In light of the distinction between the two kinds of moral obligation, i.

In light of the distinction between the two kinds of moral obligation, i.e., moral responsibility and moral duty, it becomes clear that the filial obligation of adult children to take care of their aged parents belongs to the category of moral duty, which, by its nature, is existential rather than consensual. It is so because the family, which defines the adult children's filial obligation to their aged parents, is basically a natural community rather than a social contractarian community.

As long as the natural family is still one of the basic forms of our social and communal life, the parental and filial obligations…