Situation Ethics

Placard on bathroom wall in San Jose, CA

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception:  How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation."  In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information.  They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1.  Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2.  Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs.  Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3.  Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp.  Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4.  When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5.  Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.  

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source:  Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update:  September 22, 2023:  This is more important now than ever.  Be vigilant and speak in your own way.  Love Wins.

I’ve been in a bit of a creative shock over the last month, overwhelmed by the shear volume of the inhumanity of humans towards each other. Responding to it from the fight or flight part of my brain would get me in trouble on many fronts (the most important of which would be from my spouse), so I endeavor to express myself from the side of love.

Love is the point of this post. Since I started recording my thoughts on this platform in the Fall of 2020, love has been at the center of my beliefs and subsequent opinions.

That is my fundamental point. I’m not going down a philosophical rabbit hole on the topic of love. I was starting to go down one as I was doing some lazy Google research just now (then by now) on the topic of what the Bible expressly says about love. None of us has the time to overthink this.

It is succinctly stated in 1 Corinthians 13:4. Any words or deeds that do not reflect love in this way simply have no place in the public discourse. I consider anything that is not done out of love to be evil, the opposite of love.

Last Summer, my philosopher friend Glenn introduced me to a little book published in 1966 that was written by Joseph Fletcher. The book, Situation Ethics, caused quite a stir. Having finally finished reading it a month or so ago, I think I know why.

It fundamentally challenged religious dogma in a way that usually gets people in a lot of trouble. Ask Michael Servetus, Martin Luther or Galileo what kind of trouble you can get in if you challenge the Christian church.

The book’s premise is that if people of faith live their lives based on the end game of love then the myriad number of decisions made by that person are or can be deemed right for that moment or situation.

For example, is it always wrong to tell a lie? Is it always wrong to kill? Is it always wrong to steal?

Fletcher says no. He says “Nothing makes a thing good except agapeic (agape form of love) expedience; nothing can justify an act except a loving purpose.”

Continues Fletcher,

"According to some theologies, William Temple's and Josiah Royce's, for a example, the problem of evil (how to explain its presence in a world created by a God who is both all-powerful and all-loving) is best resolved by the tutelage theory, the theory that God provides evil to drive men to rise to moral levels they would never reach without having to struggle and sacrifice and wrestle with evil.  Here is a theodicy based squarely on the view that the end justifies the means."

In more basic terms, an act is justifiable if the end result is based on love.

There are four factors, according to Fletcher, that are a part of every decision that we make daily, especially the most difficult decisions. Things that need to be analyzed, considered and judged, often instantaneously

1.  The end result.
2.  The means used to reach the end.
3.  The Motive
4.  The forseeable consequences of the action.

In short, Fletcher’s “New Morality,” which is the book’s sub-title, is based on the belief that the individual and not the dogma of any religious organization regardless of it’s faith tradition, practiced on a daily basis and guided by love, is the measure of morality and justice in the world.

This book challenges me and validates me in a deep way. It has helped me to bring the inhuman events in our human-centric world into sharp focus. It has enabled and empowered me to look at seemingly unconnected events and see a clear pattern emerging.

Of course my premise is based on assuming that all of us belief in the notion that love is good and should be the ultimate end in all of this thing we call Life. The book is deep. I will read and re-read parts of it. It has change me profoundly. I want to thank and applaud the evil in the world for helping me to rise to a new moral level and the opportunity to restore Love as the guiding reason for living.

Fletcher, Joseph,  Situation Ethics:  The New Morality, Library of Theological Ethics, WestminsterJohn Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky.  1966.