On your big paper: What do you know about the 1960’s? use words, sentences, images Include: Lifestyle, clothes, music, ideas, news, anything you think of when we say 1960s

Key events/ ideas:

Objectives Understand the theory of Situation Ethics Begin to assess its effectiveness

What’s this got to do with ethics? This was a time when popular culture suddenly changed dramatically. Social norms that people had stuck to for generations (such as no sex before marriage) were abandoned. Rapid advances in science and technology also meant that new ideas and products (such as contraceptives, cars and televisions) gave people choices they never had before. So, the moral rules that previously applied were no longer sufficient. For many Christians, the deontological approaches that had worked for so long needed a re-think.

Enter Joseph Fletcher! Protestant theologian Wrote “Situation Ethics” in 1966 Attempted to provide a Christian way of making moral decisions that would apply in this new and changing society, and would continue to work into the future.

The Four Working Principles Fletcher started off by thinking about why the existing methods were not working, and he came up with a set of rules that his new ethical theory should follow: Pragmatism

The Four Working Principles Fletcher started off by thinking about why the existing methods were not working, and he came up with a set of rules that his new ethical theory should follow: Pragmatism Positivism 

The Four Working Principles Fletcher started off by thinking about why the existing methods were not working, and he came up with a set of rules that his new ethical theory should follow: Pragmatism Positivism  Personalism

The Four Working Principles Fletcher started off by thinking about why the existing methods were not working, and he came up with a set of rules that his new ethical theory should follow: Pragmatism Positivism  Personalism Relativism

A new approach to ethics… Legalism -based on rules. Once established, they shouldn’t be broken Situationism -based on situations. There are rules, but they need to be applied differently in different situations. Antinomianism - No rules! Everyone behaves however they like. Fletcher suggested a new approach in between these two extremes. What would that be like? Table discussion: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches?

What do we know so far? Write a paragraph to explain what Fletcher thought ethical decision-making should be like. Include the four working principles (in your own words) and his ideas on legalism and antinomianism.

So, what is the theory? Like Utilitarianism, it is teleological – the consequences, rather than the action itself, make it morally good or bad. Whereas Utilitarianism claims that the only thing that is intrinsically good is pleasure, Situation Ethics claims that the only thing that is intrinsically good is love. So, in any situation, the right action is the one that will bring about the most loving consequences.

Situation Ethics is based on doing what is the most loving. There is only one ultimate duty, and its formula is “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. How to do this is another question, but it is the whole of moral duty. William Temple Situation Ethics is based on doing what is the most loving. By “love”, he means Jesus’ idea of agape love (selfless and unconditional). To show us how agape love works in practice, Fletcher came up with the Six Fundamental Principles.

What do we mean by “love”? - Six Fundamental Principles

Key words – how many can you remember? Personalism Pragmatism Relativism Positivism Legalism Antinomianism Situationism Agape Teleological Protestant

Objectives Understand the theory of Situation Ethics Begin to assess its effectiveness