities...
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...Situation Ethics General Principles: 1. Middle Way between Legalism and Antinomianism (e.g. Enron - if it had loving intentions then it would have been OK). Only break law if most loving outcome in given situation; teleological (e.g. Hiroshama/Nagasaki justified because ends war?) "it relativises the absolute, it does not absolutise the relative" 2. Conscience; what it is and what it is not (e.g. Nike - love = non-preferencial therefore should treat workers well - factory in Indonesia 177x legal toxic fume limit). [ NOT: 1. intuition/inner-feeling, 2. "guidance by the holy spirit" external decision maker, 3. "internalised value system of the culture and society", 4. "reason making moral judgements" (Aquinas). ] WHAT IT IS: function, not a faculty - something you do, rather than have, verb not a noun, there is no "conscience", just a word for "our attempts to make decisions" (e.g. Huckleberry Finn decides to befriend slave, Jim). "Antecedant rather than consequent conscience" - prospective, not retrospective (no guilt/regret/hindsight etc) 3. The idea of situation (e.g. Fletcher's lifeboat - captain orders sailors to jump overboard to save women & children). "Unique and concrete moment in which the decision is required" - every situation is unique/relative (e.g. Ford Pinto case - cost benefit analysis) 4. Making decisions rather than following rules - teleological, not deontological. "A-rational, not irrational" Don't just blindly follow rules, use conscience situationally...
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...Veronica Knox Ethic Situations in Business September 18, 2013 Part A: Evaluate Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility. Company Q’s current attitude toward social responsibility seems to be obsolete. Company Q appears to be one of a company which is implementing decision making out of frustration based on a series of events experience by the company which has impacted the company profit making ability. However, social responsibility calls for Company Q to act on the benefit of society or in this case the community at large. As a small grocery store the company depends on the business of locals in their surrounding areas in order to generate revenue. However, the fact that some of their stores are in higher crime areas this deters consumers from shopping in their stores which leads to a low profits and high expense for the inventory they carry in their stores. The passage mentioned that Company Q has had to close a couple of stores because of the higher crime rate in the areas of these locations. Therefore, it is likely that the company would not be thinking about social responsibility when asked by area food bank for donation of day old products. Frustration would be a logical justification for why Company Q would cite loss of revenue due to possible fraud and stealing by employees because the donations should actually have a positive effect by improving company, employee and community relations. If Company Q proceeded with actually donating...
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...Situation Ethics as a relativistic and teleological theory can, to a certain extent, work in society. Situation ethics is a theory in which agape love must be reached through the consequence of an action. This theory was developed by Joseph Fletcher. Situation Ethics as a relativistic theory is flexible and practical. It takes into account the situation a person is faced with and can help make decisions in situations where, from a legalistic point of view, all options are wrong. This allows the theory to adapt to every situation and result in the most amount of agape love being achieved Being a teleological theory it ensures people consider the likely outcome of their actions before they take them. This allows the person to consider all the possible actions they could take before leaping into a situation. This also allows the most amount of love to be achieved in the end result. Being a relativistic theory allows people the individual freedom to make decisions for themselves, these people are not strapped down with strict rules which can trap them in non-loving situations. As a teleological theory it is pragmatic and realistic – concentrating on the outcome of an action. This results in the end being the focus of the action which relies on the person thinking of the consequences. They should always make the most loving choice as they are the children of God. However, o Many people argue that we need rules to avoid issues such as moral chaos. Some people argue that humans...
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...exchanges? Len’s tone is a little condescending, threatening, and hostile up to the point of criticizing Marilyn and her work. Marilyn’s tone was continuously defensive; her every word and actions. As a lady, I think she feels intimidated maybe because she is a lady. She feels like she was being put down in the first exchange while in the second, she was more solemn. • Were Marilyn's objectives on the way to being effectuated in the first exchange? Len was doing everything he could including using the blocking tactic, so I do not think Marilyn’s objective was on the way to being effectuated in the first exchange. She was being bullied and Len was also trying to intimidate her as a woman. She was continuously put in a defensive situation while at the same time countering every frame that Len used. She had to explain why she could perform better and had to get him back to the reason of the conversation. Personally, I feel that she had no opportunity to use any of her strategy and tactics even if she had any because Len gave her no chance to complete her sentences and negotiate her points. • Were Len's objectives on the way to being effectuated in the first exchange? I do not think that Len’s objectives were on the way to being effectuated in the first exchange either because I think...
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...Can you find the thesis statement? 1. I have chosen to compare two TV-series who in fact, are a lot like each other. They are both sitcoms and revolve around a group of friends, living their lives and having fun with it. I have chosen “How I Met Your Mother” and “Friends”. In both of these series, there is a main character, whether the main character is more important than the rest is only to discussion. These two series are similar in many ways, because they both use the same episode-structure. However, there is one little difference. The group of friends in “How I Met Your Mother” are five whereas the group in “Friends” are six. Either way, these two TV-series contain many similarities except for a quite significant difference in a central cinematic technique. 2. The two popular sitcoms “How I met your mother” (2005) and “Friends” (1994) contain several similarities. They are both built up on a group of friends who have very unique individual personalities. We follow their everyday life in New York; mainly staying at the local bar/coffee shop or in an apartment, which some of the characters lives in. But then again they are not completely similar. “How I met your mother” is, as the title reveals, about how the main character met his wife, which he tells his kids in the year 2030. Then the sitcom takes us through his life in the year 2005 among his friends, trying to find his future wife. “Friends” is on the other hand about 6 friends relationship to each other and...
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...In the early days of television, the role of a misfit was one of comedic effect, an excellent example is one of the first and certainly one of the most popular comedy shows of its era; The Three Stooges. In The Three Stooges, almost every gag is either violent slapstick, a farcical joke, or demeaning jokes centred around the main cast's stupidity. As one approaches contemporary times, the role of a misfit changes significantly, over the decades, society becomes more tolerant of difference and more accepting toward individuality, imposing fewer expectations on youth to replicate their parent's lives, this was around the time of programs such as Freaks and Geeks. Eventually, television and society start celebrating differences, seen in modern television in many programs, especially seen in series such as Son of Zorn. The changes in television are deeply linked to changes in society, each affecting the other. In the early 1900's (~1930) Columbia Pictures new 'short film' series The Three Stooges took the world by storm; the trio of actors turned a comedy act into numerous sketch-type short films each year. Many years later the 1950s; the sequence of films were broadcast to the world; this was during the time of a rapid increase in population growth (2) and thus and much larger 'mass culture' which allowed for a significant increase in cultural diversity in given populations (3). Combined with this was the rapid increase in the number of homes that had a television to a reported...
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