Steven Pinker Quotes

Slowly and painfully man is learning that he must do unto others what he would have them do to him.

If you ask anyone, what is morality based on? These are the two factors that always come out: One is reciprocity, … a sense of fairness, and the other one is empathy and compassion.

Do not do unto others what would not be good for yourself.

Treat the world the way you want to be treated.

The measure of civilized behavior is compassion.

Compassion is aptly summed up in the Golden Rule, which asks us to look into our own hearts, discover what gives us pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else. Compassion can be defined, therefore, as an attitude of principled, consistent altruism.

Tsze-Kung asked, “Is there one word with which to act in accordance throughout a lifetime?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

Try to do unto others as you would have them do to you, and do not be discouraged if they fail sometimes. It is much better that they should fail than you should.

To be good and to do good-that is the whole of religion.

Human decency is not derived from religion. It precedes it.

Stand up for your principles, but be a decent human being while you're doing it.

What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others.

In every case, we ought to act that part towards another, which we would judge to be right in him to act toward us, if we were in his circumstances and he in ours; or more generally - What we approve in others, that we ought to practise in like circumstances, what we condemn in others we ought not to do.

Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.

The Golden Rule will always be good advice!

I believe in the Golden Rule. I believe in practicing it.

Let everyone regulate his conduct... by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us, and the path of duty will be clear before him.

I'm going to tell you what my religion is. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Period. Terminato. Finito.

In nearly every religion I am aware of, there is a variation of the golden rule. And even for the non-religious, it is a tenet of people who believe in humanistic principles.

May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.

Do not unto others that which is hateful unto thee.

How you treat the helpless is the real test of morality. Lots of people are flunking that test big time.

Human dignity can be achieved only in the field of ethics, and ethical achievement is measured by the degree in which our actions are governed by compassion and love, not by greed and aggressiveness.

universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.

I grew up with the thought that I wanted to treat people the way I'd like to be treated, and I think if you do that, it's pretty hard to go wrong.