Recent Approaches to Confucian Filial Morality
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Abstract A hallmark of Confucian morality is its emphasis on duties to family and kin as weighty features of moral life. The virtue of ‘filiality’ or ‘filial piety’ ( xiao ), for example, is one of the most important in the Confucian canon. This aspect of Confucianism has been of renewed interest recently. On the one hand, some have claimed that, precisely because it acknowledges the importance of kin duties, Confucianism should be seen as an ethics rooted in human nature that remains a viable system of morality today. On the other hand, some have argued that the extreme emphasis on filial duties is precisely the aspect of Confucian moral philosophy that ought to be jettisoned in favor of greater impartialism; without mitigating its emphasis on filial piety, Confucianism risks irrelevance to modern concerns. In this study, I will outline the nature of filial morality in the Confucian tradition and discuss these recent contributions to the literature.
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Sarkissian (2010) notes that for Confucius the family is the first unit to introduce normative notions into an individual's psychological fabric, forming basic dispositions and patterns of reflection and response that color the rest of the person's moral phenomenology.
“As Sarkissian (2010) notes, for Confucius “family is the first unit to introduce normative notions into an individual’s psychological fabric, forming the basic dispositions and patterns of reflections and response that will color the rest of the person’s moral phenomenology”.”
From Filial Piety, Generativity and Older Adults’ Wellbeing and Loneliness in Denmark and China (2022) · cites this paper as Sarkissian (2010)
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Filial Piety, Generativity and Older Adults’ Wellbeing and Loneliness in Denmark and China
Ren, P., Emiliussen, J., Christiansen, R., Engelsen, S., & Klausen, S. H. (2022) · Applied Research in Quality of Life · doi:10.1007/s11482-022-10053-z · Cited by 62 · see citing works
- Authors
- Sarkissian, H.
- Affiliations
- Baruch College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sarkissian, Hagop
- ORCID
- Sarkissian, Hagop
- Venue
- Philosophy Compass
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-09
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 725-734
- ISSN
- 1747-9991 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1798692773
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 5.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- philarchive.org
- Locations
- Philosophy Compass (publishedVersion)
- PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Chinese history and philosophy
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Philosophy and Ethics
- Keywords
- Confucianism, filial piety, family ethics, impartialism, human nature, ethics, modern relevance of Confucianism
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