The Confucian Filial Obligation and Care for Aged Parents
ABSTRACT: Some moral philosophers in the West (e.g., Norman Daniels and Jane English) hold that adult children have no more moral obligation to support their elderly parents than does any other person in the society, no matter how much sacrifice their parents made for them or what misery their parents are presently suffering. This is because children do not ask to be brought into the world or to be adopted. Therefore, there is a "basic asymmetry between parental and the filial obligations." I argue against the Daniels/English thesis by employing the traditional Confucian view of the nature of filial obligation. On the basis of a distinction between 'moral duty' and 'moral responsibility'
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(9) That is to say, a competent moral agent should be morally responsible for the consequences caused by her consensual action. Compared with moral responsibility, moral duty is another type of "ought/obligation." It does not necessarily depend on the competent moral agent's intentional consent. It is rather determined mainly by what kind of existential situation a moral agent is in and what kind of social role she plays. For example, a normal and healthy person is obligated to yield to a handicapped person because the latter is handicapped. Similarly, a hostess is obligated to show her hospitality to her guests while a stranger is …show more content…
On the one hand, taking good care of one's parents is often seen as a cardinal virtue of a moral person (jun zi) and constitutive of being a good citizen. On the other hand, that all the parents and the elderly received good care from their children in the last years of their lives is taken in Chinese tradition as proof of a good society and a good government. Because of this, Mencius, the second important figure in Confucianism, said that in a good society "a son and a younger brother should be taught their obligation of taking good care of their aged parents. The people with grey hair should not be seen carrying burdens on the street" (Mencius, 1A:7). Otherwise it would be a matter of shame for the children of those elderly persons as well as for the government.
This Confucian tradition of seeing one's taking good care of one's aged parents as a moral duty has been not only reflected in the Chinese moral life but also in the practice of the Chinese laws from the beginning. For example, according to the Chinese Marriage Law, adult children's moral duty of taking respectful care of their aged parents is defined
That also means the children owe their parents for bringing them to life. According to Tu Thu (the set of four canonical books of Chinese literature), Confucius mentions that the most constant source of worry for parents is when their children are sick or painful disease. So the children have to take care of themselves in order to keep away their parents from concern (127). Definitely, the children must keep their bodies healthy to avoid sickness or injuries so that their parents feel peace of mind. In other words, filial piety is the duty of the children to take care of
In her book, The House of Lim, author Margery Wolf observes the Lims, a large Chinese family living in a small village in Taiwan in the early 1960s (Wolf iv). She utilizes her book to portray the Lim family through multiple generations. She provides audiences with a firsthand account of the family life and structure within this specific region and offers information on various customs that the Lims and other families participate in. She particularly mentions and explains the marriage customs that are the norm within the society. Through Wolf’s ethnography it can be argued that parents should not dec5pide whom their children marry. This argument is obvious through the decline in marriage to simpua, or little girls taken in and raised as future daughter-in-laws, and the influence parents have over their children (Freedman xi).
Creating “worlds of their own, with particular kinds of boundaries separating them from the larger world”, families ideally provide encouragement and protection for each of their members (Handel, xxiv). In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, however, the Dursleys and Aunt Marge fail to fulfill their roles as Harry’s primary caregivers. In Russell Hoban’s The Mouse and His Child, the father mouse is unable to give his child all that he needs and longs for. In these two children’s stories, the expectation that families will provide physical support, emotional support, and encouragement for their children is not met.
In the 18th century, China was influenced by various teachings of philosophers and beliefs that the society had placed emphasis on. Filial piety (xiao) was a major practice around this period when it was strongly carried inside and outside the household. Filial piety is not only the guiding principle of Chinese ethics but it also played an affirmative role in determining the Chinese lifestyle; it was practiced daily in the family and in other areas such as education, religion and government. It was the central root of Chinese morals and the society was constructed upon the principles of xiao, which certainly became the premises of Chinese culture and the society. In Confucianism, the approach of respect, fidelity, and care toward one’s parents and elder family members is the origin of individual ethical behaviour and social agreement. One must put the needs of parents and family elders over self, spouse, and children (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011). Many philosophers and rulers such as Mencius and Chu Hsi also focused on filial piety, applying the virtue to marital life, family, death, and politics. Filial piety was demonstrate in various literatures such as “Dream of the Red Chamber”, “Six Records of a Floating Life”, and “The Classic of Filial Piety” which demonstrated the roles of individuals in Chinese society including politics.
In Li’s text, Ren is divided into two aspects: the ren of affection and the ren of virtue. Li focuses on the similarities between ren of affection and the “caring” of care ethics (177). Daniel Star in his critique of Li’s writing focuses his attention on the ren of virtue, citing it as the foundation of Confucian ethics (78). According to Star, care ethics and Confucianism require two very distinctive modes of moral thinking (81). For Confucianism the mode of thinking is in terms of virtue and their cultivation (78) and for care ethics, “care is more than ideal, it is a pre-condition for moral thinking” (82). Star emphasizes that Confucianism may start with care but it ends in virtue (83).
The book, ‘How to Care for Aging Parents’ is authored by Virginia Morris and with a forward by Robert M. Butler. In up-to-date new edition, the author completely revised and expanded over 200 pages of the text, covering the emotional, the legal issues and procedures, the financial aspect of every kind, medical related issues, and logistical related issues in caring for the elderly.
The role of the Chinese family in pre-modern China included thoughts centered on Confucian thought and methods. The Chinese family followed different methods of Confucian thought and the division of family responsibilities in China developed because of it. The original text of Confucius that dictated the roles of filial piety in China did not specify gender dichotomy but the implications led Chinese scholars to distinguish the position of men following filial values from women. Pre-Modern China had the dominative power of dozens of dynasties. Confucianism developed ideologically during the Spring and Autumn Period (722-476BC) as an intellectual movement. Although Confucianism’s beliefs stem from the thought of acceptance involving humanities right to learn and grown through personal understanding and knowledge of outside influences there is a division between the male and female tasks in filial piety. The woman’s place in pre-modern Chinese society always depended on the male figure in the household unless the woman held an elder position. In most cases, women under Confucian control had little direction in life that men did not manage. In this paper, I will discuss the relationship among self, community, society, and the state as well as the gender relations and definitions of public and private spaces between men and women in China.
The common factor amongst all three instances of British Imperialism was Britain’s greed for economic opportunity. Greed is often caused by unjustifiable pride, which Britain undeniably had. England was so willing to achieve various advancements to its own economy that it created long lasting and devastating destruction in three other regions of the world. These countries still face lingering effects from British greed.
The Industrial Revolution, a notable evolution in production technologies and specialized machineries, became one of the main causes of British imperialism. As the need for more advanced materials grew to support the Industrial Revolution, many nations sought foreign territory which could supply their quickly-growing demand. The Industrial Revolution allowed England to develop better weapons, such breech loading rifles and better ships which helped to conquer different territories. In addition, the British started colonizing and taking control of various countries because they provided new trade opportunities and more income for the mainland. Religion and social Darwinism played another major part in this global force, due to a belief that it was “the white man’s burden” to colonize and “modernize” the rest of the world which they saw as developmentally inferior.
The author defined "owe" as a form of obligation that is to be fulfilled unwillingly. In support of her argument she presented the case of friendship. When two people are friends they help each other, but they are not obliged to make their share of sacrifices. She stated that the term "owe" undermines the role of mutuality. "Owe" represents obligations that must be fulfilled irrespective of the person's emotions. Thus, the term "owe" should not be used to refer to a child's duties towards his/her parents.
Throughout history we have seen that family values have been one of the most important aspects of societies around the world. Although these values may be different from one another, we can see that it is a ma...
Gabbard, C., LeBlanc, B., & Lowy, S. (1994). Physical Education for Children: Building the Foundation, 2nd edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, inc.
In conclusion, children who want to see their aging parents happy, they always try to give their parent best atmosphere .Which they only can get at home .However, children should think about their aging parents what do they really want? They only want professional care or a better and happy atmosphere with their family’s every day. It is not necessary children should take care of their elderly parent, but we really need to think about it because parents work their entire lives to support their family and we owe them a lot. So, in my opinion children should be responsible for their aging parents.
For many centuries, Confucianism has been widely revered by the Chinese for its emphasis on morality. Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 BCE, is different to most philosophers in that he showed no interest questioning his existence, the possibility of a God, or the reality that he seemed to live in; instead he focused on the human relations side of philosophy as it was his belief that people should “give (themselves) earnestly to the duties due to men … (and) keep aloof from (spiritual beings)” (Confucius 195). By negating the metaphysical side of philosophy, he was able to devote himself to mold his disciples into ideal gentleman who were morally righteous, and were able to benefit society. He believed in the importance of individuals who knew their roles in an well-structured society, that was a feudal system. In his opinion, the ideal gentleman should be obedient to his elders, have humanness and be morally righteous. Through his teachings, he was able to reform an entire country; the Chinese found Confucianism to embody practices of humaneness that they could apply in their daily lives through his religion.
Everyone is born into some form of family, with the family taking the responsibility of nurturing, teaching the norms or accepted behaviors within the family structure and within society. There are many types of families, which can be described as a set of relationships including parents and children and can include anyone related by blood or adoption. Family is the most important, “for it is within the family that the child is first socialized to serve the needs of the society and not only its own needs” (Goode, 1982).