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Situation Ethics

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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 (e.g. hero of situation ethics = St. Louis Cabbie "there are times a man has to push his principles aside and do the right thing" - chose not to vote Republican as his father/grandfather etc had done)

Four Presumptions:
1. Pragmatism - "the good is what works". Has to be practical/"expedient" (e.g. Kant's murderer at the door - more practical to lie to save life of victim) - not deontological. Being sensible and constructive. Don't blindly follow rules; try to create best outcomes. Avoid philosophical debate; just do it! [ However some say debate/reason can lead to best outcomes...(e.g. Kant or Natural Moral Law. 'Leap of faith' = too relative Also: saints not sinners! Non-reciprocal/non-preferential love = unrealistic!]
2. [Contextual] Relativism - "it relativises the absolute, it does not absolutise the relative". Absolute rules do not always apply, adapt to situation if most loving outcome, but don't disregard them. Middle way. Avoids fixed rules. Relative to situation in terms of love. To be absolutely relative is to be "meaningless, amoral".
3. [Theological] Positivism - "a-rational but not irrational". Based on faith, not logic - you must want to do good (agape love) and take 'leap of faith' based on love/faith in Christ, rather than simply reason (e.g. 'love thy neighbour'). "Thinking supported by faith"
4. Personalism - "people at the centre of concern, not things". People are put above all else, including money, natural resources etc. "Love is of people, by people and for people". Everyone has the Holy Spirit within them/'imago dei' and therefore deserves equal treatment (e.g. shareholders and workers treated equally in business/cost benefit analysis - Ford Pinto)

Six Fundamental Principles:
1. "Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely agape" (e.g. telling the truth isn't always good, sometimes lying is better - murderer at the door). Only absolute is agape love. Not eros (sexual), philia (friendship) or storge (family) love.
2. "The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else". Love replaces the law; law obeyed only in love's sake. Jesus' 'love thy neighbour' = only law.
3. "Love and justice are the same, for justice is love redistributed". If love was properly shared out, there would be no injustice (e.g. bullying, poverty). Lack of justice is simply lack of love.
4. "Love wills the neighbour's good". Agape = non-preferencial and non-reciprocal. If we are nice to people, they will be nice back.
5. "Only the end (of love) justifies the means". If love comes out of an action, it is good - teleological. Can't claim to be right just by following rules; only end justifies means (e.g. profit motive = bad, however employment = good...)
6. "Love's decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively". There and then, you decide the most loving thing to do; middle way/conscience.

Strengths
• Agape love is a good thing and is just - redistribution of love
• Non-preferential = good (personal friends/enemies don't get in way)
• Non-reciprocal = selfless/not about personal gain (altruistic - caring for sake of caring)
• Christians agree that 'love thy neighbour'/agape is good - Jesus would also likely approve
• Teleological (about outcomes); decisions can be adapted to individual situations therefore solutions are more personal/specific

Weaknesses
• Made for world of saints, not sinners; people unlikely to be non-preferential/non-reciprocal
• Too relative; doesn't give specific enough method - too antinomian!
• Not just love that is good (e.g. G.E.Moore (ideal utilitarian); happiness, beauty, knowledge)
• Ignores Christian rules (e.g. ten commandments)...
• Sometimes punishment/retribution is needed for justice (not always love/forgiveness)
• Non-preferential means Gandhi treated same as Hitler... (surely better to change depending on person?)
• We cannot truly know the outcomes of our actions (teleology = bad)
• 'Of its time'; invented in 1960s (era of free love, rejection of authority, personal autonomy)
• Incompatible with Natural Moral Law (Catholicism), Divine Command Theory and legalism

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