Moral Responsibility

by Joseph Fletcher

Here are direct answers for all who have asked, How does "Situation Ethics" work—-specifically? Following his clarification and solid argument in support of the situationist method of decision-making, Dr. Fletcher translates it into its practical, operational terms - who does what, when, and in which circumstances. “Responsibility,” he says, "means a free and critical 'conformity' to the facts first of all—the shifting patterns of situations—and then to the unchanging single norm or boss principle of loving concern for persons and the social balance." He shows how this situationist approach may be applied in such specific areas as sex, sex offenses, fertility control, unmarried sex, the right of a patient to die, business management, wealth, and stewardship. He deals with the "style" with which we encounter the structures - of mass society; concludes that the so-called "theological virtues” (faith, hope, and love) have the most fundamental, practical importance for successful living in a mass society; and affirms situationism as a way of "Moral Responsibility."

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 1970