Golden Rule

Etymology

The term "Golden Rule", or "Golden law", began to be used widely in the early 17th century in Britain by Anglican theologians and preachers; the earliest known usage is that of Anglicans Charles Gibbon and Thomas Jackson in 1604.

Ancient history

Ancient Egypt

Possibly the earliest affirmation of the maxim of reciprocity, reflecting the ancient Egyptian goddess Ma'at, appears in the story of "The Eloquent Peasant", which dates to the Middle Kingdom (): "Now this is the command: Do to the doer to make him do." This proverb embodies the do ut des principle. A Late Period () papyrus contains an early negative affirmation of the Golden Rule: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another."

Ancient China

Confucianism

Silver Rule

Possibly the earliest idea of the prohibitive form of the Golden Rule is proposed by Confucius (c. 551 – c. 479 BCE):

|What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.}}

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 same idea is also presented in V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects (), which can be found in the online Chinese Text Project. The phraseology differs from the Christian version of the Golden Rule. It does not presume to do anything unto others, but merely to avoid doing what would be harmful. It does not preclude doing good deeds and taking moral positions.

In relation to the Golden Rule, Confucian philosopher Mencius said "If one acts with a vigorous effort at the law of reciprocity, when he seeks for the realization of perfect virtue, nothing can be closer than his approximation to it."

Taoism

Mohism

Mozi regarded the Golden Rule as a corollary to the cardinal virtue of impartiality, and encouraged egalitarianism and selflessness in relationships.

Ancient India

Sanskrit tradition

In Mahābhārata, the ancient epic of India, Vyasa says:

The Mahābhārata is usually dated to the period between 400 BCE and 400 CE.

Tamil tradition

In Chapter 32 in the Book of Virtue of the Tirukkuṛaḷ (), Valluvar says:

Furthermore, in verse 312, Valluvar says that it is the determination or code of the spotless (virtuous) not to do evil, even in return, to those who have cherished enmity and done them evil. According to him, the proper punishment to those who have done evil 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 (verse 314).

Ancient Greece

The Golden Rule in its prohibitive (negative) form was a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy. Examples of the general concept include:

• "Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." – Thales ( – )
• "What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either." – Sextus the Pythagorean. The oldest extant reference to Sextus is by Origen in the third century of the common era.
• "Ideally, no one should touch my property or tamper with it, unless I have given him some sort of permission, and, if I am sensible I shall treat the property of others with the same respect." – Plato ( – )
• "Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you." – Isocrates (436–338 BCE)
• "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living pleasantly." – Epicurus (341–270 BC) where "justly" refers to "an agreement made in reciprocal association ... against the infliction or suffering of harm."

Ancient Persia

The Pahlavi Texts of Zoroastrianism ( – 1000 CE) were an early source for the Golden Rule: "That nature alone is good which refrains from doing to another whatsoever is not good for itself." Dadestan-I-denig, 94,5, and "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29

Ancient Rome

Seneca the Younger ( – 65 CE), a practitioner of Stoicism ( – 200 CE), expressed a hierarchical variation of the Golden Rule in his Letter 47, an essay regarding the treatment of slaves: "Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you."

Religious context

According to Simon Blackburn, the Golden Rule "can be found in some form in almost every ethical tradition". A multi-faith poster showing the Golden Rule in sacred writings from 13 faith traditions (designed by Paul McKenna of Scarboro Missions, 2000) has been on permanent display at the Headquarters of the United Nations since 4 January 2002. Creating the poster "took five years of research that included consultations with experts in each of the 13 faith groups." (See also the section on Global Ethic.)

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

A rule of reciprocal altruism was stated positively in a well-known Torah verse (Hebrew: ):

According to John J. Collins of Yale Divinity School, most modern scholars, with Richard Elliott Friedman as a prominent exception, view the command as applicable to fellow Israelites.

Rashi commented what constitutes revenge and grudge, using the example of two men. One man would not lend the other his ax, then the next day, the same man asks the other for his ax. If the second man should say, I will not lend it to you, just as you did not lend to me,' it constitutes revenge; if 'Here it is for you; I am not like you, who did not lend me,' it constitutes a grudge. Rashi concludes his commentary by quoting Rabbi Akiva on love of neighbor: 'This is a fundamental [all-inclusive] principle of the Torah.

Hillel the Elder ( – 10 CE) used this verse as a most important message of the Torah for his teachings. Once, he was challenged by a gentile who asked to be converted under the condition that the Torah be explained to him while he stood on one foot. Hillel accepted him as a candidate for conversion to Judaism but, drawing on Leviticus 19:18, briefed the man:

Hillel recognized brotherly love as the fundamental principle of Jewish ethics. Rabbi Akiva agreed, while Simeon ben Azzai suggested that the principle of love must have its foundation in Genesis chapter 1, which teaches that all men are the offspring of Adam, who was made in the image of God. 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. It is also taught that Adam is last in order according to the evolutionary character of God's creation:

The Jewish Publication Society's edition of Leviticus states:

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.

At the turn of the era, the Jewish rabbis were discussing the scope of the meaning of Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 extensively:

Commentators interpret that this applies to foreigners (e.g. Samaritans), proselytes ('strangers who reside with you') and Jews.

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."

In 1935, Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits explained in his work "What is the Talmud?" that Leviticus 19:34 disallowed xenophobia by Jews.

Israel's postal service quoted from the previous Leviticus verse when it commemorated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on a 1958 postage stamp.

Christianity

New Testament

The Golden Rule was proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth during his Sermon on the Mount and described by him as the second great commandment. The common English phrasing is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Various applications of the Golden Rule are stated positively numerous times in the Old Testament: "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." Or, in Leviticus 19:34: "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." These two examples are given in the Septuagint as follows: "And thy hand shall not avenge thee; and thou shalt not be angry with the children of thy people; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord." and "The stranger that comes to you shall be among you as the native, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

Two passages in the New Testament quote Jesus of Nazareth espousing the positive form of the Golden rule:

A similar passage, a parallel to the Great Commandment, is to be found later in the Gospel of Luke.

An expert in the law stood up to test him [Jesus]. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"

He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself."

And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."|source=Luke 10:25–28, New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVUE)}}

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, which John Wesley interprets as meaning that "your neighbor" is anyone in need.

Jesus' teaching 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, emphasizes the needs for positive action that brings benefit to another, not simply restraining oneself from negative activities that hurt another.

In one passage of the New Testament, Paul the Apostle refers to the golden rule, restating Jesus' second commandment:

St. Paul also comments on the golden rule in the Epistle to the Romans:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."|author=Romans 13:8–9|title=New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition (NRSVUE)}}

Deuterocanon

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, express a negative form of the golden rule:

Church Fathers

Early Christian authors wrote on the Golden Rule. The early Christian treatise the Didache included the Golden Rule in saying "in everything, do not do to another what you would not want done to you."

Clement of Alexandria, commenting on the Golden Rule in Luke 6:31, calls the concept "all embracing" for how one acts in life. Clement further pointed to the phrasing in the book of Tobit as part of the ethics between husbands and wives. Tertullian stated that the rule taught "love, respect, consolation, protection, and benefits".

While many Church Fathers framed the Golden Rule as part of Jewish and Christian Ethics, Theophilus of Antioch stated that it had universal application for all of humanity. Origen connected the Golden Rule with the law written on the hearts of Gentiles mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Romans, and had universal application to Christian and non-Christian alike.

Basil of Caesarea commented that the negative form of the Golden Rule was for avoiding evil while the positive form was for doing good.

Islam

The Arabian peninsula was said to not practice the golden rule prior to the advent of Islam. However, in some instances it is clear that the pre-Islamic Arabs, did to some extent understand the Golden Rule, such as after the Battle of Autas where the companions of Mohammed refused to have intercourse with married women taken as captives before a verse allowing them to do so was revealed, (Sunni Hadith)

Bihar al-Anwar – Allama al-Majlisi – Vol. 100 – Page 339 (Shia Exegesis) they would also not take bounties/spoils of war as Antara Ibn Shaddad is quoted saying in his poetry “He who witnessed the battle informs you that I charge into combat and remain chaste at the spoils.”(Showing integrity—he does not take more than is rightfully his.),Antarah ibn Shaddad. Diwan: Pre-Islamic Era. “هل غادر الشعراء من متردم.”

Arabic: يُخبِركِ مَن شَهِدَ الوَقيعَةَ أَنَّني أَغشى الوَغى وَأَعِفُّ عِندَ المَغنَمِ

Transliteration: Yukhbiruki man shahida al-waqi‘ah anni aghsha al-waghā wa a‘iffu ‘inda al-maghnam

English translation: “He who witnessed the battle informs you that I charge into combat and remain chaste at the spoils.” which Mohammed allowed for himself,Quran,

Hadith, furthermore, Imru' Al-Qays (pre-Islamic poet) emphasizes similarly in his poetry, reflecting an early form of the Golden Rule.

According to Th. Emil Homerin: "Pre-Islamic Arabs regarded the survival of the tribe, as most essential and to be ensured by the ancient rite of blood vengeance." Homerin goes on to say:

From the hadith:

Ali ibn Abi Talib (4th Caliph in Sunni Islam, and first Imam in Shia Islam) says: Muslim scholar Al-Qurtubi looked at the Golden Rule of loving one's neighbor and treating them as one wishes to be treated as having universal application to believers and unbelievers alike. Relying upon a Hadith, exegist Ibn Kathir listed those "who judge people the way they judge themselves" as people who will be among the first to be Resurrected.

Hussein bin Ali bin Awn al-Hashemi (102nd Caliph in Sunni Islam), repeated the Golden Rule in the context of the Armenian genocide, thus, in 1917, he states:

Mandaeism

In Mandaean scriptures, the Ginza Rabba and Mandaean Book of John contain a prohibitive form of the Golden Rule that is virtually identical to the one used by Hillel.

Baháʼí Faith

The writings of the Baháʼí Faith encourage everyone to treat others as they would treat themselves and even prefer others over oneself:

Indian religions

Hinduism

Also, आत्मनः प्रतिकूलानि परेषां न समाचरेत्।। If the entire Dharma 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}}

Buddhism

Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, –543 BCE) made the negative formulation of the golden rule one of the cornerstones of his ethics in the 6th century BCE. It occurs in many places and in many forms throughout the Tripitaka.

Jainism

The Golden Rule is paramount in the Jainist philosophy and can be seen in the doctrines of ahimsa and karma. As part of the prohibition of causing any living beings to suffer, Jainism forbids inflicting upon others what is harmful to oneself.

The following line from the Acaranga Sutra sums up the philosophy of Jainism:

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.}}

Sikhism

Chinese religions

Taoism

Iranian religions

Zoroastrianism

New religious movements

Wicca

Scientology

Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.|The Way to Happiness}}

Traditional African religions

Yoruba

Odinani

Secular context

Global ethic

Main article: Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration

The "Declaration Toward a Global Ethic" from the Parliament of the World's Religions (1993) proclaimed the Golden Rule ("We must treat others as we wish others to treat us") as the common principle for many religions. The Initial Declaration was signed by 143 leaders from all of the world's major faiths, including Baháʼí Faith, Brahmanism, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Indigenous, Interfaith, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American, Neo-Pagan, Sikhism, Taoism, Theosophist, Unitarian Universalist and Zoroastrian.

Humanism

In the view of 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." Various sources identify the Golden Rule as a humanist principle:

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.|sign=Adam Lee|source=Ebon Musings, "A decalogue for the modern world"}}

Existentialism

Classical Utilitarianism

John Stuart Mill in his book, Utilitarianism (originally published in 1861), wrote, "In the golden rule of Jesus of Nazareth, we read the complete spirit of the ethics of utility. 'To do as you would be done by,' and 'to love your neighbour as yourself,' constitute the ideal perfection of utilitarian morality."

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.

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.

Variations

The Platinum Rule has been said to be stated as, "Do to others as they would have you do to them." Taken in the spirit of the Golden Rule, this suggests one should be familiar or at least consider the desires of the person they're interacting with. However, this is the flaw of the rule in that it requires one to stereotype or make broad assumptions about a stranger's interests and personality before interacting with them. These kind of assumptions are often erroneous and therefore a prudent person would avoid the interaction knowing their assumptions are likely incorrect. This rule is prohibitive to communication and prefers no interaction over any interaction with strangers. On occasion, stereotypes may be applied and in rare cases are largely correct. In those situations this rule can be applied successfully.

On the other hand, the Platinum Rule is broadly successful when interacting with familiar people and directs that all interaction be conducted in a manner the person would like to be treated. This demonstrates respect and the desire to favorably regard the person one is interacting with. Unfortunately, this can lead to a dependent relationship, developing a psychological tendency to expect similar treatment in all relationships and avoid forming new relationships where this treatment would not exist simply from not knowing the individuals preferences.

Despite the unusual cases stifling interaction or individuals developing a demand for this behavior from others, the Platinum Rule requires due consideration, self-control, and receiver analysis. Taken altogether, the Platinum Rule represents a gesture of kindness, and is an established norm in various industries, such as marketing, medical care, motivational speaking, and many others. As a consequence, some argue the Golden Rule is outdated, self-absorbed, and grossly fails to consider the needs of others.

Science and economics

Some published research argues that some 'sense' of fair play and the Golden Rule may be stated and rooted in terms of neuroscientific and neuroethical principles.

The Golden Rule can also be explained from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, sociology, human evolution, and economics. Psychologically, it involves a person empathizing with others. Philosophically, it involves a person perceiving their neighbor also as "I" or "self". Sociologically, "love your neighbor as yourself" is applicable between individuals, between groups, and also between individuals and groups. In evolution, "reciprocal altruism" is seen as a distinctive advance in the capacity of human groups to survive and reproduce, as their exceptional brains demanded exceptionally long childhoods and ongoing provision and protection even beyond that of the immediate family. In economics, Richard Swift, referring to ideas from David Graeber, suggests that "without some kind of reciprocity society would no longer be able to exist."

Study of other primates provides evidence that the Golden Rule exists in other non-human species.

Criticism

Philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche have objected to the rule on a variety of grounds. One is the epistemic question of determining how others want to be treated. The obvious way is to ask them, but they might give duplicitous answers if they find this strategically useful, and they might also fail to understand the details of the choice situation as one understands it. People might also be biased to perceiving harms and benefits to themselves more than to others, which could lead to escalating conflict if they are suspicious of others. Hence Linus Pauling suggested that a bias towards others is to be introduced into the golden rule: "Do unto others 20 percent better than you would have them do unto you" - to correct for subjective bias.

Differences in values or interests

George Bernard Shaw wrote, "Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." This suggests that if one's values are not shared with others, the way one wants to be treated will not be the way others want to be treated. Hence, the Golden Rule of "do unto others" is "dangerous in the wrong hands", according to philosopher Iain King, because "some fanatics have no aversion to death: the Golden Rule might inspire them to kill others in suicide missions."

Walter Terence Stace, in The Concept of Morals (1937) argued that Shaw's remark

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. On the other hand, in a critique of the consistency of Kant's writings, several authors have noted the similarity between the Golden Rule and Kant's concept of the categorical imperative.

This was perhaps a well-known objection, as Leibniz actually responded to it long before Kant made it, suggesting that the judge should put himself in the place, not merely of the criminal, but of all affected persons and then judging each option (to inflict punishment, or release the criminal, etc.) by whether there was a “greater good in which this lesser evil was included.”

Other responses to criticisms

Marcus George Singer observed that there are two importantly different ways of looking at the golden rule: as requiring either that one performs specific actions that they want others to do to them or that they guide their behavior in the same general ways that they want others to. 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 or situation, failing to compensate for subjective bias, etc.) But if people apply the golden rule to their own method of using it, asking in effect if they would want other people to apply the Golden Rule in such ways, the answer would typically be no, since others' ignoring of such factors will lead to behavior which people object to. It follows that people should not do so themselves—according to the Golden Rule. In this way, the Golden Rule may be self-correcting. An article by Jouni Reinikainen develops this suggestion in greater detail.

platinum rule descriptionIt is possible, then, that the golden rule can itself guide people in identifying which differences of situation are morally relevant. People would often want other people to ignore any prejudice against their race or nationality when deciding how to act towards them, but would also want others to not ignore their differing preferences in food, desire for aggressiveness, and so on. This principle of "doing unto others, wherever possible, as they would be done by..." has sometimes been termed the Platinum Rule.

Popular references

Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies (1863) includes a character named Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By (and another, Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did).

References

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119. [[Karl Popper]], ''[[The Open Society and Its Enemies]]'', Vol. 2 (1966 [1945]), p. 386. Dubbed "the platinum rule" in business books such as Charles J. Jacobus, Thomas E. Gillett, ''Georgia Real Estate: An Introduction to the Profession'', Cengage Learning, 2007, p. 409 and Jeremy Comfort, Peter Franklin, ''The Mindful International Manager: How to Work Effectively Across Cultures'', Kogan Page, p. 65.
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