Treat others as you want to be treated

WhatIf...?

if all humans on the earth followed the morale rule that you should "treat others as you want to be treated" do you think it would make the world a better place.

kant

Well, suppose you are a ceo of a company, or a professor in a class. Surely, the relationship is asymmetrical.

WhatIf...?

maybe but if you were the CEO of a company or a professor and you expected someone to turn somthing in the same relation they expect a raise or a better grade

WhatIf...?

if everyone did what they were expected to do it would make the world a better place

turbo

This was the central tenet of Jesus' social contract. There is a cult-like drumbeat from evangelicals claiming that faith in Jesus is key to your life and that you are instantly "forgiven" for horrible acts when you embrace that faith. In my opinion, he would have rejected that notion out-of-hand, because (from what writings we have about him) he valued ethics over all, and wished to impress upon people that rigid adherence to laws was inferior to adherence to ethics. The admonition "Go and sin no more" bears this out. You don't get a free pass just for kissing his feet - you are expected to exhibit better behavior.

WhatIf...?

i m sry i read the post like six times and i still have no idea what that has to do with my post?????????????????????????????????????????

turbo

If everybody treated others with the same respect with which they expect to be treated, do you not think that the world would be a better place? If not, why not? You posed the question and you apparently have some disagreement with the premise. What is it?

berkeman

Not true at all. The CEO presumably started "in the mail room", and worked their way up. I'm sure that they appreciated being treated fairly and judged on their performance and integrity all the way up, and they know that if they show the same example to their employees, that the company will function the best that it can. It sure as heck is like that at all of the companies that I've worked at. Of course, I never worked at Enron....

The best professors treat their students the way that their best professors treated them when they were back in school. With respect, with understanding, with creative and innovative teaching, and with an understanding of how to help students truly understand difficult concepts.

It's called the "Golden Rule" for a reason. I believe that it is one of the greatest and most useful and practical concepts of human consciousness.

ranger

I'm sorry I have to say it. If this were the case, then the world would be a boring place (i.e. too predictable)

berkeman

Do you mean literally "did what they were expected to", or do you mean "treated others the way they wanted to be treated"?

There is not much creativity expected in the first case, I agree. But in the second case (the Golden Rule), there are some amazing things possible. I've met some extraordinary leaders who have thought up creative procedures and wonderfully insightful innovations, all based on the Golden Rule.

turbo

Let's take a reasonable interpretation of the Golden Rule. I have a car that I want to sell and you want that car. Should I soak you for everything I can get, knowing that I ran it low on oil and walked 5 miles on a "high temperature" alarm, or even worse, that I drove it back the 5 miles while the "high temperature" light was on, though it still might be OK for a lot more miles? Gut check, people! Is it OK to cheat someone by lying to them about something like this?

ranger

I was referring to the former case. Simply because of predictably and as you've mentioned, the lack of creativity. I definitely have much respect for the Golden Rule. But its hard to find individuals, especially leaders who lead based on this premise. In fact I know of no one, maybe a few professors, but thats it.

berkeman

I vote no. Are there intelligent dissenting votes?

ranger

Isn't the American economy based on this?

turbo

Yes or no? Is it right or wrong?

I have bought, nursed back to health and resold a number of vehicles, and I have learned to "read" the sellers pretty well. I was taken (screwed pretty hard) on a 1965 Jeep CJ5 because the seller was a soft-spoken southern gentleman that I respected in the pulp mill that I worked at. I learned to exercise a bit more discretion after that one. The person who bought the Jeep from me learned in detail the repairs and modifications that I had done to it, as well as what I could piece together from the dubious narrative of the previous owner. After about 6 mo of hard work, that machine was as dependable (and a lot more useful in the woods) as a family car.

berkeman

Fair enough. But please keep an open mind, seek out leaders like that, and be willing to lead by example as a leader yourself. The Golden Rule propagates basically only because a) it seems like the right idea, and b) you see other strong people leading this way. (Oh, and c) because you are occasionally amazed by a creative idea from a leader that helps everybody involved -- greater than zero sum -- great stuff!)

Let me give you a few concrete examples:

** In many parts of the military, the leaders go into combat leading their troops.

** In PD (police department) and related activities, the best officers treat their contacts the way that they would want to be treated. At least up to the point where the contact goes south....

** In ERTs (emergency response teams) that I've served on and am familiar with, the Team Leaders are on point. This is generally because they have the most training and experience, so that makes it most likely that all the good guys/gals will go home safely.

** In my contacts with strangers on the street or whatever, I'll offer them a neutral, helpful attitude, unless the contact goes south....

** In the off-road community (4WD and dirtbikers), we generally stop and check on any stopped vehicles, to be sure that they are okay. And we carry enough tools to help out with the most often-encountered off-road problems (both mechanical and medical). A lot of us have Wilderness First Aid certs as well.

** In the scuba diving community, ditto....

** In the Neighborhood Watch community, ditto.....


Quiz Question for everybody -- What example can you add? What are some good examples from your personal experiences in life that show how important and real the Golden Rule can be?....

Crosson

Surely you must admit that there is a difference between eating chocolate cake, and thinking of eating chocolate cake. The actual impressions of tasting and smelling and seeing the dessert are always much more vivid then can be a 'fantasy' indulgence. I never get bored, I enjoy life and no matter how predictable something is there is no way for me to 'predict' the impressions of experiencing it.