Utilitarianism and Positivism comparison

The two philosophical ideologies try to offer a description of surrounding features and observations. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the two approaches, utilitarianism and positivism, on the basis of their philosophical approaches to find out answers to some questions observed. Metaphysics is like a dark sea with no lighthouse and it is strewn with so much philosophic wreck. The positivism approach decided to get rid of this dark sea that had consumed the philosophers of the 19th century together with their philosophies. So the beginning of positivism was a response to metaphysics. The founders of this ideology believe that the true happiness can only be found from the example of God. Since the will of God is to bring happiness unto all men, then if people were to be moral humanity could live in total satisfaction of the claims of happiness.

Positivism holds that the true satisfaction of humanity will be in finding the evidence behind what we believe. If there is no tangible evidence for whatever each individual believes as the true end, then there is no need to believe it. This is the reason why positivists opt to use science to try and get some answers to the so many things that human beings believe in (Rosenberg 40). This ideology attempts to give the ethical value of any action based on its usefulness or its utility value. So the proponents of utilitarianism proposed pleasure or happiness to be the ultimate objective of any action (Mill 339). Whereas positivism claims that attaining a tangible scientific evidence is the ultimate course of action, utilitarianism says it is the pleasure that one gains after completing some course of action.

A broader definition of utilitarianism will however include beauty experiences, love and knowledge which accompany the utility value of any action (Mill 366). Positivism claims that there is no action which is intrinsically bad or good, but the main factor to be considered is the consequences that the action brings forth, that is, how much happiness that action produces. They are aiming at bringing to light something that humanity seeks to get. Both knowledge and happiness are precious things that every individual always desires to attain. The questions behind some of the philosophical phenomena can only be answered by discoveries, which follow the principle of positivism. On the other hand, the happiness that each individual years to get in order to live a full and peaceful life can only be gotten by acts of morality, goodness, love and compassion, which operate on utilitarian principle for humanity.