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Why Does Duty to One's Parents Come Before All Other Duties?
Does love of country, does even a sense of justice toward society, ultimately flow from love of one's parents?
There is no love of country, no piety at all, that does not first flow from love of parents.
Cicero's hierarchy — that love expands from what is near to what is far — sparked a long debate in Western ethics. The Stoic Hierocles schematized this into concentric circles of love, widening from self to family, neighbors, countrymen, and finally all humanity. Enlightenment utilitarians, by contrast, pushed back head-on, arguing that favoring someone merely for nearness is itself unjust, and that all people must be weighed equally from the start. Must love widen outward from what is near, or must it be impartial from the beginning? This question remains a central issue in ethics even now.
Even today, among those who call themselves citizens of the world, this question still asks whether love for humanity rings hollow when love for one's own nearest parent goes unpracticed.
Cicero carefully ranked duties, placing parents at the very top — arguing that even love of country flows from love of parents.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
Cicero carefully ranked duties, placing parents at the very top — arguing that even love of country flows from love of parents. I read this not as belittling patriotism, but as pointing out that a greater love cannot be built while ignoring a smaller one. If someone claims to love humanity yet cannot love their own parents, that claim rings hollow. I remind myself that how I treat those nearest to me is a rehearsal for how I will treat the wider world.
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