The Golden Rule - where did it come from?

Question

Did this concept evolve? When and where did the 'law of reciprocity' first show itself?

There must be some point of origin, right?

Also, does it point to some objective moral standard?

Leviticus was likely written about 1400 BC - anything earlier?

'australopithecines?' Anything supporting that the Golden Rule was established millions of years ago?

'common sense' is subjective though isn't it? So is empathy. Both are based on societal norms, right?

Dear reader, please check answer 31 - thetaalways did some heavy lifting.

And good to see h..brian gave his source.

I appreciate all of the answers - good comments.

Answer 1

Difficult to know exactly the source of this. The oldest written record of wisdom or "sacred lore" goes back about 10,000 years and appears in Asia (The East) as the Veda, or Vedic Hymns. (There may well be other sources but no written records exist.)
This is a great body of work, the basis of Dhyanic and Buddhistic tradition. Very little of it has been translated from Sanskrit because it consists of some 125,000 to 150,000 volumes.
The principles known as Buddhism include these concepts like, love thy neighbor, abstain from the use of force. In the Dharma-Parda it states:
"By oneself evil is done.Byoneself one suffers.By oneself evil is left undone. By oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself.No one can purify another"
So you can see how this wisdom would generate the Golden Rule .
These concepts appeared in Asia Minor about the time of Christ. The parables in the New Testament are discovered earlier in may places. One example is the Egyptian Book of The Dead, which predates the N.T. This is the same concept, love thy neighbor, be civilized etc.

It's not so much a moral standard as it is a wise code of conduct to assist mankind in his hope for spiritual freedom. Since he by his unwise acts creates his own suffering.

Answer 2

No evidence for idea origins... likely at least back to the australopithecines, as they were highly collaborative.
( i.e. ~4.5 Million years ago, as an idea. )
( Maybe ~40,000 - 50,000 ya as words. )

[Edit]: Errrr... I specifically stated that there is *NO Evidence for origins of ideas* ... Like language, there can be no fossil or other evidence. I further stated my rationale "as they were highly collaborative". So if I need to be more specific, I'll try with a scenario where one member of a group kills another, then another... I suspect there would be severe ramifications as he was not at all following the ethic of reciprocity. To me, this seems a self-evident possibility (not truth) and I could likely give many other possible scenarios. Make sense? (As a possibility (or more), it does to me.)

Re Your Email (Thanks, BTW)...
You Stated: "I haven't formalized my view, but my basic idea is that the Golden Rule cannot have evolved."

Wow. How can you come to *that* one? Even if I'm out to lunch with A-pith, Genus Homo has been here for ~2.5 M and H. sapiens for 800 K Years. And we - H. sapiens sapiens - have been solid for the last 130,000 years. That is, we have not appreciabley changed for 130 K - same physique, same brain, basically the same everything but knowledge.

I asserted that A-pith was collaborative, but H.s.s *IS* us - surely we needed reciprocity. We cared for the aged, we hunted en masse and divided chores thruout the community. I can't see us NOT needing a Golden Rule mentality.

But let's say all that's garbage, too - language has been around (we speculate) for maybe 40 - 50 K, but let's say it's only been around for ~12K. Agriculture began in the Fertile Crescent around 10 K ya, are you speculating even by then there'd be no thoughts of reasonable reciprocity? I really can't see that.

Truth be told, I see it being one of the VERY FIRST concepts crafted by language, at the very latest, again because of our collaborative nature. Anyways, my $.02.

Thanks for the 'hats off' - It's *all* fascinating stuff to think about.

Answer 3

Many Christians naïvely believe that Jesus invented the concept, but the ethic of reciprocity clearly antedates Christianity and even Judaism. The phrasing has evolved over time, but this fundamental moral principle is itself quite old, existing in innumerable cultures. It is the essence of fair play.

"Give to every human being every right that you claim for yourself." ~ Col. Robert Green Ingersoll

Answer 4

Some things really are so old they are lost in antiquity. This is one. Just about every culture has an interpretation of this rule.

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Leviticus 19:18

Socrates: "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you."

Confucius: "Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself."

Yes, I think it is basically a hard-wired moral standard, which may indeed go back to earliest man. A basic notion of playing fair.

Answer 5

Religious groups differ greatly in their concepts of deity, other beliefs and practices. Non-theistic ethical and philosophic systems, like Humanism and Ethical Culture, also exhibit a wide range of beliefs. But there is near unanimity of opinion among almost all religions, ethical systems and philosophies that each person should treat others in a decent manner. Almost all of these groups have passages in their holy texts, or writings of their leaders, which promote this Ethic of Reciprocity. The most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

One result of this Ethic is the concept that every person shares certain inherent human rights, simply because of their membership in the human race. People are individually very different; they come in two main genders; different sizes, colors, and shapes; many races; three sexual orientations; and different degrees of ability. They follow many religious and economic systems, speak many languages, and follow many different cultures. But there is a growing consensus that all humans are equal in importance. All should enjoy basic human rights. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is one manifestation of this growing worldwide consensus.

Answer 6

Actually, I think it is such a simple and obvious lesson, that it has been realized and espoused at many disparate points in history, in the absence of knowledge of the others. It's probably a safe bet that some early hunter-gatherer was the first person to vocalize the lesson.

Answer 7

The Golden rule was a common piece of wisdom that most people thought went without saying in the old days. Jesus put new emphasis on it. It's kind of like how we know we shouldn't pee on the third rail. Centuries from now people will wonder about that.

I will ring your doorbell and run away!!!

Answer 8

It comes from people realizing that it is easier to live and let live than to keep trying to take advantage of each other.

Recent studies have shown that our instinct for compassion is much deeper in our primitive brain than previously thought. Most animals, even non-congretory animals, will set boundaries that each will more or less respect. There is a distinct survival advantage to cooperation and it is built rather deeply into us for that reason.

Answer 9

Empathy caused us to start valuing other people's feelings, and that gave birth the the Golden Rule.

Empathy evolved.

Answer 10

Ancient Egypt