Joseph Fletcher
| Joseph Francis Fletcher | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 10, 1905 Newark, New Jersey |
| Died | October 28, 1991 (aged 86) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | West Virginia University, Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University, London school of Economics |
| Occupation | Theologian, Episcopal priest, educator, author |
| Employer | Episcopal Theological School, Harvard University, University of Virginia |
| Known for | Situational ethics, biomedical ethics |
| Awards | Humanist of the Year |
Joseph Francis Fletcher (April 10, 1905 in Newark, New Jersey - October 28, 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American professor who founded the theory of situational ethics in the 1960s, and was a pioneer in the field of bioethics. Fletcher was a leading academic proponent of the potential benefits of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, eugenics, and cloning. Ordained as an Episcopal priest, he later identified himself as an atheist.
Fletcher was a prolific academic, teaching, participating in symposia, and completing ten books, and hundreds of articles, book reviews, and translations. He taught Christian Ethics at Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and at Harvard Divinity School from 1944 to 1970. He was the first professor of medical ethics at the University of Virginia and co-founded the Program in Biology and Society there. He retired from teaching in 1977.
In 1974, the American Humanist Association named him Humanist of the Year. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
He served as president of the Euthanasia Society of America (later renamed the Society for the Right to Die) from 1974 to 1976. He was also a member of the American Eugenics Society and the Association for Voluntary Sterilization.
"We need to educate people to the idea that the quality of life is more important than mere length of life. Our cultural tradition holds that life has absolute value, but that is really not good enough anymore. Sometimes, no life is better."
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