The world of Confucians

Confucian Filial Piety and Differences With Other Ethical Systems

"Let us consider the case of a filial son who seeks what is beneficial for his parents. Does a filial son who seeks what is beneficial for his parents want other people to care for and benefit his parents or does he want other people to dislike and steal from his parents? According to the very meaning of filial piety, he must want other people to care for and benefit his parents. Given this, how should one act in order to bring about such a state of affairs? Should one first care for and benefit the parents of another, expecting that they in turn will respond by caring for and benefitting one's own parents? Or should one first dislike and steal from other people's parents, expecting that they in turn will respond by caring for and benefitting one's own parents? Clearly one must first care for and benefit the parents of others in order to expect that they in turn will respond by caring for and benefitting one's own parents."

One of the most famous ethical principles of the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucianism is the Golden Rule: 'do unto others as you would have done to yourself.' A specific application of this principle is seen in the above-cited quote. It instructs the reader to treat other people's parents as you would like to have your parents treated. In the Confucian ethical schema, everyone is viewed as existing on a hierarchy, with obligations to others on different levels of society. This creates a harmonious society. When these obligations are ignored, society is in a state of disharmony.

This quote suggests that the Golden Rule is more complicated than treating others as you would like to be treated. It is also necessary to treat members of other people's families with the same reverence as you would treat members of your own family, in the same position. A son should treat the father of another man with deference, because that man is his elder. A mother should exercise the same chiding and watchfulness over a child she sees misbehaving in the marketplace as she would her own misbehaving child at home.

The application of the Golden Rule is counterintuitive to a common Western, individualistic notion that charity begins at home. In Western society, the individual and the nuclear family are viewed as enclosed entities. The responsibilities of the individual to his or her blood relatives are viewed as distinct from the responsibilities owed to strangers, or even members of one's distant family. Few people in American culture would say that they feel the same sense of closeness and affection as they do to their cousins as they feel towards their siblings and parents. In Confucianism, every reciprocal relationship obligation is clearly defined within the family, even in extended family relationships and professional relationships.

The Golden Rule is thus, in many ways, extremely counterintuitive to American principles of individualism, despite the fact that it is often cited within our culture. Taken to its logical extent, it means that 'your' needs and 'your' rights are no more important in the grand scheme of things than the rights of your neighbor. Your obligations to yourself do not surpass those owed to the community; your desire to see your father and mother taken care of does not mean that you can ignore the needs of other older people in the world.