为“金规则”辨

Justifying the Golden Rule

学界近年在对“已所不欲,勿施于人”这个中国式的“金规则”的议论中,存在不少误读、误解。择要言之,一是将“金规则”之“金”理解为“道德价值最高”;二是用“知道做不到”质疑、贬低“金规则”;三是以“不同”的存在否证“金规则”;四是认为“金规则”不适合现代社会。然而经过仔细辨析可以发现,这些其实都是不确之语。

There are remarkable wrong understanding and misunderstanding in the discussions concerning the Chinese Golden Rule, 'do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire', in recent academic discussions. To sum up, those wrong understanding and misunderstanding find their expressions in such forms: (1) considering the Golden Ride as something that has the highest moral value; (2) doubting about or even devaluing the Golden Rule with its impossibility in practice; (3) denying the Golden Rule in one way or another; (4) thinking that the Golden Rule is unfit for modern society. However, if we look into these ideas closely, we will be sure to find that they are all untrue.