World's Religions -- Social Duty Essay

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As seen in the concept of rectification of names, people can build orderly and harmonious societies when they clearly understand the duties associated with each other of the basic relationships and strive to fulfill their duties to the best of their abilities. The father must rectify or live up to his title by providing for his son's educational and vocational training and teaching them virtue, etiquette and reverence in tradition and authority. (Slavicek, 2002:33)

Confucianism discusses social duty in terms of the family and how the individual's character in dealing with the community is shaped by the family. In the Confucian perspective, the family is the center of all values that the individual would learn and practice as the individual deals with other members of the community. This perspective shows a distinct Eastern philosophical leaning whereby the family is at the fulcrum in explaining the social duty of the person. In Confucianism, social duty starts off with the family and the role that a person must perform in relation to one's position in the family. The family is then reinterpreted from a micro standpoint to a macro standpoint as the individual now function with his or her social duty in relation to a larger family, i.e. As a subject of the ruler for instance.

Taoist principles are manifested in the following verses in terms of social duty. Taoism argued that the wise person does deeds that consist in taking no action and teaches without talking. In order to build a house, level ground is needed. In order to think well, depth is needed. In order for two people to be friends, mutual affection is needed and that in order to succeed in any venture, the right thing is needed. Taoism stated that to perform a task well, appropriate skill is needed. For the social duty in relation to government, Taoism contends that if leaders do not trust their people, their people will not trust them, if they give no trust they will receive none. In terms of the social duty of men and women, Taoism proposed that the female should understand the male yet not imitate him, she should be happy being female.

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(Weyer 2003)

Taoism similar to the other religions discussed emphasizes the development of oneself as a social duty before serving society. It defines clearly one must do. For instance, in terms of genders differences and social roles, men and women do have different social duties based on their gender. Taoism proposes that man and women must be content on their individual strengths and accept the respective weaknesses. In doing so both men and women should know their limitations and try as much as possible to work within a consensus driven type of environment wherein both men and women respect their own capabilities as they perform their social duty.

The four religions' interpretation of social duty is an explicit manifestation of Eastern philosophical thought, that is, the focus on self-reflection. The interpretation of social duty of the four religions is guided by the values of family. As the individual progresses in his or her life, social duty becomes more demanding. As the individual steps outside the family, the individual is duty bound to perform a function that is both ethical and rational to other members of the community. The four religions show that the duty of the person evolves as the person is assigned with more responsibilities as time passes, to oneself and society.

Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism interpret social duty within the context of enriching one's capability through family and the basic doctrines of going beyond one's needs in order for the benefit of the majority. The four religions also emphasizes that one should place less importance on material things and that the individual functions in varying ways. The function of the individual is heavily dependent on the role he/she plays in the family, stages in life and the demands set by society......

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