Filial Piety

A key difference of the aboriginal culture and the Chinese culture is the difference in the foundation ideology of power system, especially the respect for elders. Confucianism, as part of Chinese defining culture, requires ‘filial piety’ meaning the

5 Honor your father and mother, Filial piety (par excellence) 4 Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, Cultural piety (an extension of filial piety, deference to tradition. 1-3 I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods before me, You shall not make yourself and idol, You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God. This is theistic piety a devotion to the divine, commitment to the unity of God and the injunction against the innovation of new Gods, in the form of false idols. ("Humble piety," 2010) The Commandments and the fulfillment of those duties that are required by God are terms generally referred to the reverence of God with an emphasis in Judaism. “Piety means acting in one’s personal life primarily in accord with religious principles and values.” ("Humble piety," 2010) The ancient forms of piety overshadow the philosophical faith at the defining core of the Jewish religion.

The final stage is the “family in later life”. During this stage, individuals must accept the shifting of generational roles, as they become the grandparents. They must be able to let go of some power to their offspring as they find their new place in the family system. Dealing with this change while facing potential decline in health, financial security, and loss of spouse can be stressful. Grandparenthood can be a reward substitute (Carter & McGoldrick, 1988, p. 20).

According to the recent studies the older people as compared to the youth are becoming more economically and demographically attractive. However, there are costs of an aging population that the society bears as a whole. (Andrews, 2009)

The literary work entitled Euthyphro, attempts to define the word piety, or justice before the Gods. This leads to a dilemma pertaining to one who thinks that morality comes from God. Euthyphro is looking for the definition of the word piety, as the word itself seems to be incapable of being restricted to one understanding. In this essay I will describe the different given definitions of piety, argue the best definition given by Socrates, and analyze and criticize the definitions.

An interesting contrast is provided by Ancient Rome, where although (or maybe because) the average life expectancy was only 25, there were some citizens who lived to see 70. These elders were prized members of the community….but ONLY if they lived a virtuous life. The older members of the community were expected to act with dignity and moderation at all times. Only by demonstrating a life worth honoring would older members be honored by being regarded as the very best of teachers, by being sought out as a life mentor, and by seeking for advice for many of life’s

Elders are vital members within their communities and anticipated to fulfill essential roles such as those of mentors, cultural transmitters, providers of care for grandchildren, and civic and religious leadership (Ramos & Wright, 2010). Cultural values of collectivism and communal orientation can serve as a protective factor in alleviating distress” (Furman et al.,

Improved quality of life, quick and easy access to health care along with medical advances help Japan’s aging population enjoy an increased life expectancy, so much so that the Japanese older population is outnumbering the younger

Social aging is referring to the changes in individual’s roles and relationship in the society as they age. There are many different theories concerning sociological aging. Social theories on aging examine the relationship between individual experiences and social institutions e.g., aging and retirement; aging and institutional care; aging and government policy etc (Barkan 2012). All have limitations, and some can be considered more than others when attempting to understand social changes in aging. Also individuals move through life surrounded by social support system. Some theories of aging such as, role theory, activity theory, modernization, etc. consist of different ways older adults transition through life such as, networks of relatives, friends, and organization that help provide emotional support and help in managing activities in daily living.

If natural filial piety were expressed in the family from the very beginning, conflict would have no means to arise. Thus, filial piety exists naturally and so should it be expressed.

The Classic of Filial Piety is a highly influencial piece of art from acient China that many use, along other acient Chinese arts, to portray how art in China was effected by the beliefs and events surrounding the artist. However, not many mention on how it was a major factor in influencing China to accept painters and paintings as arts that could be used for artists to express themselves, thus being both affected by the current events and being the event that affected other arts. The Classic of Filial Piety was painted by Li Gonglin and is different than modern art, mixing both pictures and text. The art was painted in the Northern Song Dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279. China was in the later half of the Dynasty, as the painting

Filial piety was an integral part of Chinese culture and therefore was embraced by three of China's main religions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Among the three, Confucianism, with its well documented social hierarchy, supported the ideals of filial piety the most. Buddhism and Daoism also supported filial piety in some of their texts, but had monastic systems that prevented monks and nuns from being filial children.

As there are many aspects of cultures that can be studied and described about the two cultures, only few major aspects of cultural values will be discussed in this paper. One of the major cultural values that can be compared between the two cultures is the Malays rank honesty as first on their list of cultural values whereas the Indians find family as the important aspect in their cultural values.

According to the UN World Health Organization definition of aging over 65 years as "elderly", when the population of a region or country, the ratio of the elderly more than 7%, referred to as "aging society."

Begins with first child leaving home, continues until all kids left, ends with retirement. Middle generation take on a more active role in the family. The elderly generation are faced with major challenges of retirement, widowhood, becoming grandparents, loss of independence. Elderly couples are more martially then parentally oriented as they spend more time with one another and less time being responsible for children. With adequate leisure time, income, good health – the couple can enjoy each other as much as the honeymoon phase. Illness and pending degeneration due to age – cause depression; middle generation left to decide if parent can still care for themselves; financial burden