We learned that we must be responsible and help others. Hopefully, this help will come back. This hope of the help coming back must remain hope. In other words, the coming back of the help must not be the motivation of helping others, because motivation connotes precondition. When coming back of the help becomes a motivation, it means that one will help only if others will help that one in return. By being responsible and helping others without making the coming back of the help as motivation, we can see the purity or the innocence, in a good sense, in this ethical reasoning.
Since childhood, we knew Confucius’ Golden Rule, which is “Do not do unto others what you do not want others do unto you.”, but do you know that there is at least three levels of understanding Confucius’ Golden Rule? (I will only be giving three levels of understanding Confucius’ Golden Rule, because I only know three as of now. After reading this blog post, you might even come up with more levels of understanding.) However, sadly, many understand Confucius’ Golden Rule in lower level. This lower level can be shown in a situation like this. One must not punch others, because one does not want others to punch one. This is problematic. This means that one must not punch others, because one does not want the bad consequence of punching others. In other words, it is the bad consequences of punching others that prevent one from punching others. Where are the good morals and right conduct then?
If we say, “One must not punch others, because it is against good morals and right conduct.”, where then does the second part of Confucius’ Golden Rule go? Thus, Confucius’ Golden Rule must be applied on beliefs, such as religion and politics. This is what I refer to as understanding Confucius’ Golden Rule in intermediate level. This intermediate level can be shown in a situation like this. One must not spread beliefs, especially those one does not agree with, in pressuring ways, just like how one does not want others to spread beliefs, especially those others does not agree with, in pressuring ways to us. Here, we are able to prevent understanding Confucius’ Golden Rule in terms of actions and consequences.
Is that all? Applying the purity and innocence in the ethical reasoning seen in the first paragraph of this blog post, we can then understand Confucius’ Golden Rule in higher level. This higher level can be shown in a situation like this. One must not do things, which are against good morals and right conduct, because it is against good morals and right conduct. To know things what one must not do, think of the things what one does not want others to do to one. Here, we are using the second part of Confucius’ Golden Rule as comparison only and not as consequence.
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