Table of Contents
1.Introduction: The Golden Rule--One or Many, Gold or Glitter?
I. HISTORIES OF THE GOLDEN RULE
2.A Confucian Path from Conscientiousness to Spontaneity
3.From Greek Reciprocity to Cosmopolitan Idealism
4.A Jewish Rule of Wisdom
5.A New Testament Rule of Divine Love
6.A Theological Principle [in medieval and reformation theology]
7.Modern Objections and Responses: From the Religious to the Secular [in early modern European philosophy]
8.The Golden Rule of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man [in late 19th and early 20th century American
society]
9.In the Other Person's Shoes [psychological research on the development of empathy]
10.A Principle of Consistency in Moral Decision Making [20th century English and American ethics]
11.A Principle of Sensitivity and Respect [20th century European ethics]
12.Twentieth-Century Religious Interpretations
II. AN ETHICS OF THE GOLDEN RULE
13.The Golden Rule in a Philosophy of Morality
14.Religious Dimensions of the Golden Rule
As themes recur throughout the book, you are invited to consider several questions. First, mind situations in which you have
experienced being treated well and situations in which you have observed others being treated well.
How do YOU want to be treated? (Take time to think how
you have been well treated by others, how you like to be treated, including by
those who made sacrifices that benefit you directly and indirectly.)
What really happens when you put yourself in another person's shoes?
Is the golden rule good advice in business?
What will motivate people to live by the rule?
How do the meanings of the rule differ in Confucian, Jewish, Christian, and secular contexts?
Can the golden rule symbolize the best of each culture's moral tradition while emphasizing what people can find in common?
If you would like to order a copy, The Golden Rule is published by Oxford University Press (1996).
paperback, list $35.00, ISBN 019-511036-6
Order from Oxford:
http://www.oup.com/us/?view=usa or
www.amazon.com .