The Distinctive Features of Natural Law and Situation Ethics

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The Distinctive Features of Natural Law and Situation Ethics

The theories of natural law and situation ethics are far from

concrete, and the impact of the contemporary ‘new natural law,’ led by

the American philosopher Germain Grisez, appears to be a great one.

Yet despite modern modifications, the two concepts are essentially

deep-routed within human thinking. However, they were formulated at

opposite ends of the second millennium: St. Thomas Aquinas’ 13th

century Summa Theologica developed Aristotle and Cicero’s ideas of

‘natural law’, and the explicit conclusions of ‘situation ethics’ were

created by Joseph Fletcher in the early 1960s. Both deal with the

human need to astutely with every day dilemmas. Natural law takes the

view that the absolute principle of love should be a consideration of

every decision made, whilst situation ethics discredits any absolute

idea other than that of human happiness.

First Aristotle (384-322 BCE) and then Cicero (106-43 BCE) introduced

the idea of a natural law “which everywhere is equally valid”

(Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics). Aristotle believed that “that which

is natural is unchangeable, and has the same power everywhere.” Within

these statements one notices the effect of the Ancient Stoics, who

spoke of the idea of ‘Logos,’ from which the word ‘logic’ is derived.

Logos was seen as a law of rationality that governed the world, and

its influence can be seen within St Paul’s letter to the Romans, in

which he spoke of a law “written in the hearts” of Gentiles. Cicero’s

De Republica went further, talking of “reason in agreement with

nature” that was “unchanging and everlasting” and was “not outsid...

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... taken works towards the end result of love; they should “relativize

the absolute”; they should see that God is love, and thus follow the

ethics with positivism; and they should put people first: personalism.

These ‘backbone’ principles lead onto six main ones. First, that “only

one thing is intrinsically good; namely love,” secondly that “The

ruling norm of Christian decision is love,” thirdly that “Love and

Justice are the same,” fourthly that “love wills the neighbour’s

good,” fifthly that “Only the end justifies the means,” and sixth,

“Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively.” These

principles break away from traditional Christian beliefs as they see

all actions as neither intrinsically ‘good’ nor intrinsically ‘bad.’

The moral correctness or any act “depends on whether love is fully

served.”

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