
4 CORE: The Universal Teachings of Humanity's Wisdom Traditions
by Michael Simon Baker
Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Comparative Religion, PhilosophyPublished: 1 February 2026
Drawing from Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Mormonism, author Michael Simon Baker identifies four ethical principles that appear consistently across all of them: reciprocity, compassion, justice, and humility. His argument is that these principles were not preserved because they were spiritually appealing. They were preserved because they work.