situation ethics

situation ethics
The view that ethical judgement applies to whole situations, rather as aesthetic judgement is formed in response to total works of art. Any attempt to abstract features in virtue of which situations merit a judgement, and then to argue about new cases in the light of those features, is potentially misleading; for a feature may contribute to the value of one situation, but be irrelevant in another, just as a particular splash of colour might be just what one picture needs, but be inappropriate in another. The principal difficulty in front of this view is that ethics is not just a matter of responding to existing situations, but is essentially a practical subject, in which future options have to be ranked in the light of different features. See also contextualism.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • situation ethics — n. a theory of ethics according to which moral rules are not absolutely binding but may be modified in the light of specific situations …   English World dictionary

  • situation ethics — noun Date: 1955 a system of ethics by which acts are judged within their contexts instead of by categorical principles called also situational ethics …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • situation ethics — noun plural but singular or plural in construction or situational ethics Etymology: translation of German situationsethik : a system of ethics by which acts are judged within their contexts instead of by categorical principles …   Useful english dictionary

  • situation ethics — a view of ethics that deprecates general moral principles while emphasizing the source of moral judgments in the distinctive characters of specific situations. [trans. of G situationsethik (1950)] * * * …   Universalium

  • situation ethics — sit′ua′tion eth′ics n. pho a form of ethics according to which moral problems cannot be solved without reference to the contexts in which they arise Also called situa′tional eth′ics …   From formal English to slang

  • situation ethics —  Ситуативная этика …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

  • situation — late 15c., place, position, or location, from M.L. situationem (nom. situatio), from L.L. situatus, pp. of situare (see SITUATE (Cf. situate)). Meaning state of affairs is from 1750; meaning employment post is from 1803. Situation ethics first… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Ethics — • Many writers regard ethics as any scientific treatment of the moral order and divide it into theological, or Christian, ethics (moral theology) and philosophical ethics (moral philosophy) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Ethics …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ethics — /eth iks/, n.pl. 1. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) a system of moral principles: the ethics of a culture. 2. the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: medical ethics;… …   Universalium

  • Ethics — For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). Philosophy …   Wikipedia

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