Golden Rule

In ethics , “Do unto others as you would be done by” from Matt. vii. 12 is defined as the Golden Rule . This concept is as old as Mankind. Similar injunctions can be found in virtually all cultures and societies and with few exceptions, this is the common denominator of all moral codes and religions . The Golden Rule should not be confused with the ethic of reciprocity or tit for tat . Tit for tat (Repayment in kind, as for an injury) is the "ethic" of retaliation. The Golden Rule is not about retaliation, it is about treating others with the same respect and consideration as one wishes to be treated. ~ 1970 - 1640 BCE "Do for one who may do for you, / That you may cause him thus to do." - The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant 109-110, Ancient Egypt , tr. Parkinson. ~ 700 BCE "That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self." - Dadistan-i-Dinik 94:5, Zoroastrianism . ? BCE "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." - Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29, Zoroastrianism. ~ 550 BCE "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself." - Bible , NIV , Leviticus 19:18, Judaism . ~ 500 BCE "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." - Udana-Varga 5:18, Buddhism . ~ 500 BCE "The Sage...makes the self of the people his self." Tao Te Ching Ch 49, tr. Daoism ~ 500 BCE "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." Analects of Confucius 15:24, Confucianism , tr. [1] ~ 500 BCE "Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others. To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;? this may be called the art of virtue." Analects of Confucius 6:30, Confucianism, tr. [2] ~ 500 BCE "one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life [is] reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." - Doctrine of the Mean 13.3, Confucianism. ~ 500 BCE "Therefore, neither does he cause violence to others nor does he make others do so." - Acarangasutra 5.101-2, Jainism . ~ 400 BCE "Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others." - Socrates . ~ 200 BCE "What you hate, do not do to anyone." - Bible , NRSV , Tobit 4:15, Septuagint . ~ 150 BCE "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you." - Mahabharata 5:1517, Brahmanism and Hinduism . ~ 100 CE "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." - Hillel ; Talmud , Shabbat 31a, Judaism . ~ 100 CE "Do to others as you would have them do to you." - Bible, NIV , Gospel of Luke 6:31, Christianity ~ 100 CE "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." - Epictetus . ~ 800 CE "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother (fellow Muslim) that which he desires for himself." - Hadith recorded by al-Bukhari, Islam . ? CE "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself." - Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, 30, Bahá'í Faith . ~ 1870 CE "He should not wish for others what he does not wish for himself." - Baha'u'llah , Epistle to the Son of the Wolf Bahá'í Faith . 1999 CE "don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you." - British Humanist society, Humanism . Exceptions: Some doctrines do not adhere to the Golden rule. Satanism : Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, wrote two main lists of rules summarizing his expected behavior by members. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek." [3] The Nine Satanic Sins : "3. Solipsism—can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of 'Do unto others as they do unto you.' It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you...." [4] The Creativity Movement is a racist [white-supremacist] organization who regard themselves as being motivated by the love for the white race. This implies extreme hatred of non-white races. They are overwhelmingly hate-filled towards Jews, African-Americans, other non-whites and homosexuals. [5] 16 Commandments of Creativity include: 4. The guiding principle of all your actions shall be:What is best for the White Race? 6. Your first loyalty belongs to the White Race. 7. Show preferential treatment in business dealings with members of your own race. Phase out all dealings with Jews as soon as possible. Have social contacts only with members of your own racial family The Creativity Movement is based mainly upon love of the white race and hatred of everyone else, who they call members of the "mud races." Islam : Some critics of Islam argue that the fairness prescribed in hadith "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself." [6] does not extend to non-Muslims and therefore it is no different from the teachings of the Creativity Movement that also teaches fairness, but only to the White Race. Not all Muslims agree with this interpretation. Iman Kurdi argues; “The Muslim world is not split into us and them, but viewed as a global brotherhood of mankind.” [7] He complains that the concept of “brotherhood” in Islam has been misunderstood. Therefore Arabs and Muslims do not treat foreigners and non-Muslims fairly. “But more importantly”, he writes, “we group people into those who are like us and those who are not. Most of us will try to treat our own kind in the same way that we would like to be treated, but how many of us can say that we genuinely do that to people whom we think of as different?” Kurdi’s views are shared by a great majority of Muslims. The critics claim these views, are not supported by the Quran and the Sunnah (examples set by the prophet). One critic writes: [8] “The brotherhood in Islam, however does not extend to everyone. Verse 9:23 of the Quran states that the believers should not take as friends and protectors (awlia), even their own fathers and brothers, if they love Infidelity above Islam. In fact there are many verses in the Quran that tell the Muslims to be harsh to unbelievers. The unbelievers in Islam are treated in the same way that the “niggers” and Jews are treated by white-supremacists. An example that Islam is not based on the Golden Rule is the verse 48:29 It says: "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.” This is no different from Creativity Movement statement 6 that says: “Your first loyalty belongs to the White Race”. There are many other verses that show the brotherhood in Islam is not universal that the nonbelievers do not have the same rights as Muslims and they should not be treated equally. The Quran teaches to slay the unbelievers [9] , fight them and show them harshness [10] , smite their heads [11] and instill terror in their hearts [12] . This view is strongly denied by the majority of Muslims who emphasize that Islam is a religion of peace and the verses of the Quran should be read in their context and those verses apply to the time of war. The critics respond that the wars waged by the Prophet and Muslims after him, were all aggressive wars and not in self defense. The wars waged by the Prophet were called Qazwah (raid). Muslims ambushed civilians - massacred and looted them with no warning or provocation. [13] Some Muslim intellectuals agree that Islam is not compatible with the Golden Rule. Mr.Yamin Zakaria , whose writings appear in many major Islamic sites [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] argues that the ““Golden Rule” is not universal, not self-evident, inadequate and not absolute. ..It is flawed as a fundamental principle. At best it is just a moral advice to individuals to exercise self-restraint. Therefore, the allegations against the final Prophet (SAW) cannot be levied.” [18] The affirmative version of the rule in the Egyptian, Leviticus, Confucian (art of virtue), Christian, Bahá'í, and Muslim versions call for active interactions; a logical loophole of which would allow a masochist to harm others without their consent. This differs from the negative/passive version of the rule, sometimes called the silver rule . George Bernard Shaw said that "The golden rule is that there are no golden rules". Cynics argue that the Golden Rule is flawed because a masochist who likes to be mistreated, by applying the Golden Rule will harm others without their consent. This is an invalid argument and it is based on the misunderstanding of the concept of the Golden Rule. A much more accurate definition of the Golden Rule is: “Treat others with the same respect and consideration that you wish to be treated”. It does not mean literally do to others what you like to be done to you. It does not mean you should take your wife who likes concerts, to a basketball game because you like basketball or invite your vegetarian friend to a barbeque because you are a meat lover. [19] A somewhat similar basis for ethic behaviour is often found also in other ethical systems as, for instance, in Immanuel Kant 's Critique of Practical Reason : "The rule of the judgement according to laws of pure practical reason is this: ask yourself whether, if the action you propose were to take place by a law of the system of nature of which you were yourself a part, you could regard it as possible by your own will. (...) If the maxim of the action is not such as to stand the test of the form of a universal law of nature, then it is morally impossible" (trans. This is known as the categorical imperative . The idea of reciprocal ethics is often confused with (or related to) karma , a concept of Hinduism . Game theory quantifies this rule mathematically, as a highly effective Tit for Tat strategy for the iterated prisoner's dilemma .¹