اخلاق وضعيت؛ بررسي و نقد

Situation Ethics: Analysis and Comments

The situation ethics, while of a long precedent in human culture and thought, is a relatively new approach to ethics in Christian culture; it is a concept presented by Bishop Joseph Fletcher in his book with the same title. This approach stresses the importance of the situation where the individual is, denying the existence of the broad principles and general ethical rules. In other words, here it is the situation, not some general and predefined principles, that specifies the ethical rules. This paper tries to use the existing texts and articles to investigate the past and present conditions of this approach, presenting a vivid picture of this approach to ethics, and specifically explaining the relativism or absolutism of ethics; finally some points are stated in reviewing this approach. The writer holds that while the situation ethics is by itself a relative concept, Joseph Fletcherʹs statement on it is hardly consistent with ethical relativism.