The Principles of Situation Ethics

The Principles of Situation Ethics

For centuries people have based their moral rules on religious

grounds, for example the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. However, at

the end of the last century an alternate base to peopleÂ’s morals was

offered, called Situation Ethics. Situation Ethics was an idea

developed by a man called Joseph Fletcher, an Anglican Theologian.

Situation EthicÂ’s is considered to be a compromise between Anarchy and

Totalitarianism. Fletcher rejected the idea that people should follow

a set of rules. So, Fletcher developed three ways of making a moral

decision. These are the antinomian way, the legalistic way and the

situational way.

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The antinomian way is a way of making a moral decision without

regarding law or principles. To follow this way you would have to make

a decision on “gut instinct” and what feels right at the time, on no

bases at all. The Antinomian way was where Existentialism surfaced,

this was already a principle developed by a 19th Century Danish

philosopher called Soren Kierkegaard. His theory was that the best way

to make a moral decision was for individuals to find their own unique

basis for morality. This argument was based on the foundations that

no object or rational basis could be grounded in moral decisions. The

antinomian approach basically says that in each unique situation the

situation itself determines the ethical solution.

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The legalist approach to making a moral decision does regard laws and

rules. A legalist would live their life by following a set of certain

rules. For example a Jew would use the Torah to make a moral decision.

Or a non religious person would make a moral decision by following the

laws of the land. For example, JohnÂ’s best friend girlfriendÂ’s auntie

cousin twice removed is dying a slow and painful death and he wants to

die and asks John to commit Euthanasia. John would use the law of the