Situation Ethics

Joseph Fletcher says: . . . Whether we ought to follow a moral principle or not would always depend upon the situation. . . . In some situations unmarried love could be infinitely more moral than married unlove. Lying could be more Christian than telling the truth. . . stealing could be better than respective private property . . .no action is good or right of itself. It depends on whether it hurts or helps people. . . .There are no normative moral principles whatsoever which are intrinsically valid or universally obliging. We may not absolutize the norms of human conduct. . . . Love is the highest good and the first-order value, the primary consideration to which in every act . . .we should be prepared to sidetrack or subordinate other value considerations of right and wrong. MONTGOMERY