Situation ethics

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The people behind situation ethics KEY THINKERS

Saint Paul (2 – 65 CE) The only thing you should owe to anyone is love for one another, for to love the other person is to fulfil the law. ~ Romans 13:8 • Early agape has Christian roots. • Jesus came along and moved away from the rigid rules in the Torah; Saint Paul‟s teachings reflect this. • Romans is one of the letters of Paul in the New Testament

Saint Augustine (354 – 430 CE) “Dillge et quod vis, fac” ~ Saint Augustine • Translates as “love with care and then do what you will”. • Love is not desire or self-interest. • The good man looks not at not what he has, wants believes or hopes but what he loves.

CS Lewis (1898 – 1963 CE) Agape “is a real and adorable image of the divine in life” ~ CS Lewis, The Four Loves • Modern agape can be found in the works of CS Lewis. • Oxford University scholar and author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”. • For Lewis, God‟s main attribute is his love for humanity.

CS Lewis continued... • Recognises that love is not easy. • He grew in both love and faith with his wife, especially after she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. • Why would a loving God allow this?  God wants us to love and be loved, not necessarily the same as being happy.  Because God loves us, he allows us to suffer...

Pain is God‟s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We are like blocks of stone from which the sculptor carves the form of man... the blows of his chisel which hurt us so much are what makes us perfect. (CS Lewis)

Pain is God‟s megaphone to rouse a deaf world. We are like blocks of stone from which the sculptor carves the form of man... the blows of his chisel which hurt us so much are what makes us perfect. (CS Lewis) • Could you tell a mother that has just lost her child that it‟s alright because it‟s just God‟s way of making her perfect? • More on the problem of evil at Pisp.co.uk.

Joseph Fletcher (1905 – 1991 CE) • Situation Ethics‟ “roots lie securely, if not conventionally in the tradition of Western Christianity”. (Situation Ethics) • Removes us from odium theologicum – anger generated by disputes over theology. If you can find a better picture, we’d like to know!

It‟s been mentioned an awful lot so far... WHAT IS AGAPE?

Four types of Greek love Desire love, a lust Friendship love Storge Family, affection love Selfless love to clarify...

Agape is a selfless and unconditional love that involves doing the best for others, even , if they are unknown.

Properties of agape No reason to care, simply care for the Altruistic sake of it. G od is love Built on a Christian foundation. Attitudinal Not emotional. Not preferential, everybody deserves P hilanthropist fair treatment. Not reciprocal, nothing in return for E goism rejected loving. Selfless.

How does agape differ from other loves? • Philia and eros are selective and exclusive, not attitudinal nor philanthropist. Agape Egotistical Mutualistic Self-interested “I‟ll help you if you Selfless help me” Anti-nomianism Legalism Agape Too many laws Too few laws e.g. torah, divine command e.g. existentialism

Four characteristics • Fletcher laid out four characteristics of situation ethics, the four „-isms‟. 1. Personalism 2. Pragmatism 3. Positivism 4. Relativism

1. Personalism God is personal • Saint Augustine Humans created imago dei (in the image of God) to love. • Desmond Tutu “How can you love God who you cannot see if you cannot love your neighbour who you can?” • Immanuel Kant People are not a means to an end, have intrinsic value.

2. Pragmatism A practical approach • John Dewey More interactions with a particular thing equals more knowledge of it. • Joseph Fletcher “Pragma not dogma.” The dogma of the church isn‟t as important as putting into practice the message of agape that Jesus brought.

3. Positivism God is love • Saint Augustine “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” • Saint Paul “We love because he first loved us.” • Paul Tillich “Love is the ontological dimension of the universe.” Love is a feature of the universe, and can‟t be removed. God created ex nihilo (out of nothing) – God is love.

4. Relativism • Joseph Fletcher “Love relativises the absolute, not absolutising the relative”.  One moral absolute: agape which is relative. • Paul Tillich “Love is the ultimate law because it is the negation of law; it is absolute because it concerns everything concrete.”  Can be universally applied because it‟s flexible, depends upon the situation.

Six agape propositions (1 – 2) • Phew! Fletcher really loved lists of numbers, here‟s some more... 1. Agape rules! Agape is a verb, a doing word, and is the only absolute good. 2. What would Jesus do? Jesus taught agape and the freedom to choose it – the freedom to do what is right.

Six agape propositions (3 – 6) 3. Agape is justice Love leads to justice because justice is love distributed. 4. No favourites Agape favours all, no matter who they are. 5. Love is the only telos Only the end (love) can justify the means. 6. Circumstances Love‟s decisions are based on each situation.

Reasons to advocate situation ethics POSITIVES

Supports autonomy • Situation ethics is a ‘grown- up’ ethic. • People can choose how to act rather than be told by centres of moral authority like the Catholic Church. • Existentialists like Sartre assert the importance of human freedom.

Appeals to theists and atheists • Although based on Christianity, no belief in God is required for situation ethics. • Bertrand Russell “What the world needs is Christian love or compassion.” Bertrand Russell Russell was an atheist

Relates to the human condition • Peter Vardy “Moral laws are continuously supported in theory and ignored in practice.” • Situation ethics has no complicated rules to follow, like the principle of double-effect or hedonistic calculus; just agape. • Real possibility of living a life led by love. • “This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:12

Person-centric • Needs of individuals are always put first, like Kantian ethics. • Human rights before religious rights. • No laws for the sake of laws.

Agape takes seriously life’s problems • Agape is a self-sacrificial love, and so things will not always be easy. • Through a journey of self-sacrifice, we can find who we are and become closer to God. • Seems similar to Ireanian theodicy, where evil is necessary for soul-making.

Not purely based on emotion • James Childness Emphasises reason‟s place in ethical decision-making. • Agape is attitudinal, not emotional.

Reasons to abandon situation ethics NEGATIVES

Too anti-nomian? Anti-nomianism Legalism Too many laws Too few laws e.g. torah, divine command e.g. existentialism • Dostoyevsky in „The Brothers Karamazov‟.  Grand Inquisitor that wanted to impose a set of laws and remove freedom since people can‟t deal with it.  Jesus practised agape, yet the Catholic Church has condemned him by creating rules around agape.

Too anti-nomian? Continued... • Pope Pius XII  Situation ethics rejects the guidance of the Magisterium.  Magisterium interprets teachings in the bible. • People are weak-willed Pope Pius XII and need a deontological Pope from1939 to 1958 structure to flourish.

Too utopian? • Humans tend to look at situations from their own point of view and so “there is a danger of selfishness creeping in under the banner of love” (Peter Vardy) • Situation ethics works in a world of saints, but we live in a world of sinners.

Agape collapses into utilitarianism • Substitute ‘happiness’ for ‘love’ in the felicific calculus and we get situation ethics. • See utilitarianism at Pisp.co.uk for more. Looks a little like Margaret Thatcher

Not realistic? • Ignores professional, contractual and/or family commitments. • When asked to choose between saving a family member or a Nobel Peace Prize winner, most would really choose their family member. • Since agape is non-preferential, you should save the peacemaker. • Further collapses into utilitarianism.

Situation ethics, too young? • William Barclay All current laws stem from Emperor Constantine, who based them on the Christian ethos of love. • Humanity has not come of age: twentieth century was the bloodiest on record.

Putting situation ethics into practice CASE STUDIES

US dropping bomb on Hiroshima • 8th May 1945, VE day in World War II. • However, USA and Japan still fighting. • President Truman ordered dropping of a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Was Truman right under agape? Yes No • Allied prisoners of war • No warning bomb over a saved from maltreatment non-inhabited area as a by the Japanese. signal. • Potsdam Agreement • Closed war quickly, saving unfavourable to potentially thousands. Japanese. • Hiroshima manufactured • Lots of civilians in lots of weapons. Hiroshima.

1999 Kosovo Conflict • Kosovo women raped by Serbian soldiers. • United Nations peacekeepers distributed contraceptive pills. • Pope John Paul II condemned this as contraceptives are intrinsically evil (see natural law at Pisp.co.uk) • Situation ethics would consider this person-centric or pragmatic; the most loving thing to do.

Apartheid in Africa • Desmond Tutu He put together „The Truth and Reconciliation Commission‟ to peacefully bring together perpetrators to justice. • Situation ethics Justice is love distributed.

Situation ethics

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