The "universal rules" ethical principle states that individuals should never take action that they would not be willing to see others, faced with the same or similar situation, be free to take.

The "universal rules" ethical principle, also known as the "categorical imperative" proposed by philosopher Immanuel Kant, states that actions should be judged based on whether they can be universalized or not. This means that individuals should only act in a way that they would be willing to see others act in similar situations, without any contradiction or inconsistency.