Families of Virtue

Confucian and Western Views on Childhood Development

Erin M. Cline

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9780231539043
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Eastern Philosophy

Families of Virtue articulates the critical role of the parent–child relationship in the moral development of infants and children. Building on thinkers and scientists across time and disciplines, from ancient Greek and Chinese philosophers to contemporary feminist ethicists and attachment theorists, this book takes an effective approach for strengthening families and the character of children.

Early Confucian philosophers argue that the general ethical sensibilities we develop during infancy and early childhood form the basis for nearly every virtue and that the parent–child relationship is the primary context within which this growth occurs. Joining these views with scientific work on early childhood, Families of Virtue shows how Western psychology can reinforce and renew the theoretical underpinnings of Confucian thought and how Confucian philosophers can affect positive social and political change in our time, particularly in such areas as paid parental leave, breastfeeding initiatives, marriage counseling, and family therapy.

INDEX

Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.

AAP. See American Academy of Pediatrics

Acevedo, Marcela C., 226–27

adolescence: competence of, 309n11; women in, 199, 310n13. See also boys; childhood; children; early childhood; girls; parent-child relationships; teens; youth

adults, 52

affection: for family, 147, 245; love and, 223–24, 245

African-American children, 313n14

Aid to Families with Dependent Children, 196

Ainsworth, Mary, 220–21

Alcohol, 193, 212, 310n17

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 268

Ames, Roger, 301n10

Analects (Lunyu), xviii, 3, 36, 286, 296n3, 296n5; commentaries and passages in, 43–50, 234–35, 297n17, 301n5, 301nn7–8; on early moral cultivation, 43–50, 301n5, 301nn7–8; on filial piety, 4, 8–16, 43–44, 297n25; on moral cultivation, 4, 7–16, 298n28; on path of self-cultivation, 7–8, 297n11; on ritual propriety, 6–7, 49–50, 72–73, 301n5; ritual texts of, 58

approval, 18

Aquinas. See Thomas Aquinas

Aristotle, xi–xii, xviii, 109; on childhood, 104; on ethics, 101–2, 104, 107–8; on family, 101–2, 105–8; on fathers, 105–6; on filial piety, 101–7, 304n7, 304n9; on friendships, 108; on moral cultivation, 103–5; on mothers, 105–6, 304n7; on state, 304n7; Thomas Aquinas and, 117

Asian-American, 258

Athens, 98–99

Attachment (Bowlby), 218

Attachment theory: mother-infant, 218–22, 226–28, 311n33; NFP and, 228–36, 311n33, 311n36, 311nn38–39; parent-child relationships and, 218–35, 310nn24–25, 311n33, 311nn28–31; patterns of, 222

attitudes, 6; changing, 67, 302n26; emotions and, 15; toward family, 245

attributive personhood, 214

Augustine: on children, 114–15; on God, 114–17; on moral cultivation, 114–17, 305n14; on mothers, 116–17; on parents, 116–17; writings of, 114–17

Australia, 192

authority, 155

Baofu, 40, 60–62, 90

Bao Xian, 46

behaviors, 125, 201, 306n22; changing, 67, 302n26; of elders, 46–47; emotions, health and, 220, 311n28; Olds on changing, 200–203, 310n15; organization of, 219; physical, 109; of youth, 46–47

Bell, Daniel, 288n48

benevolence: of government and...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents 
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• I: What Did Early Confucian Philosophers Think About Parent–Child Relationships, Early Childhood, and Moral Cultivation?
• II: How Are Early Confucian Views of Parent–Child Relationships, Early Childhood, and Moral Cultivation Distinctive, Compared with Views in the History of Western Philosophy?
• III: Why Do Confucian Views of the Relationship Between Parent–Child Relationships, Early Childhood, and Moral Cultivation Warrant Serious Consideration, and What Can They Contribute to Our Understanding of These Areas?
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index