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Mohandas Gandhi To many people there are some obvious ethical truths: society should support family life as well as individual self-realization; economic life should include the service motive as well as the profit motive; political life should pursue the good of the planet as well as the interests …

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Pope John Paul II in 1993 Emotional sympathy and moral reason, despite their essential contributions, do not solve every moral problem. We can be well attuned emotionally and well informed, but sometimes our best thinking does not find the answer, and we spontaneously reach out for higher wisdom. …

Continue Reading about The principle of the practice of the family of God

Immanuel Kant If the first level of morally active living to treat others with consideration for their feelings, as you want others to do to you, the next level is rule of reason. Treat others in accord with reason, as you want others to do to you. This level of the golden rule can be more …

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“Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.” The advice is familiar. This practice is often associated with the golden rule of treating others as we want to be treated; but we rarely think how the advice should be interpreted. There are two mistakes to avoid. First mistake: Assume that imagining …

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The good Samaritan stopping to help an injured stranger It’s fascinating how many people don’t think much about morality. Morality is not trending. In popular media the word “morality” has overtones of being repressive, stuffy, outdated, smelling of religious authority, standing in need of sexual …

Continue Reading about The golden rule of sympathy