Golden Rule LO8510

Bruce Winston (brucwin@regent.edu)
Tue, 16 Jul 1996 07:29:42 -0400 (EDT)

Replying to LO8501 --

I enjoyed reading the dialogue on the Golden Rule. The Greek from which we
translate "Do unto others as you would have them done unto you" carries a
richer translation than we can quickly summarize in English. The passage
translates into a concept of treating people with an attitude of love and
concern that you would desire to be used toward to you. The Greek does not
imply specific behaviors (thus we do not become the Judge of "What" we
believe someone wants us to do, but rather "How" someone would want us to
approach our interaction. An earlier message thread on this subject
implied that the Golden Rule emerges out the the commandment to "Love
others as you love yourself." This is an appropriate concept. If you love
someone (the Greek is agapao that translates into a concept of moral love
-- doing what is right because it is the right thing to do and when many
actions are suitable in a given situation doing what the other person
would want us to.

I heard someone once say that we would better translate the Golden Rule as
"Do unto others as they would have you do unto them." This was then called
the Platinum Rule.

In the workplace we can use the concept of agapao (moral love) to guide
our actions. We would not treat someone in a manner that would hurt them,
even if they asked for the condition. However, if we consider the needs,
wants, and desire of others in relationship to the needs of the
organization, we can behave in effective and "platinum" ways.

-- 

Bruce Winston <brucwin@regent.edu>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>