Golden Rule, The

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Often referred to as the Golden Rule or the Ethic of Reciprocity, this ecumenical moral principle implores adherents to contemplate the feelings and preferences of fellow human beings before acting. Although the rule finds its prominence in Christian theology through the teachings of Jesus, its origin can be traced back to the Hindu tradition and a pronouncement circa 3000 BCE.

The Golden Rule is contained within the ethical systems of many of the world's most prominent religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. Alongside these world religions, many prominent thinkers also incorporate the Golden Rule into their philosophies, including Plato and Socrates. The philosopher Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative disallows personal exceptions unless the same exception can be made for all others in similar situations without an irrational result. Similar to the Golden Rule, this Kantian categorical imperative requires people to think of others as ends instead of a means to an end and also about the consequences stemming from actions. Finally, from a purely secular viewpoint, both anthropology and psychology can claim a nonreligiously motivated origination of the concept of the Golden Rule. An anthropologist may argue that the rule is a cultural variation of the underlying human relationship principle of social reciprocity and that this principle has defined human organizations and human interaction for centuries. Correspondingly, a psychologist may argue that the reciprocity urged by the rule merely reflects the behavioralcognitive trait of empathy.

But why is the Golden Rule compelling as a moral principle? The morality or immorality underlying a proposed action is not always apparent, and such unanalyzed uncertainty often leads people to act without moral clarity. The Golden Rule is compelling as a moral principle because it requires an actor to undertake a comprehensive ethical analysis before acting. First, the actor must analyze the potential consequences of the contemplated action on the primary recipient and assess how the actor would feel if the roles of actor and recipient were reversed. Second, the actor must look beyond the immediate recipient to others who may be remotely affected and assess how the actor would feel if the roles were again reversed. Because the Golden Rule is a moral principle and not a comprehensive ethical system, this sequential thought process will not result in a determination as to whether any particular action is moral or immoral. Such contemplation of consequences will, however, allow people to monitor their actions to determine whether they are acting in a manner consistent with their morals and, theoretically, lead them toward taking moral actions. The application of the rule also allows adherents to more clearly see the commonalities between themselves and others.

The Golden Rule has two common formulations—a positive formulation and a negative formulation. The positive formulation requires people to do unto others as you would have others do unto you. In other words, this formulation tells people what they should do. The negative formulation of the rule—often referred to as the Silver Rule—is do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you. In other words, this formulation tells people what they should not do. While certain adherents claim that each formulation captures a different moral principle, other adherents [Page 1026]claim that the Golden and Silver Rules encompass the same moral principle and need not be separated.

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