Is there some sort of mind-independent moral fact that must behavior ought correspond to? No. — antinatalautist
Read The Selfish Gene by Dawkins. He shows that cheaters don't make out as well as the non-cheaters in any human society. — Harry Hindu
Perhaps, the main reason is that to apply the golden rule, the person has to be already in some sense 'enlightened' or capable of self-love. After all, self-love is prior to treating another with kindness and empathy. — Posty McPostface
Why should I not hold others to a population wide standard of moral behavior, while personally opting out of it. I get the best of best worlds. People choose not to steal from me, and yet I choose to steal from them. Is there a god saying we all ought act in x particular way? Is there some sort of mind-independent moral fact that must behavior ought correspond to? No. — antinatalautist
The Golden Rule mistakenly assumes that everyone likes being treated the same way. — creativesoul
Yes. — creativesoul
Kant's work, 2nd Critique, Critique of Practical Reason, for Kantian Ethics added sanity to the Golden Rule. Note Critique of Practical Reason, Wikipedia — DrOlsnesLea
Everyone wants to be treated respectfully, no?The Golden Rule mistakenly assumes that everyone likes being treated the same way. — creativesoul
I think this is great, but does it imply a moral duty to oneself, or a duty of benevolence to others?
Would such a benevolence be prescribed by the universal law? Do we want e.g. a duty to charity prescribed as a law? And why would a law need to prescribe a moral duty to oneself that goes beyond the simple Golden Rule? — TheArchitectOfTheGods
I could not agree more. This reciprocity of accepting to have done to ourselves how we treated others is inherent in the Golden Rule.As for punitive practices like capital punishment being at variance with the golden rule, I can only say that punitive measures come into play only after a moral code is violated. For this discussion it means that all punishment are simply consequences of the golden rule being broken. To hope for some form of reprieve from a death sentence incurred by moral transgression, invariably involving breaking the golden rule, by appeal to very same rule one has just breached may require a level of compassion our fellow humans simply don't possess. In short, once a moral code has been violated, the culprit loses the protection offered by the golden rule. — TheMadFool
I think the Golden Rule can work effectively only in democratic society under rule of law and an independent judiciary. If a tyrant can exempt himself from suffering the consequences of the rule, then it will break down. That is why even though the idea persists, it can be put into effective practice only in parts of the world. And even in democratic countries with independent judiciary, the rule is diluted by mercy justice, which exactly exempts the perpetrators from the consequences of the actions they have done to others.I wouldn't call a moral code that transcends social, geopolitical, and culutural borders, as you yourself stated in your opening remarks, a failure. Wouldn't that count as a success story for an idea? — TheMadFool
And on a last note, the laws of deuteronomy that we still observe in practice today in some countries with muslim law, are of course themselves gross violations of the Golden Rule, in that the prescribed punishments are completely out of proportion with the deed, e.g. stoning for adultery. — TheArchitectOfTheGods
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