Golden Rule

[[File:Golden-rule.png|thumb|right|The golden rule goes both ways. ([http://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/golden-rule/ Source])]]{{philosophy}}
{{hatnote|For the monetary concept, see [[Gold standard (economics)]]. For the scientific term, see [[Gold standard (science)]].}}
The '''Golden Rule''' is a [[moral]] idea that governs the basis of many codes of conduct throughout [[history]]. Put simply, it states that the most correct way to behave is to treat ''all'' others as one would want to be treated oneself.<ref group=note>It does not mean, "He who [[Creationism|created the gold]] [[Divine command theory|maketh the rules]]", or even "He/She [[Income inequality|who has the gold]], maketh the rules."</ref> 

For example, you don't like to be [[Piracy|stolen]] from, so you shouldn't steal from others.  You wouldn't like to be [[murder]]ed, so don't murder, and so on. It essentially rules out [[hypocrisy]]. Barring a few problems with certain types of individuals taking it too literally,<ref>http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2664</ref> the Golden Rule is a quite effective and very simple formulation of a moral [[philosophy]]. It is cited by both [[religious]] and [[secular]] philosophies as a good principle by which to act.

==Historical and religious formulations==
The principle is found throughout history over a broad range of [[culture]]s as a guiding principle in the treatment of others. 
*"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD."&nbsp;— [[Torah]] (ca. 1200-1500 BCE) {{bible|Leviticus|19|18}}

*"When an [[Illegal immigrant|alien]] lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in [[Egypt]]. I am the LORD your God."&nbsp;— [[Torah]]  (ca. 1200-1500 BCE) {{bible|Leviticus|19|33}}-34	
**"The [[alien]] is my brother" is a [[Roman Catholic]] extension of the above.<ref>http://www.metafilter.com/71632/The-Alien-is-my-Brother</ref>

*"What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others."&nbsp;— [[Confucius]] (ca. 551-479 BCE)

*"This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you."&nbsp;— the [[Hindu]] {{wpl|Mahabharata|''Mahabharata''}} (5:15:17) (c. 500 BCE)

*"Since to others, to each one for himself, the self is dear, therefore let him who desires his own advantage not to harm another"&nbsp;— the [[Buddhist]] scripture {{wpl|Udāna|''Udāna''|,}} (ca. 470 BCE)

*"Neither to harm, nor be harmed."&nbsp;— [[Epicurus]] (c. 350 BCE)

*"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man."&nbsp;— [[Jewish]] religious leader {{wpl|Hillel the Elder}} (ca. 50 BCE-10 CE)

*"As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."&nbsp;— [[Jesus]] (ca. 5 BCE-33 CE) in the [[Gospels]], {{bible|Luke|6|31}}

*"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself."&nbsp;— [[Muhammad]] (c. 571–632 CE) in a [[Hadith]]

*"Act with reference to every [[rational]] being (whether yourself or another) so that it is an end in itself in your maxim."&nbsp;— [[Immanuel Kant]], ''Foundations of the [[Metaphysics]] of Morals'', 1785

*"An’ ye harm none, do what ye will."&nbsp;— [[Wicca]]n Doreen Valiente, 1964<ref>Coughlin, John J. [http://www.waningmoon.com/ethics/rede3.shtml "The Wiccan Rede: A Historical Journey — Part 3: Eight Words…"]</ref>

===No, it's ''my'' rule!===
There seems to be a tendency of [[Christian]]s to suggest that the Golden Rule was first originated in the [[Bible]], in the intention of tying the importance of [[Judeo-Christian]] [[morality]] as integral to [[West]]ern civilization.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2010/10/02/where-did-the-golden-rule-come-from/ A relevant comic]</ref>  Unfortunately, [[reality]] doesn't work that way&nbsp;— it can be traced to (as early as) [[Babylon]] and [[Ancient Egypt]] (ca. 1850 BCE),<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141125232256/http://www.younginquirers.com/newsletter/0504/golden-rule.html The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant] by Brant Abrahamson, '' The Inquiring Minds Program'' (archived from November 25, 2014).</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130607040348/http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Ethic_of_reciprocity.html Ethic of reciprocity] by A. Chaney, University of Princeton (archived from June 7, 2013).</ref><ref>{{wpa|The Eloquent Peasant}}</ref> and Confucius (as noted above) made mention of it several centuries [[BCE]], though no Abrahamic faith is attested in China prior to the seventh<ref>{{wpa|History of the Jews in China}}</ref> or eighth<ref>{{wpa|Christianity in China}}</ref> century CE.  The typical response to this is then an attempt to [[Moving the goalposts|differentiate between "positive" and "negative" versions of the Golden Rule]].<ref group=note>The "negative" version, "Do not do unto others what you do not wish done unto you", has sometimes been called the ''Silver Rule''. It is sometimes considered as less subject to some of the problems associated with overly literal interpretations of the Golden Rule.</ref>

==Problems==
One of the problems with the Golden Rule is that what an individual wants for themselves may not be what others want done to 
them.<ref>"Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." George Bernard Shaw, ''Maxims for Revolutionists - The Golden Rule'', ''Man and Superman'' (1903).</ref> An extreme [[masochist]], for example, should be discouraged quite vehemently from ever following the Golden Rule too literally, as they would invariably end up [[Torture|torturing]] others in the population at large in the hope that it would give them as much pleasure. While an extreme example that is really just an abuse of the Golden Rule in letter rather than spirit, it's illustrative of the basic point.<ref group=note>Assume, for instance, that the masochist in question isn't actually aware that they're a "masochist," and thus they view their love of pain as socially ''normative''. Without the direct and comprehensive awareness of what others want, it is still a leap of [[faith]] to assume that you are a suitable pattern to base the wants and needs of others on.</ref>

The idea is more subtly illustrated by the fable of a [[Monarch|king]] who, in an act of kindness, travels to a [[poor]] serf's house with a large banquet. The king wishes to show his kindness and generosity towards the serf (who is, of course, baffled and annoyed by the intrusion) and sets out on the table the finest food in the kingdom. The serf stares at the finery, and is unimpressed. He tries some of the food, but dislikes its taste. The king grows increasingly angry, demanding to know why the serf is rejecting the greatest food in the land, but he can't quite get an answer. Finally, the king leaves in frustration and the serf returns to his thick and cheap broth. The moral of the fable is that the king [[Privilege|doesn't understand the needs and desires]] of a man with a considerably different life to his own. The king projects his own desires — caviar, ''foie gras'', and truffles — onto a man who has no desire for such things and hasn't been brought up to think that such things are valuable. Without such [[social]] conditioning, he views caviar and ''foie gras'' as things that taste disgusting<ref group=note>Which they do.{{nofact}}</ref> and truffles as just overpriced mushrooms.

The Golden Rule's main assumption, therefore, is that we not only know what is best for ourselves but happily [[projection|project]] that view onto others. Only through understanding the generalities of the rule on a more meta-level, rather than applying specifics, can we truly use it as a moral guide.

In general, many agreements are difficult to reach on what should be universal. Two main contentious positions today pit against each other those who see process as the essence of universality and those who see ends as the ultimate determining factor: [[deontology]] vs. [[consequentialism]].

==The Platinum Rule==
The problems of hypocrisy and assumption — that evoking The Golden Rule might lead to it being all about you instead of taking the other guy into account — led to the idea of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Rule#platinum_rule_description The Platinum Rule], which takes The Golden Rule one step further. Instead of treating others as you would like to be treated, The Platinum Rule says to treat others the way they want to be treated. Instead of making assumptions (such as the other guy liking truffles), you'd ask questions to find out what he likes.<ref>[[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.</ref> After all, just because you like random strangers performing lewd acts on you in public places doesn't that you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you; instead, by asking questions, you learn what the other guy prefers. (Although it's probably not a good idea to approach a stranger on the street and ask if he'd like random lewd acts spontaneously performed on him... even if you [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjR9F9tPNhc ask nicely.])

==In sarcasm==
In sarcasm, a "golden rule", is when a person or entity reliably behaves badly. Historian Timothy Snyder sarcastically referred to [[Donald Trump]]'s golden rule as, "he will always disappoint" in particular reference to when a tribute or bribe paid to him is insufficient:<ref>[https://snyder.substack.com/p/venezuela-the-precedents Venezuela: The Precedents, And America: The Future] by Timothy Snyder (Jan 04, 2026) ''Thinking About…" (Substack).</ref>{{efn|Hint: it is always insufficient.}}
{{cquote|…Trump dismisses the courageous activist María Machado, the winner of the [[Nobel Peace Prize]], as "a nice woman" who lacks popular support. (This is after she dedicated the Prize to him&nbsp;— it is important to remember the golden rule of dealing with Trump: he will always disappoint you.)}}

==See also==
*[[Categorical imperative]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Culture]]
[[Category:Morality]]
[[Category:Religion]]

Categories: Philosophy, Culture, Morality, Religion