The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, ethical code, or morality that essentially states either of the following: # One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself (positive form) # One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (negative/prohibitive form, also called the Silver Rule)

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. A key element of the Golden Rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group. The Golden Rule has its roots in a wide range of world cultures, and is a standard different cultures use to resolve conflicts.

The Golden Rule has a long history, and a great number of prominent religious figures and philosophers have restated its reciprocal, bilateral nature in various ways (not limited to the above forms). 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). The ethic of reciprocity was present in certain forms in the philosophies of ancient Babylon, Egypt, Persia, India, Greece, Judea, and China.

Statements that mirror the Golden Rule appear in Ancient Egypt in the story of The Eloquent Peasant. Rushworth Kidder states that "the label 'golden' was applied by Confucius (551–479 B.C.), who wrote a version of the Silver Rule. Kidder notes that this framework appears prominently in many religions, including "Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, and the rest of the world's major religions", and Simon Blackburn states that the Golden Rule can be "found in some form in almost every ethical tradition".

Antiquity

Ancient Babylon

Some early incarnations of the Golden Rule, found in the Code of Hammurabi, (1780 BCE), and in the Torah, dealt with ethical reciprocity in ways, such by limiting retribution to only that which was equal and equitable, as they did concepts of retribution ("an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"). This is very different than the ethics of Eastern religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism where the ethics for holy life is to do no harm to all living beings.

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." 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."

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 to your neighbor what you would take ill from him." – Pittacus (c. 640–568 BCE) "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 Origin in the third century of the common era. "Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others." – Isocrates "What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others." – Epictetus "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly (agreeing 'neither to harm nor be harmed'), and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life." – Epicurus

"One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him." – Socrates, in Plato's (Crito, 49c) (c. 469 BC–399 BCE)

"...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.

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 "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." – Confucius

"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 "Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss." –Laozi

Religion and philosophy

Global ethic

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 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. In the folklore of several cultures^{31} the Golden Rule is depicted by the Allegory of the long spoons.

Judaism

One concept of the Golden Rule originates in a well-known Torah verse (Hebrew: "ואהבת לרעך כמוך"):

|the "Great Commandment"}}

This Torah verse represents one of several versions of the ''Golden Rule'', which itself appears in various forms, positive and negative. It is one of the earliest written versions of that concept in a positive form. All versions and forms of the proverbial ''Golden Rule'' have one aspect in common, they all call for others the equal manner and respect we want for ourselves.

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

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Some deputized the excluding opinion: "neighbor" only refers to Jews and proselytes. Others summed up Samaritans as the proselytes (= 'strangers who resides with you') (Rabbi Akiba, bQuid 75b) or Jews (Rabbi Gamaliel, yKet 3,1; 27a).

The Sage Hillel formulated a negative form of the golden rule. When asked to sum up the entire Torah concisely, he answered:

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."

The Hassidic perspective of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi based on the teachings of the Zohar implores one to "repay the offenders with favors":

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

Bahá'í Faith

From the scriptures of the Bahá'í Faith:

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.

Christianity

The "Golden Rule" has been attributed to Jesus of Nazareth: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye 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).

Christianity probably adopted the golden rule from two edicts, found in ("Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself"; see also Great Commandment) and ("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:

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:

Two passages in the New Testament quote Jesus of Nazareth espousing the golden rule:

A similar passage, a parallel to the Great Commandment, is

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. 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 judgement, both formulations of the golden rule, the negative and positive, are equally applicable.

Confucianism

Rushworth Kidder attributes the "golden" appellation to Confucius: "Here certainly is the golden maxim: Do not do to others that which we do not want them to do to us."

The same idea is also presented in V.12 and VI.30 of the Analects.

Hinduism

Humanism

Many different sources claim the Golden Rule as a humanist principle:

Islam

The Golden Rule is implicitly expressed in some verses of Qur'an, but is explicitly declared in the sayings of Muhammad.

Quran

The first verse recommends the positive form of the rule, and the subsequent verses condemn not abiding the negative form of the Golden Rule:

Hadith

Ali ibn Abi Talib (4th Caliph in Sunni Islam, and first Imam in Shia Islam) says:

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

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

Saman Suttam of Jinendra Varni gives further insight into this percepts:-

Mohism

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 is a central concept in Plato's philosophy.

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.

Sikhism

Taoism

Wicca

Native American

"Before you judge a man, you must walk a mile in his shoes."

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" Philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell, have objected to the rule on a variety of grounds. 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. Another often used example of this inconsistency is that of the man walking into a bar looking for a fight.

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.

Kant's ''Categorical Imperative'', introduced in Kant's ''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:

M. G. 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. 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. An article by Jouni Reinikainen develops this suggestion in greater detail.

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 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.

Many uprisings are caused by failure to follow the Golden Rule. When a leader is free to speak, trade and travel, but doesn't allow his or her people the same freedoms, the leader is breaking the Rule.

Alternate "Golden Rule" cited in business and politics

An alternative, more realpolitik definition of the "Golden Rule" cited in business and politics, with a distinct twist on the expected religious/moral definition, is "He who has the gold, makes the rules." Citation of the Rule under this meaning is often meant to make a naive, weaker party aware of the dynamics of an interaction in which one party has greater resources and therefore greater power than another.

Scientific research

There has been research published arguing that some 'sense' of fair play and the Golden Rule may be stated and rooted in terms of neuroscientific and neuroethical principles.

See also

Brotherly love (biblical)

Deontological ethics

Golden Rule (fiscal policy)

Harm Principle

Live by the sword, die by the sword

Norm of reciprocity, social norm of in-kind responses to the behavior of others

Reciprocity (cultural anthropology), way of defining people's informal exchange of goods and labour

Reciprocity (evolution), mechanisms for the evolution of cooperation

Reciprocity (international relations), principle that favours, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of another, should be returned in kind

Reciprocity (social and political philosophy), concept of reciprocity as in-kind positive or negative responses for the actions of others; relation to justice; related ideas such as gratitude, mutuality, and the Golden Rule

Reciprocity (social psychology), in-kind positive or negative responses of individuals towards the actions of others

Serial reciprocity, where the benefactor of a gift or service will in turn provide benefits to a third party

Silver Rule

Three Wise Monkeys

References

External links

Golden Rule Poster in 13 Religions

A short essay on the Golden Rule

Golden Rule in a Nutshell, referencing at least 19 religions / belief systems

Golden Rule Resources and Articles

Rosicrucians: The Golden Rule

Shared belief in the Golden Rule

The Golden Rule as a Global Ethos by Josef Bordat

The Golden Rule, Ethic of Reciprocity, and the Wiccan Rede

The Golden Rule in Religion

The Golden Rule in World Religions

The Rules of the Game

The Abolition of Man E-text of the C. S. Lewis book The Abolition of Man, which includes a comparative appendix.

Let's revive the Golden Rule (video)

Category:Social philosophy Category:Ethical principles Category:Philosophy of law Category:Christian terms Category:Christian nonviolence Category:Doctrines and teachings of Jesus Category:Sermon on the Mount Category:Gospel of Matthew

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name	Anthony Mancini
archbishop of	Archbishop of Halifax
diocese	Halifax
enthroned	November 27, 2007
predecessor	Terrence Prendergast
ordination	May 23, 1970
other post	apostolic administrator of the diocese of Yarmouth
birth date	November 27, 1945
birth place	Mignano Monte Lungo, Italy
religion	Roman Catholic
signature	}}

Anthony Mancini (born November 27, 1945) is a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who serves as the current Archbishop of Halifax, as well as the apostolic administrator of the diocese of Yarmouth.

Born in Mignano Monte Lungo, near Naples, Mancini emigrated to Canada with his family, arriving at Pier 21 on December 1, 1948 and was raised in Montreal.

Education

Archbishop Mancini received a Bachelor of Arts from Resurrection College at the University of Waterloo, a Licentiate in Theology from Université de Montréal, a Master of Arts in religious studies from McGill University, studies in ecumenical theology at the University of Geneva and his Doctor of Philosophy in pastoral theology at Université de Montréal.

Career

Archbishop Mancini was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Montreal on May 23, 1970. On February 18, 1999, he was appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal by Archbishop Jean-Claude Turcotte.

On October 18, 2007, he was appointed to the Archdiocese of Halifax, succeeding Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast as the ordinary. At the same time, Mancini was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth after Bishop James Matthew Wingle was transferred to the Diocese of Saint Catharines. He was installed to these positions on November 29, 2007.

On September 26, 2009, Archbishop Mancini also became the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Antigonish following the resignation of Bishop Raymond Lahey. This lasted until November 21, 2009 when the Holy See appointed Bishop Brian Dunn as ordinary of that diocese.

References

Catholic-hierarchy.org

{{s-ttl|title=Archbishop of Halifax |years=2007-Present}}

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:People from the Province of Caserta Category:Canadian Roman Catholic archbishops Category:University of Waterloo alumni Category:McGill University alumni Category:Université de Montréal alumni