Friday, April 3, 2009

Morality as Harmonic Chord



"Love thy neighbor as thyself" or the golden rule, can be found with
slight variations throughout philosophy and religion, here are a few:
Judaism: “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”, Leviticus 19:18
Islam: “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” Number 13 of Imam “Al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths.”
Native American Spirituality: “All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One.” Black Elk
Shinto: “The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form
Confucianism: “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you” Analects 15:23
Why is this important? Why is morality essential to the fabric of our lives? It prescribes consistency and allows our actions to be in harmony with our desires. It provides an internal compass that we can use to navigate society. How we apply the golden rule, or how we are able to treat others the way we ourselves would like to be treated, tests our moral coherence.
What do YOU think?