Roles and relationships in the deconstruction of the nuclear family

Abstract

During the last century the family has seen the progressive passage from a nuclear model to a more complex model, with the re- definition of social and relational dynamics and with the deconstruction of the roles defined by Aristotle and by a large part of the Western philosophical tradition. The recent redefinition of family spaces and relationships has thus radically transformed historically consolidated roles and relations, to the point of questioning the very concept of family and the existential dimension of its members. The liquid society, characterized by more fragile emotional ties and a radical reorganization of work, together with a more mature consideration of women, have shifted the figure of the father from the normative field to the emotional sphere, marking on the one hand the dissolution of the traditional family and on the other the affirmation and rebirth of different organizational models.