Ethic of reciprocity

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The ethic of reciprocity, which is stated in the Bible as "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you," is a philosophical principle that long predates Christianity. Virtually all religions and moral codes include this principle as a fundamental rule; injunctions similar to the Golden Rule stated in Matthew 7:12 can be found in virtually all cultures and societies. Comparisons have been drawn between the principle of reciprocal ethics and karma, a concept in Hinduism.

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. The ethic of reciprocity is not about retaliation; it is about treating others with the same respect and consideration as one wishes to be treated. 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.


Contents

History

Exceptions

Some doctrines do not adhere to the Golden rule.

Satanism: Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, wrote two main lists of rules summarizing his expected behavior by members. Number 4 and 5 of the Nine Satanic Statements are: "4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! "5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek." [3] The Nine Satanic Sins: "3. Solipsism—can be very dangerous for Satanists. Projecting your reactions, responses and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of 'Do unto others as they do unto you.' It’s work for most of us and requires constant vigilance lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you...." [4]

The Creativity Movement, originally known as The World Church of the Creator, is a white supremacist organization whose prime objective is "the survival, expansion and advancement of the white race." They have expressed hatred of non-whites, Jewish people, and homosexuals of all races. The movement was founded by Matthew Hale, who was recently sentenced to a 40-year prison term for conspiring to murder federal judge Joan Lefkow. [5] 16 Commandments of Creativity include: 4. The guiding principle of all your actions shall be:What is best for the White Race? 6. Your first loyalty belongs to the White Race. 7. Show preferential treatment in business dealings with members of your own race. Phase out all dealings with Jews as soon as possible. Do not employ niggers or other coloreds. Have social contacts only with members of your own racial family The Creativity Movement is based mainly upon love of the white race and hatred of everyone else, who they call members of the "mud races."

Islam: Some critics of Islam argue that the fairness prescribed in hadith "None of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself." [6] does not extend to non-Muslims and therefore it is no different from the teachings of the Creativity Movement that also teaches fairness, but only to the White Race. Not all Muslims agree with this interpretation. Iman Kurdi argues; “The Muslim world is not split into us and them, but viewed as a global brotherhood of mankind.” [7] She complains that the concept of “brotherhood” in Islam has been misunderstood. Therefore Arabs and Muslims do not treat foreigners and non-Muslims fairly. “But more importantly,” she writes, “we group people into those who are like us and those who are not. Most of us will try to treat our own kind in the same way that we would like to be treated, but how many of us can say that we genuinely do that to people whom we think of as different?” Kurdi’s views are shared by a great majority of Muslims. The critics claim these views are not supported by the Quran and the Sunnah (examples set by the prophet). One critic writes: [8] “The brotherhood in Islam, however does not extend to everyone. Verse 9:23 of the Quran states that the believers should not take as friends and protectors (awlia), even their own fathers and brothers, if they love Infidelity above Islam. In fact there are many verses in the Quran that tell the Muslims to be harsh to unbelievers. The unbelievers in Islam are treated in the same way Jews and non-whites are treated by white-supremacists. An example that Islam is not based on the Golden Rule is the verse 48:29 It says: "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionate amongst each other.” This is no different from Creativity Movement statement 6 that says: “Your first loyalty belongs to the White Race”. There are many other verses that show the brotherhood in Islam is not universal that the nonbelievers do not have the same rights as Muslims and they should not be treated equally. The Quran teaches to slay the unbelievers [9], fight them and show them harshness [10], smite their heads [11] and instill terror in their hearts [12]. This view is strongly denied by the majority of Muslims who emphasize that Islam is a religion of peace and the verses of the Quran should be read in their context and those verses apply to the time of war. The critics respond that the wars waged by the Prophet and Muslims after him, were all aggressive wars and not in self defense. The wars waged by the Prophet were called Qazwah (raid). Muslims ambushed civilians - massacred and looted them with no warning or provocation. [13] Some Muslim intellectuals agree that Islam is not compatible with the Golden Rule. Mr.Yamin Zakaria, whose writings appear in many major Islamic sites [14], [15], [16], [17] argues that the ““Golden Rule” is not universal, not self-evident, inadequate and not absolute. ..It is flawed as a fundamental principle. At best it is just a moral advice to individuals to exercise self-restraint. Therefore, the allegations against the final Prophet (SAW) cannot be levied.” [18]

Criticism

The affirmative version of the rule in the Egyptian, Leviticus, Confucian (art of virtue), Christian, Bahá'í, and Muslim versions call for active interactions; a logical loophole of which would allow a masochist to harm others without their consent. This differs from the negative/passive version of the rule, sometimes called the silver rule. George Bernard Shaw said that "The golden rule is that there are no golden rules".

A somewhat similar basis for ethic behaviour is often found also in other ethical systems as, for instance, in Immanuel Kant's Critique of Practical Reason: "The rule of the judgement according to laws of pure practical reason is this: ask yourself whether, if the action you propose were to take place by a law of the system of nature of which you were yourself a part, you could regard it as possible by your own will. (...) If the maxim of the action is not such as to stand the test of the form of a universal law of nature, then it is morally impossible" (trans. T.K. Abbott). This is known as the categorical imperative. Kant in formulating his imperative did note the broad truth of the Golden Rule but also felt it could be misapplied; for instance, a criminal might argue before a judge that the judge would want himself to be sent to prison by anyone, the judge would violate the golden rule by sending other people, such as the criminal, to prison.

See also

External links

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