In an age plagued by selfishness, materialism, and violence,
ethicists feel impelled to find a universal system of values. To
arrive at such a "rule" requires that they struggle with a series
of seemingly irreconcilable questions. First, are universal values
possible in a pluralistic world, and how does one do justice to
both human equality and to individual and cultural differences? How
is one to understand the interface between religious moral
teachings and the ethics of secular humanism? Finally, can such a
system integrate moral intuition and moral reason? In the first
scholarly book in English on the golden rule since the seventeenth
century, Jeffrey Wattles demonstrates how a clear understanding of
the psychological, philosophical, and religious ramifications of
the rule can form the synthesis needed to solve these dilemas.
The golden rule, "do to others as you would have others do to
you," is widely assumed to have a single meaning, shared by
virtually all the world's religions. It strikes the average person
as intuitively true, though most modern philosophers reject it or
recast it in more rational form. Wattles surveys the history of the
golden rule and its spectrum of meanings in diverse contexts,
ranging from Confusius to Plato and Aristotle, from classical
Jewish literature to the New Testament. He also considers medieval,
Reformation, and modern theological and philosophical responses and
objections to the rule, as well as how some early twentieth-century
American leaders have tried to use the rule. Wattles draws these
diverse interpretation into a synthesis that responds, at the
psychological, philosophical, and religious levels, to the
challenges to moral living in any given culture. Emotionally, the
rules counsels consideration for others feelings by asking that
"you place yourself in their shoes." Intellectually, it activates
moral thinking about what is fair. At the same time, it retains a
spiritual appeal as "the principle of the practice of the family of
God."
Demonstrating how, despite its contentious history, this age-old
ethical principle contiues to be relevant in dealing with
contemporary issues, The Golden Rule should interest students and
scholars working in religious studies, philosophy and ethics, and
psychology, as well as anyone looking for an alternative to
postmodern cynicism and alienation.
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