GOLDEN RULE ETHICS AND COMPLEMENTARY LEARNING PROCESS WITH THE OTHER: FROM CONFUCIUS' AND CHRISTIAN APPROACHES TO HATATAS' APPROACH

Through the development of a comparative analysis that explores the conceptions of the Golden Rule that are expressed in the teachings of Confucius, Christianity and the Hatatas, the article shows that the combined insights that emerge from these three teachings have a contemporary significance in the attempt to develop a complementary learning process with the Other. Throughout its variations, the Golden Rule is grounded on the need to treat others as how we want to be treated. Such a moral vision occupies a central importance in Confucius's ren, Christianity's Gospel of Matthew and the commandments, and the Hatatas' principle of harmony. The comparative exercise in contending conceptions of the Golden Rule that are found in Confucius', the Christian and the Hatatas' approaches leads into the emergence of a learning process that goes beyond the mere tolerance of the Other. In a globalized world, where there is a search for a moral guideline that can serve as a common source of motivation, the Golden Rule can serve as a foundation of a process of learning that is mutually supportive, supplementary and is hence complementary.