situationism

In ethics, the doctrine that any action may be good or bad depending on its context or situation. Situationists argue that no moral rule can apply in all situations and that what may be wrong in most cases may be right if the end is sufficiently good. In general, situationists believe moral attitudes are more important than moral rules.

One of the central books of situationism was Joseph Fletcher's Situation Ethics (1966). Situationism has been most influential in Christian moral theology, where its proponents have argued that an intensely thankful and loving attitude will result in good actions.