Utilitarianism is an ethical framework that advocates actions that bring happiness or pleasure and oppose those that result in unhappiness or harm. While directing it towards making political, social, or economic decisions, a utilitarian philosophy would be aiming for the betterness of the whole society (Lyons, 2015). The framework bases on the fact that an action is right if it results in the happiness of the greatest number of individuals within a society or a group. The framework has three basic axioms. It assumes that pleasure or happiness is the only thing with intrinsic value. Secondly, it assumes that an individual’s action is right if it is an action that promotes happiness and wrong if the action promotes unhappiness. Lastly, it also assumes that each person’s happiness counts equally.
The main similarity between the utilitarianism ethical framework and the biblical ethical framework is that both frameworks advocate for actions that foster happiness while opposing the actions that cause unhappiness. For instance, in the book of first Corinthians chapter 13 verses 1-13, love neither honor others nor does it delight in evil ( Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments: King James Version. , 2010). Besides, the book of Galatians also states that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, gentleness, and goodness. On the same note, Galatians 5:19 also lists the manifest work of the flesh which whoever does shall not inherit the kingdom of God. These are all intended to promote actions that are fostering happiness among individuals just like in the case of the utilitarianism framework.
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However, the key difference between the utilitarianism framework and the biblical framework is that utilitarianism promotes the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of individuals. That means the framework would accept an action that brings unhappiness to few individuals if the same action results in the greatest happiness for the most number of people. On the other hand, the bible relies on the equality of each individual in the concept of ethics. For instance, the bible in the book of Mathew 22:39 states that one should love their neighbor as they love themselves. It, therefore, means that one cannot harm another individual to get happiness for others. All people have an equal chance of getting happiness which is contrary to utilitarianism.
Emotivism and egoism are also other ethical frameworks. Comparing the two, emotivism teaches that objective moral facts do not exist. The framework teaches that moral statements do not carry meaning. For instance, the statement that “sexual harassment is a direct violation of human rights” does not add anything to the non-moral information that human rights have been violated through sexual harassment. Furthermore, the framework also teaches that moral statements are only expressing the speaker’s feelings about a particular issue. On the other hand, Egoism is also another ethical framework that is concerned with the role of self as the main motivation and objectives of an individual’s action.
Considering egoism and emotivism, I agree with the egoism ethical principle. That is because the principle puts one’s self-interest first while deciding to take an action. It is natural for one to love one’s self since each person is ultimately responsible for themselves. I like egoism and follow it as the ethical principle that helps me decide what is wrong and what is good to do. However, an individual’s desires may sometimes lead to consequences and behaviors that may not be an individual’s best interest, though the initial action may have avoided pain or provided pleasure. Furthermore, the principle misrepresents altruism which is a doctrine that bases morality on concern for other's interest (Brodback et al., 2019). As a result, the principle does not encourage friendship between individuals.
References
Brodback, D., Guenster, N., & Mezger, D. (2019). Altruism and egoism in investment decisions. Review Of Financial Economics , 37 (1), 118-148. https://doi.org/10.1002/rfe.1053
Holy Bible : Containing the Old and New Testaments : King James Version. (2010). American Bible Society.
Lyons, D. (2015). Utilitarianism. Wiley Encyclopedia Of Management , 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom020088
