This is a linkpost for https://ealifestyles.substack.com/p/filial-piety-and-ea
"And perhaps our faithful attendance to our parents can make us better at caring for strangers. Respecting our parents can give us the skills to treat everyone with dignity (no matter how frustrating or undeserving they might occasionally seem); it can teach us to give generously while still setting boundaries; caring for our parents allows us to see the impact of our giving and adjust when we make mistakes. Perhaps our altruism can also make us better children."
Thanks for writing this; I am definitely interested in perspectives on what influence (if anything) people feel the ideals of the EA movement should have on one's personal family/community life.
The modern American culture that I grew up in is at a low ebb in terms of filial piety, which is /mostly/ fine by me (more individual freedom for people to do whatever!) but which I worry might be sabotaging not only people's connection to the past, but also to their children and to the future in general. Per a comment of mine on Gwern's post "The Narrowing [Moral] Circle":
I'm glad to see this being talked about; I'm glad to see non-western cultures exploring what they can make of EA.
For me, Filial Piety is the other 'F word' - I have seen it used to normalize a level of abusiveness towards children that, even in the context of typing a post from the comfort of my home, is making me furious.
And yet, I recognise it seems to be part of the recipe that empowers collectivism in Asian cultures, that has protected them from the Randian individualist race to the bottom that Western cultures are engaged in.
No good answers, no conclusion, no clear message; reality is messy, don't romanticise ideals.