Describe the main features of Joseph Fletchers theory of Situation ethics.

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Describe the main features of Joseph Fletcher’s theory of Situation ethics.

Joseph Fletcher devised the theory of situation ethics which is based upon the invariable Christian duty of “love thy neighbour as thyself” therefore every response to act must be based around the law of love, as love is the only thing which is intrinsically good. Fletcher also maintained that there are three ways of making moral decisions: legalistic ethics which is a set of prefabricated moral rules and regulations; antinomian ethics which bases moral decisions on spontaneity, basically against law, and then there’s Situation ethics which bases decisions on traditions of society and love.

Joseph Fletcher, the mastermind behind this theory began his beliefs on situation ethics after teaching Christian ethics at school which influenced him to come up with situation ethics which is why it is so heavily Christian based. Although Fletcher depicted there was three main ways to make moral decisions (legalistic, antinomian and situation) he concluded that situation is the best out of the three. This is because it lets you have some freedom but also helps you to make the ‘correct’ decision, which is what gives the most love as love is the only thing which is intrinsically good. It also gives freedom as nothing is inherently good or evil and it gives an acceptable reason for your actions instead of the pathetic reasoning ‘lesser evil’ . The Christian love aspect to situation ethics plays a dominant role in the entire theory; however it is also based upon principles; the four working principles and the six fundamental principles. If you pursue these then the outcome will be the right one.

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The four working principles are the basis of the theory, they consist of: Pragmatism, this plainely states that if an act is going to work then it must be practical. For example, if there was two conjoined twins then the catholic church may say to kill one, saving the other would be evil or bad, however Fletcher disagreed as letting both girls die is not pragmatic it would be more practical to save one at the expense of the other. The second principle is relativism, which means that rules (absolutes) do not always apply, it depends on the situation., for ...

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