We are all human(s). Yet, are we in the same vein ethically human, i.e. do we know that we should act humanely ? The general idea of being humane towards other humans, the ideal of an all-encompassing humanity was developed much earlier in ancient Chinese philosophy than in the middle stoic tradition (Panaitios) in the West. “Ren” (“humanity” or “humanitarianism) was indeed the main idea in Confucianism already (KongZi: Lun Yu XII, 22) , though KongZi (Confucius) himself did rather favour particularly the component of righteousness, rightness or justice in applying this ideal of humanity, relying basically on the well-known Golden Rule (Lun Yu V, 12; XII, 2; XV, 24), i. e. the negative formulation of that formal principle of reciprocity.MoZi (Micius) had extended the reciprocal idea of treating other compatriots in a humane way to all humans, including so-called "barbarians" (i.e. non-Chinese people); all of them were considered addressees of the universalised and generalised “jian ai” (universal love).

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