Aim: to appreciate that morality can be relative and absolute

1. Aim: to appreciate that morality can be relative and absolute

2. Situation Ethics

3. Indecent Proposal: A millionaire asked a beautiful, young woman to sleep with him. She refused. Then her offered to pay her £100,000 and she changed her mind and said yes! Is it wrong to have sex for money: a. To survive? b. To pay for luxuries? c. To fund a life saving operation for a family member? Why might your answers for a, b, and c differ?

4. Joseph Fletcher • Situation Ethics was developed by Joseph Fletcher, an American Anglican Priest. • His theory involves: • Rejecting absolute moral rules. • Recognising the one principle for Christian morality – the law of love. • In any situation the right thing is doing what love demands.

5. For Discussion 1. What does the word ‘love’ mean? 2. Why might it be difficult to make a moral decision based on love?

6. Love Love is difficult to define and can be used in many different ways – emotions, feelings, actions etc. The Greek definitions of love are: Affection for things and animals, sometimes described as ‘sentimental love’. • Storge • Philia • Eros • Agape Love of friends and family; a stronger bond between two people Sexual love; physical love between two people. Unconditional love; the type of Love that shows charity, respect And tolerance

7. Agape • Fletcher uses the Greek term ‘agape’ for his fundamental principle of love. It refers to God’s love for us and the love we should have for our neighbour. • St Paul’s definition of love is the most well Known – “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful……It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

8. Fletcher’s Basic Principle • Fletcher’s basic principle is: ‘there is nothing which is good in itself except love.’ • He quotes St. Augustine: to know whether a person is good or not ‘we do not ask what he believes or in what he hopes but rather what does he love?’ • Discuss the above statements. Do you agree?

9. Six Fundamental Principles • Only love is intrinsically good, nothing else. • The rule for Christian decision making is love and nothing else. • Love and justice are the same. Justice is love distributed. • Love wants what is good for the neighbour, whether we like him/her or not. • Only the end justifies the means. • Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.

10. If thedemands of love are to be followed in every situation, the six principles must always be applied. Group Work Read your moral dilemma and apply the six fundamental principles to decide an outcome based on situation ethics.

11. Now check your decisions against the following principles – are they still compatible with situation ethics?

12. The Four Working Principles PRAGMATISM – the act must be pragmatic. It must have practical consequences in order to achieve its aims. The basis for judging this is: does it serve the purposes of love? RELATIVISM – act on the basis of relativism not absolutism. The theory rejects phrases ‘never’ or ‘always.’ People must act in a way consistent with the law of love, based on the given situation.

13. POSITIVISM – a deliberate decision must be made in favour of the claim of faith, ‘God is love.’ An individual must decide in favour of Christian love. It cannot be verified by reason, but must be a free decision by individuals. PERSONALISM – priority must be given to persons. People must come first. The theory always asks ‘what is the greatest assistance to people?’