A whole special object theory of Filial Obligations

Until recently little philosophical attention has been paid to ethical issues arising within the family. This has changed in the past few decades, and a growing body of literature has developed on the obligations that exist within families. However, one area of family ethics that remains under-theorized is the nature of children's obligations to their parents. What, if anything, do children owe their parents? And, on what parts of the filial relationship are obligations based.



My argument runs along three major lines that correspond to the chapters of this dissertation. In the first chapter, I claim that the two dominant theories of filial obligation, the friendship theory and the gratitude theory, have serious flaws. Both theories fail to account for a significant part of the filial relationship.