Situation Ethics An Anglican theologian Joseph Fletcher developed situation Ethics. Legalism is the idea that there are fixed moral laws which are to be obeyed at all times. Antinomianism is the idea that there are no fixed moral principles but that one acts morally spontaneously. Fletcher rejects Legalism because it cannot accommodate 'exceptions to the rule'. If you reject one aspect of the law you surely reject it all. He also rejects Antinomianism on the basis of existentialist ethics which argues that reality is composed of singular events and moments in time.
In advocating a
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Situation ethics would argue that one of its key strengths is its flexibility; it allows for practical decisions to be made where rule-based ethical systems follow their own absolute commandments. It takes the circumstances into account where they ignore them, prescribing some actions 'whatever the circumstances.'
Opponents would say that doing something like murdering Hitler brings you down to his level, and point out that it is against our consciences. However the phrase 'bringing you down to the same level' is an essentially blank one, which disguises the fact that most people just find killing uncomfortable. This is a gut reaction, not in itself a reason for saying that killing is automatically wrong any more than the fact that some people are instinctively racist shows that racism is right. Situation ethics is not based on the idea of a conscience, and as it says that we should make love rather than divine revelation or intuition the basis of our action, our gut reactions aren't seen as being the best moral guides.
Its advocates would also claim that situation ethics focuses on humans rather than what amounts to a worship of laws and abstract principles. These only have ultimate value to the extent that they help people. The argument is that the only basis for
The problem solving methods that might be helpful to assist Jerry in making an ethical decision would be to establish trust with the patient and become aware of the problem. Then analyze the problems and decide on a plan with the patient. He will then want to make sure he reinforces the commitment to the patient and activate the plan. Last, he will follow through with the task and monitor everything until the situation is taken care of.
This paper is going to discuss Ethics and Ethical Theories. It will include an introduction to ethical theories, virtue ethics, and care ethics. There will be sections discussing absolutism versus relativism, consequentialism versus deontological ethics, and lastly, free will versus determinism. It will also include a discussion about the study of morality and identify which of the approaches (Scientific, Philosophical, or Theological/Religious) are closest to my own personal beliefs. There will be a discussion regarding the three sources of ethics
I’ll now evaluate the reliability of the situation ethics approach and compare it to Natural Law.
Virtue ethics is a normative theory whose foundations were laid by Aristotle. This theory approaches normative ethics in substantially different ways than consequentialist and deontological theories. In this essay, I will contrast and compare virtue ethics to utilitarianism, ethical egoism, and Kantianism to demonstrate these differences. There is one fundamental aspect of virtue ethics that sets it apart from the other theories I will discuss. For the sake of brevity and to avoid redundancy, I will address it separately. This is the fundamental difference between acting ethically within utilitarianism, egoism, and Kantianism. And being ethical within virtue ethics. The other theories seek to define the ethics of actions while virtue ethics does not judge actions in any way. The other theories deal with how we should act, while virtue ethics determines how we should be.
Nurses are faced with ethical issues and dilemmas on a regular basis. Nurses must understand his or her values and morals to be able to deal adequately with the ethical issues he or she is faced with. Some ethical issues nurses are exposed to may be more difficult than others and the ethical decision making process is learned over time.
Hursthouse presents an outline of these ethical approaches. First, deontology premise one the action is right if it follows the guideline of a “moral rule or principle”, and premise two a correct moral is either “required by rationality” or the “rational acceptance from behind the veil of ignorance and so on…”. Then she presents act-utilitarianism, premise one the action is correct if it comes out with the best outcome, and premise two if the best outcomes presents that “happiness is maximized”. Finally, the author presents virtue theory. Virtue theory, the action is correct “if it is what a virtuous agent what do in the circumstances”. She then explains what a virtuous person is, and discusses how a virtuous
Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.
Unlike ethical theories such as Situation Ethics and Utilitarianism, Natural Law does not require people to try and judge the potential future consequences of an action. Instead, people are expected to follow their innate conscience telling them what is right and wrong, based on Aquinas’s four tiers of law. The eternal law, the absolute and eternal aspect of Natural Law known only to God; the divine law, commands and teachings found in the Bible; the Natural Law, our human reason
Ethics plays a key role in the influence on any decision and/or judgement. An ethical standpoint can include that of any nature regardless of the situation. Standpoint theory and the incorporation of ethics generates imbalance throughout time. As stated previously, time changed everything and this includes the ethical mindset of one’s true self. Ethics are unique yet and resemble guidelines as part of your decision making process. The field of ethics can form two different ways of analyzing, whether it be ethical relativism or ethical absolutism. Ethical relativism argues that factors such as age, community, and the frame of time all affect the argument. Unlike Ethical relativism, ethical absolutism stated that ethics are unchanging over time and remain to be locked within our deep sense of perception. The problem with this idea of ethical absolutism is the general conception of a predetermined outline in terms of rules and guidelines that one must follow in order to create a“personal” judgement between right and wrong. Now in attempts to try and understand historical developments in the past, the influence of society deduces that one must use generalized guidelines that can alter in due time regardless of attempting to maintain absolutism. For example, the history of slavery is deemed under a negative connotation but during the times of the Roman empire, it was
An ethical dilemma is an incident that causes us to question how we should react based on our beliefs. A decision needs to be made between right and wrong. I have experienced many ethical dilemmas in my lifetime, so I know that there is no such thing as an ethical dilemma that only affects one person. I also know that some ethical dilemmas are easier to resolve than others are. The easy ones are the ones in which we can make decisions on the spot. For example, if a cashier gives me too much change, I can immediately make a decision to either return the money or keep it. Based on Kant’s, categorical imperative there are two criteria for determining moral right and wrong. First, there is universalizability, which states, “the person’s
Imagine there is an out of control train careening toward a fork in the tracks. Stranded on the left route are ten strangers. Stranded on the right route is a good friend. You are standing by the lever deciding which route the train will take. Who do you choose to save? This is an example of how a situation might change the way a person reacts. If all the people in danger of being hit by the train were strangers, it is likely the person by the lever would choose to save the larger group on the left. However, the fact that a good friend is in danger might persuade this person to choose to save the one person on the right, over the larger group. This is an example where a situation changes a choice a person might make. Situational Ethics is
The theory of Rule-Utilitarianism they view the act itself as being either ethical or unethical rather than the rule as a whole. An example of this would be whether or not stopping at a stop
Ethics has developed as people have reflected on the intentions and consequences of their acts. From this reflection on the nature of human behavior, theories of conscience have developed, giving direction to much ethical thinking. Each individual
Ethical behavior is often seen as amoral when used for persuasive purposes. This is possible because persuasion may be used in unethical situations as well as ethical situations. Either way, it depends upon the person who is trying to persuade others. Adolf Hitler is an excellent example of someone who persuaded millions of people to behave unethically. On the other hand, Mother Teresa used persuasion for ethical reasons by caring for the sick and the orphaned, and because of this has impacted an entire world.
These theories are used to evaluate ethical dilemmas that we face on our day to day life,