Situation Ethics

• What does Fletcher reject in traditional Christian ethics?

  Legalism and antinomianism
• Why does Fletcher reject legalism?

  It fails to consider the situation
• What is antinomianism according to Fletcher?

  The view that there are no rules at all
• What is 'situationism' in Fletcher's ethics?

  A middle ground between legalism and antinomianism
• What is the guiding principle in Fletcher's situation ethics?

  Agape
• What does agape mean?

  Selfless love of your neighbour
• How does Fletcher determine if an action is good or bad?

  By its loving outcome
• What are Fletcher's four working principles in situation ethics?

  • Pragmatism: Consider the situation
  • Personalism: People over rules
  • Positivism: Faith in agape
  • Relativism: Right or wrong depends on love
• What does pragmatism emphasize in Fletcher's ethics?

  Taking the situation into account
• What does personalism prioritize in moral decisions?

  People are more important than rules
• What is the role of positivism in Fletcher's ethics?

  Agape must be taken on faith
• How does relativism function in Fletcher's situation ethics?

  Right or wrong depends on loving outcomes
• What are the six fundamental principles Fletcher introduced?

  Love is the only intrinsic good
• What does Fletcher mean by love being the ruling norm?

  Decisions should be based on loving outcomes
• How does Fletcher equate justice with love?

  Justice is love distributed
• What does Fletcher say about loving your neighbor?

  We must do it regardless of feelings
• What does Fletcher mean by "the means justifies the ends"?

  Actions are justified if the outcome is loving
• How does Fletcher view conscience?

  As a process, not a fixed set of rules
• What criticism does William Barclay have of situation ethics?

  It gives too much autonomy to people
• How does J. A. T. Robinson defend situation ethics?

  Humanity has matured and can think for themselves
• What evidence does Barclay use to support his criticism?

  Power corrupts and leads to moral failure
• What does Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment illustrate?

  Power can corrupt individuals' behavior
• What does 'The Lord of the Flies' represent in this context?

  The decline of civilized behavior without laws
• What do traditional Christians argue against Fletcher's ethics?

  He ignores many biblical commands
• How does Fletcher defend his approach to biblical interpretation?

  He focuses on the theme of love
• What is the flaw in Fletcher's liberal approach to the Bible?

  It leads to subjective interpretations
• What does Richard Mouw argue about Jesus' commands?

  We cannot reduce ethics to one command
• What does Pope Pius XII criticize about situation ethics?

  It overlooks the importance of all commandments
• How does Fletcher justify the ends justifying the means?

  It aligns with Jesus' approach to ethics
• What is the critique of Fletcher's view on commandments?

  Why have other commandments if agape is supreme?
• What is the subjectivity issue in situation ethics?

  Love is interpreted differently by individuals
• How does C. Hitchens critique agape?

  It is subjective based on self-love
• What is the implication of Hitchens' critique on situation ethics?

  Agape remains subjective and unstable