Treat others as you would like to be treated. The golden rule appears in almost every religious and ethical tradition. Confucius said it in the Analects: do not do to others what you would not want done to you. Hillel said it to a convert: that which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. Jesus said it in the Sermon on the Mount: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The rule is simple, memorable, and widely shared.

Philosophers have noted problems. What if you enjoy being treated in ways others do not? A masochist would not want to be treated gently. The rule assumes that others want what you want, which is not always true. Responses include the platinum rule: treat others as they would like to be treated. That respects difference but raises new questions about how to know what others want. The golden rule also appears in Kantian ethics, in the requirement to treat humanity as an end, and in utilitarianism, in the demand to consider everyone's happiness equally. It is not a complete ethical theory, but it is a powerful starting point.

Versions of the rule

• Positive. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• Negative. Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.
• Platinum. Treat others as they would like to be treated.
• Kantian. Treat humanity as an end, never merely as a means.

The golden rule is not a formula. It is a reminder that other people matter as much as you do.