Golden Rule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Golden Rule or ethic
of reciprocity is a maxim,[1]
ethical code
or morality[2]
that essentially states either of the following:
- (Positive form of Golden Rule): One should treat others
as one would like others to treat oneself.[1]
- (Negative form of Golden Rule): One should not treat
others in ways that one would not like to be treated (also known as the Silver Rule).
This concept describes a
"reciprocal", or "two-way", relationship between one's self
and others that involves both sides equally, and in a
mutual fashion.[3][4]
This concept can be explained from
the perspective of psychology, philosophy, sociology and religion.
Psychologically, it involves a person empathizing
with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor as
also "an I" or "self."[3][4]
Sociologically, this principle is applicable between individuals, between
groups, and also between individuals and groups. (For example, a person living
by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or
her in-group).
Religion is an integral part of the history of this concept.[1][5]
As a concept, the Golden Rule
has a history that long predates the term
"Golden Rule", or "Golden law", as it was called from the
1670s.[1][6]
As a concept of "the ethic of reciprocity," it has its roots in a
wide range of world cultures, and is a standard way that different cultures use
to resolve conflicts.[1][5]
It has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and
philosophers have restated its reciprocal, "two-way" nature in
various ways (not limited to the above forms).[1]
Rushworth Kidder discusses the early contributions of Confucius
(551–479 BCE) (See a version in Confucianism below). Kidder notes that this concept's framework appears
prominently in many religions, including "Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism,
and the rest of the world's major religions".[7]
According to Greg M. Epstein, " 'do unto others' ... is a concept that
essentially no religion misses entirely."[8]
Simon Blackburn also states that the Golden Rule can be "found in some
form in almost every ethical tradition".[9]
In his commentary to the Torah verse (Hebrew: "ואהבת לרעך כמוך"
ca.1300 BCE):
You shall not take vengeance or bear
a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
As Plaut points
out, this is the earliest written version of the Golden Rule in the Bible in a
positive form.[11]
All versions and forms of the proverbial Golden Rule have one aspect in
common: they all demand that people treat others in a manner in which they
themselves would like to be treated.
Antiquity
Ancient
Babylon
The Code of Hammurabi,
(1780 BCE),[12]
dealt with the reciprocity of the Lex talionis,
in ways, such by limiting retribution, as they did concepts of retribution (literally "an eye for an eye,
a tooth for a tooth").
Ancient
China
The Golden Rule existed among all the major philosophical schools of Ancient China:
Mohism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
Examples of the concept include:
- "Zi Gong asked, saying, "Is there one word
that may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?" The Master
said, "Is not reciprocity such a word?" – Confucius[13][14]
- "Never impose on others what you would not choose
for yourself." – Confucius[15]
- "If people regarded other people's families in the
same way that they regard their own, who then would incite their own
family to attack that of another? "For one would do for others as one
would do for oneself." – Mozi
- "The sage has no interest of his own, but takes
the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also
kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he
is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful." –Laozi[16]
- "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and
your neighbor's loss as your own loss." –Laozi[17]
Ancient
Egypt
An early example of the Golden Rule
that reflects the Ancient Egyptian concept of Maat appears in the story of The Eloquent Peasant, which dates to the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040–1650 BCE): "Now this is the command: Do to
the doer to cause that he do thus to you."[18]
An example from a Late
Period (c. 664 BCE – 323 BCE) papyrus:
"That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another."[19]
Ancient
Greece
The Golden Rule in its prohibitive
form was a common principle in ancient Greek
philosophy. Examples of the general concept include:
- "Do not do to your neighbor what you would take
ill from him." – Pittacus[20]
(c. 640–568 BCE)
- "Avoid doing what you would blame others for
doing." – Thales[21]
(c. 624 BC – c. 546 BC)
- "What you do not want to happen to you, do not do
it yourself either. " – Sextus
the Pythagorean.[22]
The oldest extant reference to Sextus is by Origen in the third century of
the common era.[23]
- "Do not do to others what would anger you if done
to you by others." – Isocrates[24](436–338
BCE)
- "What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to
impose on others." – Epictetus[25]
- "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without
living wisely and well and justly (agreeing 'neither to harm nor be
harmed'[26]),
and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a
pleasant life." – Epicurus[27]
- "...it has been shown that to injure anyone is
never just anywhere." - Socrates, in Plato's Republic.
Plato is the first person known to have said this.[28]
Ancient
Rome
Seneca, maybe following Publilius Syrus,[29]
told "ab alio expectes alteri quod feceris" (expect from others what
you did to them)[30][31]
and "non est quod credas quemquam fieri aliena infelicitate felicem"
(it is not so, as you might believe, that one is made happy through the
unhappiness of others)[32][33]
Ancient
India
Sanskrit
Tradition
In Mahābhārata, the ancient
epic of India, comes a discourse where the wise minister Vidura advises the
King Yuddhiśhṭhira thus, “Listening to wise scriptures, austerity,
sacrifice, respectful faith, social welfare, forgiveness, purity of intent,
compassion, truth and self-control - are the ten wealth of character (self). O
king aim for these, may you be steadfast in these qualities. These are the
basis of prosperity and rightful living. These are highest attainable things.
All worlds are balanced on dharma, dharma encompasses ways to
prosperity as well. O King, dharma is the best quality to have, wealth
the medium and desire (kāma) the lowest. Hence, (keeping these in
mind), by self-control and by making dharma (right conduct) your main
focus, treat others as you treat yourself."
Tamil
Tradition
In the Section on Virtue, and
Chapter 32 of the Tirukkuṛaḷ (c. 200 BC - 500 AD), Tiruvaḷḷuvar says: Why does a man inflict upon other creatures those
sufferings, which he has found by experience are sufferings to himself ?
(K. 318) Let not a man consent to do those things to another which, he knows,
will cause sorrow. (K. 316) He furthermore opined that it is the determination
of the spotless (virtuous) not to do evil, even in return, to those who have
cherished enmity and done them evil. (K. 312) The (proper) punishment to those
who have done evil (to you), is to put them to shame by showing them kindness,
in return and to forget both the evil and the good done on both sides. (K. 314)
Religion
and philosophy
Global
ethic
The "Declaration Toward a
Global Ethic"[34]
from the Parliament
of the World’s Religions[35][36]
(1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule ("We must treat others as we wish others
to treat us") as the common principle for many religions.[37]
The Initial Declaration was signed by 143 respected leaders from all of the
world's major faiths, including Baha'i Faith, Brahmanism, Brahma Kumaris,
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous, Interfaith, Islam, Jainism,
Judaism, Native American, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism, Theosophist, Unitarian
Universalist and Zoroastrian.[37][38]
In the folklore of several cultures{31} the Golden Rule is depicted by the allegory
of the long spoons.
Bahá'í
Faith
The Writings of the Bahá'í Faith
while encouraging everyone to treat others as they would treat themselves, go
further by introducing the concept of preferring others before oneself:
O SON OF MAN! Deny not My servant
should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed
before Me.
—Bahá'u'lláh[39]
Blessed is he who preferreth his
brother before himself.
And if thine eyes be turned towards
justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.
Ascribe not to any soul that which
thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not.
Beware lest ye harm any soul, or
make any heart to sorrow; lest ye wound any man with your words, be he known to
you or a stranger, be he friend or foe.
Buddhism
Buddha
(Siddhartha Gautama, c. 563 - c. 483 B.C.) made this principle one of the
cornerstones of his ethics in the 5th century BCE. It occurs in many places and
in many forms throughout the Tripitaka.
Comparing oneself to others in such
terms as "Just as I am so are they, just as they are so am I," he
should neither kill nor cause others to kill.
—Sutta Nipata 705
One who, while himself seeking happiness,
oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain
happiness hereafter.
—Dhammapada 10. Violence
Hurt not others in ways that you
yourself would find hurtful.
—Udanavarga 5:18
Christianity
According to Simon Blackburn,
although the Golden Rule "can be found in some form in almost every
ethical tradition", the rule is "sometimes claimed by Christianity as
its own".[49]
The "Golden Rule" has been attributed to Jesus of Nazareth:
"Therefore all things whatsoever would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them" (Matthew
7:12, see also Luke 6:31). The common English phrasing is "Do unto others as
you would have them do unto you". A similar form appeared in a Catholic catechism
around 1567 (certainly in the reprint of 1583).[50]
The Golden Rule also has roots in the two old testament edicts, found in Leviticus
19:18 ("Do not seek revenge or bear
a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself";
see also Great Commandment) and Leviticus
19:34 ("But the stranger that
dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love
him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your
God").
The Old Testament
Deuterocanonical books of Tobit and Sirach, accepted as part of the Scriptural canon by Catholic Church,
Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Non-Chalcedonian
Churches, also express a negative form of the golden rule:
"Do to no one what you yourself
dislike."
—Tobit 4:15
"Recognize that your neighbor
feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes."
—Sirach 31:15
At the time of Hillel, an elder
contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth, the negative form of the golden rule already
must have been proverbial, perhaps because of Tobit 4:15. When asked to sum up
the entire Torah concisely, he answered:
"That which is hateful to you,
do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation;
go and learn."
—Talmud, Shabbat 31a
12Therefore
all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to
them: for this is the law and the prophets.
31And as ye
would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
25And one day an authority on the law stood up to put Jesus to
the test. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
26What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you
understand it?” 27He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength and with all
your mind.’(Deuteronomy 6:5) And, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”
28“You have
answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do that, and you will live.”.
The passage in the book of Luke then
continues with Jesus answering the question, "Who is my neighbor?",
by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan,
indicating that "your neighbour" is anyone in need.[51]
Jesus' teaching, however, goes beyond the negative formulation of not doing
what one would not like done to themselves, to the positive formulation of
actively doing good to another that, if the situations were reversed, one would
desire that the other would do for them. This formulation, as indicated in the
parable of the Good Samaritan, emphasises the needs for positive action that
brings benefit to another, not simply restraining oneself from negative
activities that hurt another. Taken as a rule of judgment, both formulations of
the golden rule, the negative and positive, are equally applicable.[52]
14For all
the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself.
Confucianism
己所不欲，勿施於人。
"What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to
others."
子貢問曰：“有一言而可以終身行之者乎”？子曰：“其恕乎！己所不欲、勿施於人。”
Zi gong (a disciple of Confucius) asked: "Is there any
one word that could guide a person throughout life?"
The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?"
The Master replied: "How about 'shu' [reciprocity]: never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself?"
--Confucius, Analects XV.24, tr. David Hinton (another translation is in the
online Chinese Text Project[53])
The same idea is also presented in
V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects, which can be found in the online Chinese Text Project
Hinduism
One should never do that to another
which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule
of dharma. Other behavior is due to selfish desires.
Also,
If the entire “Dharma” (spiritual
and moral laws) can be said in a few words, then it is - that which is
unfavorable to us, do not do that to others. (Padmapuraana, shrushti
19/357-358)
In Mahābhārata, the ancient
epic of India, comes a discourse where the wise minister Vidura advices the
King Yuddhiśhṭhira thus, “Listening to wise scriptures, austerity,
sacrifice, respectful faith, social welfare, forgiveness, purity of intent,
compassion, truth and self-control - are the ten wealth of character (self). O
king aim for these, may you be steadfast in these qualities. These are the
basis of prosperity and rightful living. These are highest attainable things.
All worlds are balanced on dharma, dharma encompasses ways to
prosperity as well. O King, dharma is the best quality to have, wealth
the medium and desire (kāma) the lowest. Hence, (keeping these in
mind), by self-control and by making dharma (right conduct) your main
focus, treat others as you treat yourself."
"tasmād_dharma-pradhānéna
bhavitavyam yatātmanā | tathā cha sarva-bhūtéṣhu vartitavyam yathātmani ||"
(तस्माद्धर्मप्रधानेन
भवितव्यं यतात्मना । तथा च
सर्वभूतेषु वर्तितव्यं यथात्मनि ॥ Mahābhārata Shānti-Parva 167:9)
Humanism
Trying to live according to the Golden Rule means trying to
empathise with other people, including those who may be very different from us.
Empathy is at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and
respect – qualities that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever
we think and wherever we come from. And although it isn’t possible to know what
it really feels like to be a different person or live in different
circumstances and have different life experiences, it isn’t difficult for most
of us to imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing
suffering to others. For this reason many people find the Golden Rule’s
corollary – “do not treat people in a way you would not wish to be treated
yourself” – more pragmatic.[55]
Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to
you. [is] (...) the single greatest, simplest, and most important moral
axiom humanity has ever invented, one which reappears in the writings of almost
every culture and religion throughout history, the one we know as the Golden
Rule. Moral directives do not need to be complex or obscure to be worthwhile,
and in fact, it is precisely this rule's simplicity which makes it great. It is
easy to come up with, easy to understand, and easy to apply, and these three
things are the hallmarks of a strong and healthy moral system. The idea behind
it is readily graspable: before performing an action which might harm another
person, try to imagine yourself in their position, and consider whether you
would want to be the recipient of that action. If you would not want to be in
such a position, the other person probably would not either, and so you should
not do it. It is the basic and fundamental human trait of empathy, the ability
to vicariously experience how another is feeling, that makes this possible, and
it is the principle of empathy by which we should live our lives.[57]
According to Greg M. Epstein,
a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, " 'do unto others' ... is a concept that
essentially no religion misses entirely. But not a single one of these
versions of the golden rule requires a God".[58]
Islam
The Golden Rule is implicitly
expressed in some verses of Qur'an, but is
explicitly declared in the sayings of Muhammad.
From the Qur'an: the first verse
recommends the positive form of the rule, and the subsequent verses condemn not
abiding the negative form of the Golden Rule:
“...and you should forgive And
overlook: Do you not like God to forgive you? And Allah is The Merciful
Forgiving.”
“Woe to those... who, when they have
to receive by measure from men, they demand exact full measure, but when they
have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due”
“...orphans and the needy, give them
something and speak kindly to them. And those who are concerned about the
welfare of their own children after their death, should have fear of God [Treat
other people's Orphans justly] and guide them properly.”
“O you who believe! Spend
[benevolently] of the good things that you have earned... and do not even think
of spending [in alms] worthless things that you yourselves would be reluctant
to accept.”
“They assign daughters to Allah, Who
is above having a child [whether male or female] and to themselves they assign
what they desire [which is a male child]; And when the news of the birth of a
female child is brought to one of them His face darkens and he hides his inward
Grief and anger... They attribute to Allah what they dislike [For themselves]
and their tongues assert the lie that the best reward will be theirs!
Undoubtedly, the Hell fire shall be their lot and they will be foremost [in
entering it].”
From the hadith, the collected oral and written accounts of Muhammad and
his teachings during his lifetime:
A Bedouin came to the prophet,
grabbed the stirrup of his camel and said: O the messenger of God! Teach me
something to go to heaven with it. Prophet said: “As you would have people do
to you, do to them; and what you dislike to be done to you, don't do to them.
Now let the stirrup go! [This maxim is enough for you; go and act in accordance
with it!]”
—Kitab al-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 146
“None of you [truly] believes until
he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
“Seek for mankind that of which you
are desirous for yourself, that you may be a believer.”
“The most righteous person is the one who consents for other
people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes
for himself.”[60]
“O' my child, make yourself the
measure (for dealings) between you and others. Thus, you should desire for
others what you desire for yourself and hate for others what you hate for
yourself. Do not oppress as you do not like to be oppressed. Do good to others
as you would like good to be done to you. Regard bad for yourself whatever you
regard bad for others. Accept that (treatment) from others which you would like
others to accept from you... Do not say to others what you do not like to be
said to you.”
Jainism
In Jainism, the golden rule is
firmly embedded in its entire philosophy and can be seen in its clearest form
in the doctrines of Ahimsa and Karma
Nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, or which
has essence or potential of life, should be destroyed or ruled over, or
subjugated, or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential. In support of
this Truth, I ask you a question – "Is sorrow or pain desirable to
you ?" If you say "yes it is", it would be a
lie. If you say, "No, It is not" you will be expressing the
truth. Just as sorrow or pain is not desirable to you, so it is to all which
breathe, exist, live or have any essence of life. To you and all, it is
undesirable, and painful, and repugnant.[62]
All the living beings wish to live
and not to die; that is why unattached saints prohibit the killing of living
beings.
—Suman Suttam , verse
148
Just as pain is not agreeable to
you, it is so with others. Knowing this principle of equality treat other with
respect and compassion.
—Suman Suttam , verse
150
Killing a living being is killing
one's own self; showing compassion to a living being is showing compassion to
oneself. He who desires his own good, should avoid causing any harm to a living
being.
—Suman Suttam , verse
151
Judaism
Context
The Jewish sage and martyr Rabbi Akiba, following Hillel the Elder
(c.110 BCE, died 10 CE[64]),
had singled out the Golden Rule (Leviticus 19:18)
as a basic principle of the Torah meaning, that the principle of love must have its
foundation in Genesis verse 1, which teaches that all men are the offspring of
Adam who was made in the image of God (Sifra, Ḳedoshim, iv.;
Yer. Ned. ix. 41c; Genesis Rabba 24).[65]
According to Jewish
rabbinic literature, the first man Adam represents the unity of mankind. This is echoed in
the modern preamble of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. And it
is also taught, that Adam is last in order according to the evolutionary
character of God's creation:[65]
"Why was only a single specimen
of man created first?[65]
To teach us that he who destroys a single soul destroys a whole world and that
he who saves a single soul saves a whole world;[65]
furthermore, so no race or class may claim a nobler ancestry, saying, 'Our
father was born first'; and, finally, to give testimony to the greatness of the
Lord, who caused the wonderful diversity of mankind to emanate from one type.[65]
And why was Adam created last of all beings?[65]
To teach him humility; for if he be overbearing, let him remember that the
little fly preceded him in the order of creation."[65]
Sources
The Golden Rule originates in a
well-known Torah verse (Hebrew: "ואהבת לרעך כמוך"):
You shall not take vengeance or bear
a grudge against your kinsfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
The Jewish Publication Soceity's
edition of Leviticus:
Thou shalt not hate thy brother. in thy heart; thou shalt
surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. 18 Thou shalt not
take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. [66]
This Torah verse represents one of
several versions of the Golden Rule, which itself appears in various
forms, positive and negative. It is the earliest written version of that
concept in a positive form.[11]
At the turn of the eras, the Jewish
rabbis were discussing the scope of the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34
extensively:
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him
as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the LORD am your
God.
Commentators summed up foreigners (=
Samaritans), proselytes (= 'strangers who resides with you') (Rabbi Akiba,
bQuid 75b) or Jews (Rabbi Gamaliel, yKet 3,1; 27a) to the scope of the meaning.
The Sage Hillel
formulated a negative form of the golden rule. When asked to sum up the entire
Torah concisely, he answered:[67]
That which is hateful to you, do not
do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and
learn it.
On the verse, "Love your fellow
as yourself," the classic commentator Rashi quotes from Torat Kohanim, an early Midrashic text
regarding the famous dictum of Rabbi Akiva: "Love your fellow as
yourself — Rabbi Akiva says this is a great principle of the Torah."[68]
Israel's
postal service quoted from the previous Leviticus
verse when it commemorated the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights on a 1958
postage stamp.[69]
Mohism
If people regarded other people's
families in the same way that they regard their own, who then would incite
their own family to attack that of another? For one would do for others as one
would do for oneself.
—Mozi
Mozi regarded the golden rule as a
corollary to the cardinal virtue of impartiality, and encouraged egalitarianism
and selflessness in relationships.
Platonism
The Golden Rule appears to be
present in at least one of Plato's dialogues:
One should never do wrong in return,
nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him."
Quakerism
"Oh, do as you would be done
by. And do unto all men as you would have them do unto you, for this is but the
law and the prophet." Postscript to the Quaker peace testimony,
signed by George Fox.
Scientology
Consistent with the observation by Walter Terence Stace "that 'doing as you would be done by' includes taking
into account your neighbor's tastes as you would that he should take yours into
account" (see Criticisms and responses to criticisms), Scientology addresses the issue concerning differences in values or
interests by focusing on the values and interests of the recipient of the
conduct:
Thus today we have two golden rules
for happiness: 1. Be able to experience anything; and 2. Cause only those
things which others are able to experience easily.
Sikhism
Whom should I despise, since the one
Lord made us all.
—p.1237, Var Sarang, Guru Granth Sahib, tr. Patwant Singh
The truly enlightened ones are those
who neither incite fear in others nor fear anyone themselves.
—p.1427, Slok, Guru Granth Sahib, tr. Patwant Singh
I am a stranger to no one, and no
one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.
—p.1299, Guru Granth Sahib
Taoism
The sage has no interest of his own,
but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is
also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he
is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful.
Regard your neighbor's gain as your
own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss.
—T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien
The
Way to Happiness
The Way to Happiness expresses the Golden Rule both in its negative/prohibitive
form and in its positive form. The negative/prohibitive form is expressed in
Precept 19 as:
19. Try not to do things to others
that you would not like them to do to you.
The positive form is expressed in
Precept 20 as:
20. Try to treat others as you would
want them to treat you.
Wicca
These eight words the Rede fulfill,
'an ye harm none do as ye will.
Here ye these words and heed them
well, the words of Dea, thy Mother Goddess,
"I command thee thus, O children of the Earth, that that which ye deem
harmful unto thyself, the very same shall ye be forbidden from doing unto
another, for violence and hatred give rise to the same. My command is thus,
that ye shall return all violence and hatred with peacefulness and love, for my
Law is love unto all things. Only through love shall ye have peace; yea and
verily, only peace and love will cure the world, and subdue all evil."
Pop
culture
Be excellent to each another.
Try and be nice to people, avoid
eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try
and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
Don't be a dick.
It's okay when it's in a threeway.
Other
contexts
Human
rights
According to Marc H. Bornstein,
and William E. Paden, the Golden Rule is arguably the most essential basis for
the modern concept of human rights, in which each individual has a right to just treatment, and a reciprocal responsibility to
ensure justice for others.[79]
However Leo Damrosch
argued that the notion that the Golden Rule pertains to "rights" per
se is a contemporary interpretation and has nothing to do with its origin. The
development of human "rights" is a modern political ideal that began
as a philosophical concept promulgated through the philosophy of Jean Jacques Rousseau in 18th century France, among others. His writings
influenced Thomas Jefferson, who then incorporated Rousseau's reference to
"inalienable rights" into the United
States Declaration of Independence
in 1776. Damrosch argued that to confuse the Golden Rule with human rights is
to apply contemporary thinking to ancient concepts.[80]
Psychology
If the negative/prohibitive form of
the Golden Rule would stand alone, it would simply serve as a proactive
motivation against wrong action. But the Golden Rule in general
actually serves as a motivation toward proactive action.
As Dr. Frank Crane put it, "The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatsoever
unless you realize that it's your move!"[81]
Criticisms
and responses to criticisms
Many people have criticized the
golden rule; George Bernard Shaw once said that "the golden rule is that there are no
golden rules". Shaw suggested an alternative rule: "Do not do unto
others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the
same" (Maxims for Revolutionists; 1903). Karl Popper
wrote: "The golden rule is a good standard which is further improved by
doing unto others, wherever reasonable, as they want to be done by"
(The
Open Society and Its Enemies,
Vol. 2). This concept has recently been
called "The Platinum Rule"[82]
Philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant,
Friedrich Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell[citation
needed], have objected to the rule on a variety of grounds.[83]
The most serious among these is its application. How does one know how others
want to be treated? The obvious way is to ask them, but this cannot be done if
one assumes they have not reached a particular and relevant understanding.
Differences
in values or interests
Shaw's comment about differing
tastes suggests that if your values are not shared with others, the way you
want to be treated will not be the way they want to be treated. For example, it
has been said that a sadist is just a masochist
who follows the golden rule[by
whom?]. Another often used example of this inconsistency is that
of the man walking into a bar looking for a fight.[84]
Differences
in situations
Immanuel Kant famously criticized the golden rule for not being sensitive
to differences of situation, noting that a prisoner duly convicted of a crime
could appeal to the golden rule while asking the judge to release him, pointing
out that the judge would not want anyone else to send him to prison, so he
should not do so to others.[85]
Kant's Categorical
Imperative, introduced in Groundwork
for the Metaphysics of Morals,
is often confused with the Golden Rule.
Responses
to criticisms
Walter Terence Stace, in The Concept of Morals (1937), wrote:
Mr. Bernard Shaw's remark "Do not do unto others as you
would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may be different" is no
doubt a smart saying. But it seems to overlook the fact that "doing as you
would be done by" includes taking into account your neighbor's tastes as
you would that he should take yours into account. Thus the "golden
rule" might still express the essence of a universal morality even if
no two men in the world had any needs or tastes in common.[86]
Marcus George Singer observed that there are two importantly different ways of
looking at the golden rule: as requiring (1) that you perform specific
actions that you want others to do to you or (2) that you guide your
behavior in the same general ways that you want others to.[87]
Counter-examples to the golden rule typically are more forceful against the
first than the second.
In his book on the golden rule,
Jeffrey Wattles makes the similar observation that such objections typically
arise while applying the golden rule in certain general ways (namely, ignoring
differences in taste, in situation, and so forth). But if we apply the golden
rule to our own method of using it, asking in effect if we would want other
people to apply the golden rule in such ways, the answer would typically be no,
since it is quite predictable that others' ignoring of such factors will lead
to behavior which we object to. It follows that we should not do so
ourselves—according to the golden rule. In this way, the golden rule may be
self-correcting.[88]
An article by Jouni Reinikainen develops this suggestion in greater detail.[89]
It is possible, then, that the
golden rule can itself guide us in identifying which differences of situation
are morally relevant. We would often want other people to ignore any prejudice
against our race or nationality when deciding how to act towards us, but would
also want them to not ignore our differing preferences in food, desire for
aggressiveness, and so on. The platinum rule, and perhaps other variants, might
also be self-correcting in this same manner.
The entire link can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule
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