652. The Tit-For-Tat Meta Addition To The Golden Rule
"The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is a maxim,[1] ethical code or morality[2] that essentially states either of the following:
(Positive form of Golden Rule): One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.[1]
(Negative form of Golden Rule): One should not treat others in ways that one would not like to be treated (also known as the Silver Rule)."
Like expressed above, the golden rule is quoted often. But for people using the tit-for-tat strategy as a basis of interacting, the following is an important logical consequence of the golden rule:
Do not blame others for treating you the same way, as you have treated them before.
The tit-for-tat strategy does not suit morals, which are openly or even subtly influenced by a christian background of society. Even rational non-religious people are often under this impact without being aware of this.
Christianity promises the reward in the afterlife as a compensation for the acceptance of suffering, for unconditional forgiving, for turning the other cheek. This is inconsistent with the tit-for-tat strategy, which chooses reactions to behavior as mirroring this behavior.
Some people misunderstand the tit-for-tat strategy as a way of being vindictive. This is not the case.
- Non-criminal vengeance is an emotional behavior. Under limited circumstances it can be a way of finding relief from suffering helpless outrage as the victim of a transgression.
- The tit-for-tat strategy is a rational way of maintaining a balance of giving and receiving and of preventing disruptive imbalances.
Vengeance can even be an apparently paradoxical reaction to following the christian demands under social pressure and misguidance while not being intrinsically agreeing. Following these christian demands can lead to an extremely unbalanced situation of one person taking advantage and one suffering until a breaking point is reached.
The tit-for-tat strategy can prevent this, because it leads to both persons involved reaching a point of ending a futile situation much earlier, This does not escalate until one suffers enough to feel vindictive, when both do not gain any advantage.
But tit-for-tat only works, when both agree on and are aware of its justification. When one persons uses tit-for-tat, but the other expects christian submission to and compliance with bad treatment, then this leads to disruptive and unstable interactions.
