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The ethic of reciprocity, or the Golden Rule, is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures, which simply means "treat others as you want them to treat you." Its universality suggests an innate human altruism, and is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights. Principal philosophers and religious figures have stated it in different ways:

  • "Love your neighbor as yourself" - Moses (ca. 1525-1405 BCE) in the Torah,
  • "Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you" — Muhammad, The Farewell Sermon.
  • "What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others." -Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE)
  • "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." - Hillel (ca. 50 BCE-10 CE)
  • "Do to others as you would have them do to you." - Jesus (ca. 5 BCE—33 CE) in the Gospels,; (affirming of Moses);;

Universal Command

Older Eastern culture formulations (Confuscius, Hillel) tend to be passive or negative, while In Western culture, it is most commonly rendered as an active or proscriptive form, beginning with "do", "love" or "treat." This traditional guiding rule was (and is) so highly valued that it has for centuries been known in English as the "Golden Rule." Major religions give the Golden Rule as a universal moral command or religious duty. Most religious expressions of the Golden Rule explicitly state a positive moral command (or imply a religious duty) as a virtue to love others or treat others as oneself. e.g.,

Moses in the Torah recorded the command "Love your neighbor as your self." ()

Jesus affirmed Moses by giving the equivalent Golden Rule "Do to others what you would have them do to you." () Jesus also reaffirmed Moses command - "Love your neighbor as yourself" - identifying it as the Second Command. () He concluded that supreme love for God and the Golden Rule sums up or is "the Law and the Prophets." ()

Others hold that the Golden Rule or ethics of reciprocity may replace all other moral principles or at least that it is superior to them. The golden rule does provide one with moral coherence -- it is a consistency principle. One's actions are to be consistent with mutual love and respect to other fellow humans. Arising as it does in nearly all written-language cultures on the Earth, the ethic of reciprocity is a tool that differing cultures can readily use in handling conflicts. Given the modern global trend of political, social, and economic integration (see globalisation), the ethical Golden Rule may be becoming even more relevant and important than ever.

Subsidiary to Love for God

The Monotheistic Religions Judaism and Christianity teach that the Golden Rule and other moral commands on human relations are subsidiary to commands relating to God. e.g., Jesus explicitly identified the Great Commandment as supreme love for God, affirming Moses command. ( ) (Jesus gave the supreme command - "Love one another as I have loved you" - equivalent to Moses' Great Commandment) () By categorizing "Love you neighbor as yourself" as the Second command, Jesus placed the Golden Rule and human relationships as subsidiary to one's relationship to God, (and to his command to love others with total self sacrificing love).

Not Tit for Tat

The ethic of reciprocity, or Golden Rule of ethics can further be understood in terms of what it is not. The ethic of reciprocity should not be confused with tit for tat, revenge, an eye for an eye, retributive justice or the law of retaliation. A key element of the ethic of reciprocity is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people, not just members of his or her in-group, with consideration.

Not Non-Aggression

The ethics of reciprocity should not be confused with another major ethical principle, often known as Wiccan Rede, harm principle, or liberty principle (non-aggression principle) which is an ethical prohibition against aggression. This rule is also an ethical rule of "licence" or "right", that is people can do anything they like as long as it does not harm others. This rule does not compel one to help the other in need. On the other hand, "the golden rule is a good standard which is further improved by doing unto others, wherever possible, as they want to be done by." Karl Popper (''The Open Society and Its Enemies, Vol. 2)

Not a "Rule"

The ethic of reciprocity or Golden Rule of ethics, should not be confused with a "rule" in the semantic or logical sense. A logical loophole in the positive form of Golden "rule" is that it would require a masochist to harm others, even without their consent, if that is what the masochist would wish for himself. This loophole can be addressed by invoking a supplementary rule, which is sometimes called the silver rule. This states "treat others in the way that they wish to be treated". However, the silver rule may create another logical loophole. In a situation where an individual's background or belief may offend the sentiment of the majority, the silver rule may imply ethical majoritarianism if the Golden rule is enforced as if it were a law. An absurd example may be Adolf Hitler's reference to Otto Weininger, which was something in the effect of "There was only one decent Jew, and he killed himself." Weininger was a Christian convert with Jewish background who was well known for his view about supposed superiority of Christianity and Christian character over Judaism and Jewishness.

Tolerance

Ethical teaching interprets the Golden Rule as mutual respect for one's neighbour (rather than as a deontological or consequentialist rule.) Most of us know that different people have different faith or ideological belief, different preferences concerning sex or other matters, and may belong to different cultural heritage. From a "tolerance" perspective, the golden rule depends on everyone's ability to understand and give respect to such difference. George Bernard Shaw once said that "The golden rule is that there are no golden rules".

Some hold that the Golden Rule itself gives moral guidance on right and wrong. Others say this guiding rule may or may not explicitly tell one which actions or treatments are right or wrong. e.g., Under ethic of reciprocity, a person of atheist persuasion may have a (legal) right to insult religion under the right of freedom of expression but, as a personal choice, may refrain to do so in public out of respect to the sensitivity of the other. Conversely, a person of religious persuasion may refrain from taking action against such public display out of respect to the sensitivity of other about the right of freedom of speech. Conversely, the lack of mutual respect might mean that each side might deliberately violate the golden rule as a provocation (to assert one's right) or as an intimidation (to prevent other from making offence).

Examples

Following is an example of applying the golden rule. In 1963, John F. Kennedy ordered Alabama National Guardsmen to help admit two clearly qualified Negro students to the University of Alabama. In his speech that evening JFK appealed to every American to "stop and examine his conscience about this and other related incidents" throughout America." If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, .... then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place?" .... "The heart of the question is .... whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated."

Reciprocal altruism and Tit for tat

In evolutionary biology, reciprocal altruism is a form of altruism in which one organism provides a benefit to another in the expectation of future reciprocation. This is equivalent to the Tit for tat strategy in game theory for the iterated prisoner's dilemma. Four main conditions of the strategy are

1. Unless provoked, the agent will always cooperate
2. If provoked, the agent will retaliate
3. The agent is quick to forgive
4. The agent must have a 2/3 chance of competing against the opponent more than once.

For several decades Tit-for-Tat was the most effective strategy for playing the game, winning in annual automated tournaments against (generally far more complex) strategies created by teams of computer scientists, economists, and psychologists. Moreover, Tit-for-Tat still is the most effective strategy if you compare the average performance of each competing team. Game theorists informally believed the strategy to be optimal (although no proof was presented).

This implies that ethics of reciprocity may be somewhat compatible with both reciprocal altruism and cooperative egoism providing philosophical middle ground between ethical altruism and ethical egoism. However, in the game of iterated prisoner's dilemma, each players are set as equal. If one player is dominant in the game from the outset, it may be advantageous for such a player to abandon the cooperation and betray other players, resulting in a suboptimal outcome from the collective point of view.

The ethics of reciprocity, on the other hand, presuppose from the outset that everyone is equal no matter what. However, many actual articulations of ethics of reciprocity in history provide an exemption in the context of the violation of cooperation from the other party. This indicates that the golden rule may have had significant utilitarian justification as well as deontological justification.

As applied in Bambi, the ethics of reciprocity include abstaining from speech in the case that one has nothing nice to say.

Religion

Variations of the Golden Rule in Spiritual Traditions Around The World.

Hinduism

"Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you" (Mahabharata 5:15:17)

"One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire." - Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva, 113.8

The Golden Rule has many similarities to the Hindu belief in karma.

Sikhism

"As you see yourself, see others as well; only then will you become a partner in heaven." Bhagat Kabir GGS 480

"Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world". Japji Sahib GGS

"Don't create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone." Guru Arjan Devji GGS 259

"No one is my enemy, none a stranger and everyone is my friend." Guru Arjan Dev GGS 1299

Note:GGS is an acronym for Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scriptures.

Buddhism

Ethics of reciprocity is fundamental to Buddhism. This is partly due to the fact that Buddhism, unlike theistic religions, does not rely on divine revelation. Therefore, in Buddhism, all aspects of teaching are regarded as wisdom rather than supernaturally derived and are to be undertaken voluntarily rather than as "commandments." For example, the first of the Five Precepts (Panca-sila) of Buddhism is to abstain from destruction of life. The justification of the precept is given in Chapter 10 of the Dhammapada, which states:

"Everyone fears punishment; everyone fears death, just as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill. Everyone fears punishment; everyone loves life, as you do. Therefore do not kill or cause to kill."

According to the second of Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, egoism (desire, craving or attachment) are rooted in ignorance and is considered as the cause of all suffering. Consequently, kindness, compassion and equanimity is regarded as the untainted aspect of human nature.

Judaism

Here, the Golden Rule, as it became known to later Western tradition, finds its origin. The Hebrew Bible, states:
"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD." .
This is one of the most famous and oft-quoted principles from the entire Bible. While this statement sounds universal in its scope to modern ears, the term "neighbor" meant roughly "kinsman."

Another significant statement in Judaism concerning the Ethic of reciprocity is uttered by Hillel the Elder (Talmud, Shabbat 31a).

"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary."

Christianity

The ethic of reciprocity is the essence of the teaching of Christianity. Christ's teaching placed more value on beliefs than actions. This is reflected by his focus on loving others rather than merely doing good to them. Key Biblical texts on the subject of the ethic of reciprocity include (here quoted from the New International Version):

Part of the Lord's Prayer:
Forgive us our as we forgive our [debtors. (Some translations of Matthew have debts or trespasses, while Luke has sins)

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (; 22:39) (Mark 12:31) (Luke 10:27) Romans (13:9) (James 2:8)

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” ()

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31)

“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14)

In his parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus expanded the concept of "neighbor" beyond its traditional meaning as "kinsman."

Islam

"No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." (Sunnah)

"Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you" — Muhammad, The Farewell Sermon.

Confucianism

"What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others."
—Confucius, c. 500 B.C.

According to Wing-tsit Chan's A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, the ethic of reciprocity appears in the Analects of Confucius, Chapter 4, in the discussion of i-kuan (pinyin: yi guan), the "one thread" that combines chung (altruism) and shu (conscientiousness):

Confucian teachings may be summed up in the phrase "one thread" (i-kuan), but Confucianists have not agreed on what it means....All agree, however on the meanings of chung and shu, which are best expressed by Chu Hsi, namely, chung means the full development of one's good mind and shu means the extension of that mind to others. As Ch'eng I put it, chung is the Way of Heaven, whereas shu is the way of man; the former is substance, while the latter is function. Liu Pao-nan is correct in equating chung with Confucius' saying, "Establish one's own character," and shu with "Also establish the character of others." Here is the positive version of the Confucian golden rule.

Liu Pao-nan is citing Analects 6:28, but according to Dr. Chan, the same principle appears in Analects 14:45: "To cultivate oneself so as to give all people security and peace, even Yao and Shun found it difficult to do."

Bahá'í

“Blessed is he who prefers his brother before himself” Baha’u’llah Tablets of Baha’u’llah 6.71
"Choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself" Baha’u’llah Tablets of Baha’u’llah 6.64
“Wish not for others what you wish not for yourselves” Baha’u’llah Aqdas 148.73
“The seeker should not wish for others that which he does not wish for himself, nor promise that which he does not fulfil” Baha’u’llah Kitab-i-Iqan 194, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah 125.266
“Lay not on any soul a load which ye would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things ye would not desire for yourselves” Baha'u'llah, Summons of the Lord of Hosts 544 & Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah 66.128

Humanism

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live."
-Oscar Wilde

While this inverted formulation does not encompass the entire concept of the golden rule, it does have the advantage of emphasising respect for others' identity and ideals, which is included in most other forms but is easily be ignored if the golden rule is considered exclusive to the physical elements of human interaction, rather than being inclusive of all elements of human interaction.

History

  • 1970 - 1640s BCE "This is an ordinance: Act for the man who acts, to cause him to act. This is thanking him for what he does." - The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant In line B1 142 page 64 of The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems, tr. R.B. Parkinson OUP.
  • ~1280 BCE - 650 BCE "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the LORD." - Moses, Tanakh, new JPS translation, Leviticus (), Judaism.
  • ~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.
  • ~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. Ch'u Ta-Kao, Unwin Paperbacks, 1976. Daoism
  • ~500 BCE "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." Analects of Confucius 15:24, Confucianism, tr. James Legge.*
  • ~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 near in ourselves; this may be called the art of virtue." Analects of Confucius 6:30, Confucianism, tr. James Legge. *
  • ~500 BCE "one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life * 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.
  • ~300 BCE "One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire." - Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 113.8, Hinduism *
  • ~180 BCE "What you hate, do not do to anyone." - Deuterocanonical Bible, NRSV, Tobit 4:15, Roman Catholic Church and Judaism.
  • ~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 you feel painful to yourself, do not do to others." - Tiruvalluvar, Tirukkural 316.
  • ~100 CE "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary." - Hillel the Elder; Talmud, Shabbat 31a, Judaism.
  • ~30 CE "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets." Jesus- Sermon on the Mount, Gospel of Matthew ( NIV), Christianity
  • ~100 CE "What you would avoid suffering yourself, seek not to impose on others." - Epictetus.
  • 1785: Kant says: "Act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature."
  • ~1870: "He should not wish for others what he does not wish for himself." - Bahá'u'lláh, Kitab-i-Aqdas 148.73 Bahá'í Faith.
  • ~1890 "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.
  • 1999 "don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you." - British Humanist Association, Humanism.

Effects of the Golden Rule on politics

  • It is said that China, in its long history, did not concern itself much with the expansion of its national boundary due to the Chinese devotion to the Golden Rule as taught by Confucius.

Footnotes

  • JFK's 11 June1963 "Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights," transcript from the JFK library. Partly described (and multiply quoted) in the text above. As described in graphic 1963 events, President Kennedy sent his civil rights bill to Congress on 19 June1963 leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 via the Congressional give-and-take described there.
  • Harry Gensler's essay,The Golden Rule, published in the Blackwell Dictionary of Business Ethics (Routledge 1997 ISBN 1557869421). For more background, and for more information about the golden rule, plus links and lists of books about it, see his website The Golden Rule. His links include his teaching website, Web Exercises.

See also

External links

Practical applications of the golden rule to our real world problems
  1. Application to racism in the United States in 1963, 1964, partly described in the text and the above *.
  2. Application to terrorism.
  3. UNESCO report on global ethics.
  4. A sample of applications to business. The golden rule is also in business books, e.g., the Blackwell book in the above *.

The general application of the golden rule
  1. David Keating's Golden Rule Radical
  2. Bill McGinnis's Committee for the Golden Rule.
  3. How to conduct a workshop on the golden rule.
  4. Application to moral education.

Other external links

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Ethic of reciprocity".

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