Forget the Golden Rule, Says Philosopher A.C. Grayling September 17, 2011

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/05/22/A_C_Grayling_The_Good_Book

Philosopher A. C. Grayling, author of The Good Book: A Humanist Bible, discusses why the biblical Golden Rule isn't necessarily the best model for morality. "Doing unto others" isn't always the best policy, he explains, because people's desires vary and only in accepting these differences can one truly lead "the good life."

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British philosopher and public intellectual AC Grayling is considered the "nice guy" amongst the world's leading "anti-religion" advocates ... less cool and clinical than Richard Dawkins and more polite than Christopher Hitchens. Now, the mild-mannered atheist author has created a secular Bible, distilling the wisdom of the great non-religious traditions as a guide for life.

When it comes to God, Grayling is doggedly opposed. But he doesn't put his book in the same league as Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Hitchens' "God Is Not Great". It doesn't attack religion and is unfailingly optimistic, for one. But that doesn't mean it won't upset many Christians.

"The Good Book" is a manifesto for rational thought, but mirrors the Bible in both form and language. Grayling explains he has spent several decades on his ambitious project, distilling what he considers "the best that has been thought and said by people who've really experienced life, and thought about it". - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

A.C. Grayling is professor of philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a fellow of the World Economic Forum and the author of Meditations for the Humanist.