Defenders of situation ethics would argue that one of its key strengths is its flexibility; it allows for pragmatic decisions to be made where rule-based ethical systems follow their own absolute commandments.

The first 200 words of this essay...

(ii) How far do the weaknesses lead to a rejection of the theory? 9 marks

Defenders of situation ethics would argue that one of its key strengths is its flexibility; it allows for pragmatic decisions to be made where rule-based ethical systems follow their own absolute commandments. It takes the circumstances into account where they ignore them, disallowing some actions 'whatever the circumstances.' The frequent attempts to sidestep them are a tacit acknowledgment that this is the case, and can lead to some very confused situations. For example, the removal of the Fallopian tube, with its indirect result of the death of a foetus which would otherwise cause the mother's death, is permissible, but the modern scientific technique of just removing the foetus, which has the significant advantage of letting the mother still bear children, is not.

Opponents would say that doing something like murdering Hitler brings you down to his level, and point out that it is against our consciences. But the phrase 'bringing you down to the same level' which disguises the fact that most people just find killing uncomfortable. This is a gut reaction, not in itself a reason for saying that killing is automatically