The Golden Rule The Ethics of Reciprocity in World Religions [Paperback]

The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This ethical dictum is a part of most of the world's religions and has been considered by numerous religious figures and philosophers over the centuries. This new collection contains specially commissioned essays which take a fresh look at this guiding principle from a comparative perspective. Participants examine the formulation and significance of the Golden Rule in the world's major religions by applying four questions to the tradition they consider: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it work? How does it matter?

Freshly examining the Golden Rule in broad comparative context provides a fascinating account of its uses and meaning, and allows us to assess if, how and why it matters in human cultures and societies.
The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This ethical dictum is a part of most of the world's religions and has been considered by numerous religious figures and philosophers over the centuries. This new collection contains specially commissioned essays which take a fresh look at this guiding principle from a comparative perspective. Participants examine the formulation and significance of the Golden Rule in the world's major religions by applying four questions to the tradition they consider: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it work? How does it matter?

Freshly examining the Golden Rule in broad comparative context provides a fascinating account of its uses and meaning, and allows us to assess if, how and why it matters in human cultures and societies.

Preface1. Introduction: Parsing Reciprocity: Questions for the Golden Rule, William Scott Green, University of Miami, USA 2. The Golden Rule in Ancient Israelite Scripture, Baruch A. Levine, New York University, USA 3. Alternatives to the Golden Rule: Social Reciprocity and Altruism in Early Archaic Greece, Carolyn Dewald, Bard College, USA 4. The Golden Rule in Graeco-RomlÓ3