The philosophy of symbiosism designates the rational, and therefore universal, principles of human behavior for living together in peace, security, and happiness. The name has been coined by the author from the combination of three common terms: a prefix, "sym-," meaning "together"; a root and combining form, "bios," meaning "mode of life"; and a suffix, "-ism," meaning doctrine or adherence to a system of principles. The need for a common morality arises from the present ubiquitous condition and rapidly increasing awareness of mutual dependency among human beings. Symbiosism is synthesized from moral traditions of various religions and philosophies of both the West and the East and comprises four moral philosophies: the ethics of noninjury, utilitarianism, the ethics of magnanimity, and a new ethics fully developed from the ancient model of the Golden Rule that the author calls "reciprocitarianism."

The author intends for symbiosism to serve as the moral foundation for the cultural and political unification of democratic societies throughout the world. Rather than attempting to introduce a new religious dogma or political platform, symbiosism represents a fresh and wholly rational approach to cultivating one's personal ethics.