I have not posted new “Ethics Project” material on this site for quite a while. I did return to the subject for a teaching prepared for Yom Kippur, which synthesizes the several approaches to a universal ethic. This is the one-page synthesis.
Toward An Ethic of Respect
And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen 1:27)
You shall love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord. (Lev 19:18)
This requires that we cultivate an attitude or orientation of GENERAL BENEVOLENCE towards all persons, wanting for every person that they attain their highest potential. (Maimonides, Mishna Torah, Human Dispositions, 7; William Barclay, 20th Century.)
That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. (R. Hillel, B. Shabbat 31a)
The first thing I owe my fellow human being, beyond my efforts towards general benevolence, is RESTRAINT; that I do them no harm. Without reliable knowledge of what is best for another, I have the right to use my own likes or dislikes to avoid action that would be hateful to another.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Aristotle, 4th Century BCE; Mahabarata, 3rd Century BCE; Jesus, 1st century CE)
If it is appropriate that I take action toward another, without reliable knowledge of what is best for them, I should act toward them only as I would be willing to have them act toward me in similar circumstances. This is often termed an ethic of reciprocity but, since the reference standard is still one-sided i.e., myself, it is better termed an ethic of CONSISTENCY. The “similar circumstances” clause is a key modification.
Where possible, do unto others as they would have you do unto them. (Popper, K., 1996)
If it is appropriate that I take action toward another, and I have reliable knowledge of what the other person desires, I should give CONSIDERATION to their desire in deciding how to act.
General benevolence requires that, if possible and appropriate, I attempt to understand what the other person desires and whether and how that might contribute to their well-being.
General benevolence also requires that I not allow the desire of the other to breach the self-regard principle; that is, “Treat yourself only as you are willing to have others (especially those you most care about) treat themselves in the same situation.” (Gensler, 2013) The desire of the other does not require that I harm them, myself, or others.
An ethic of respect requires active REFLECTION (cheshbon ha’nefesh)
It is my obligation to consider the actual consequences of my actions. To the extent the actual consequences of my actions are known, I have an obligation to my neighbor to reflect on those consequences, both good and bad, and to consider my future behavior in light of actual experience. [Note the inclusion of good consequences.]
An ethic of respect requires REPAIR of damage done (t’shuvah)
If my actions have caused harm, I must attempt conscientiously to repair that harm.
An ethic of respect requires that I actively consider how to REVISE my behavior to improve on prior good results and avoid repeating behavior that did not have good results.
(c) Charles R. Lightner Yom Kippur 5783