Situation ethics

• The four working principles

  1. Pragmatism - an action must be calibrated to the reality of the sit- must be practical
  2. relativism - absolutes become relative to love
  3. positivism - have faith in love and things will work out
  4. personalism - people are above rules. Jesus knows rules could be broken if it was for the good of humanity
• the 6 fundamental principles

  1. only love is intrinsically good - love is always unconditionally good
  2. ruling norm of Christian decision is love
  3. love and justice are the same- justice is love distributed
  4. love wills the neighbours good whether we like him or not
  5. only the end justifies the means - if the end is loving then it is good
  6. love decides then and there and is based on the situation
• conscience 


  what enabled you to work out the requirements for agape
• strengths of SE 


  designed for modern society - old rules are outdated and ppl are more civilised so freedom and autonomy increase love without risking society
• weakness 


  too much freedom and not everyone would behave lovingly

  SPE shows that power is dangerous

  but SE is better than legalism
• The issues of subjectivity 


  Love your neighbour is less subjective as it requires symmetry between loving yourself and others

  however , loving your neighbour as yourself is only good if the way you love yourself is good

  so the way a person loves themselves is subjective so therefore agape is

  relativism leads to antinomiaism