Discussion Points: Moral Decision-Making
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 2.2.3
Debates About Situation Ethics
Is situation ethics useful for making moral decisions? Is making moral decisions subjective and individualistic because situation ethics rejects absolute rules?
Situation ethics is useful
- It is flexible because it allows people to use their free will to decide what the most loving action is. There is no objective right or wrong answer in any situation.
- It is not rigid and devoid of any emotion (which distinguishes humans from other mammals) allowing people to show more empathy when appropriate.
- It is based on one simple rule: namely love. For this reason, it is relative, which means that we are not restricted by moral absolutes such as ‘do not kill’.
Situation ethics is not useful
- William Barclay believed humans can’t be trusted to do the right thing and it would only work ‘if all men were angels’.
- This is supported by Augustine’s interpretation of humanity - which is fallen.
- Augustine believed that humans are inclined to sin and are selfish. For this reason, we cannot be trusted to make the correct ethical choices.
- In 1952 Pope Pius XII called Situationism, ‘an individualistic and subjective’ theory which will ‘justify decisions in opposition to the natural law’.
Subjective & individualistic
- There are no boundaries in situation ethics because it does not abide by any form of legal system.
- Christian love can become individualistic (and potentially selfish). The individual has too much control or influence and people tend to be selfish.
- Augustine and Thomas Hobbes (pictured) both believed that it is in our human nature to be instinctively selfish.
- Subjectivity can never be the standard for human conduct: “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes” (Proverbs 16:2).
Not subjective & individualistic
- Situation ethics is based on the rule of love. So in some sense, is not individualistic because one must always do the most loving thing, even if they would prefer not to or it would endanger them or their families.
- Jesus applied situation ethics and risked death by healing someone on the Sabbath. He did this on the basis of love.
- There are many things the vast majority of society would agree on when it comes to love.
Test yourself on Discussion Points: Moral Decision-Making
What did Augustine believe about humanity?
Which of these is NOT a counter-point to the argument that situation ethics is individualistic and subjective?