ConceptsNest

  ***Continued from Chapter 01 (Covered previously: What is Situational Ethics, The Meaning & Context of Agape, The Three Views Of Situational Ethics ) Link to Chapter 01: CHAPTER - 01 The Four Working Principles of Situationism Principle 1. Pragmatism The situationalist follows a strategy, which is  pragmatic . “Pragmatism” is a well worked-out philosophical position adopted by the likes of  John Dewey  (1859 – 1952),  Charles Peirce  (1839–1914) and  William James  (1842–1910). Fletcher does not want his theory associated with these views and rejects all the implications of this type of “Pragmatism”. What makes his view pragmatic is very simple. It is just his attraction to moral views, which do not try to work out what to do in the abstract, but rather explores how moral views might play out in each  real life situations . Principle 2: Relativism Even with his rejection of Antinomianism and his acceptance of one supreme principle of morality, Fletcher, surprising

  Situational ethics, or situation ethics, is a teleological and consequential theory of ethics concerned with the outcome of an action as opposed to an action being intrinsically wrong as in deontological theories. The theory was principally developed in the 1960s by the Christian Episcopal priest Joseph Fletcher. He argued that sometimes moral principles could be cast aside in certain situations if love is best being served . He believed that there are no absolute laws other than the law of love, and that all the other laws were secondary. This means that all the other laws may be broken if other courses of action would result in more love. Thus, in the case of situational ethics, the ends can justify the means. Joseph Fletcher (1905–1991), in his time, developed what he called an ethical non-system . His publication was questioned amongst the public because it legitimized the general post-war dissatisfaction with authority . The English term "situation ethics" was taken f