There was a time when the Name-of-the-Father was a generalized reference point (re-père) that allowed subjects to use it as a support around which they constructed themselves or against which they rebelled. Today, they bypass it, without making use of it.
We are witnessing the evaporation of the father [1]. Taken to extremes, this new paradigm sometimes leaves children alone, at the heart of families that have run out of reference points to offer. There are no limits to the jouissance of parents, nor to that of offspring. Makeshift constructions emerge as possible, bespoke solutions where “ready-to-wear” ones have failed.
In this newsletter, you’ll find the different facets of this polyhedron. In “The ‘Silent’ Part of Foster Care”, Nathalie Morinière shows how giving voice to the symptom helps to pierce the real in order to circumscribe it. Jacqueline Dhéret speaks about the child in the position of object α, upon which families are founded. This same position of object α is highlighted by Marcela Negro in her text “Parentality”, emphasizing the abuse associated with “anything goes”. Antonella Del Monaco discusses the disappearance of the Other as a locus of language insofar as this Other becomes limitless. Finally, Hélène Coppens will give us a little hope by presenting the not-all as a key that opens out to novel bricolages, and as an example, a comic that illustrates the inventions of teenagers struggling with lonely parents.
In this week’s podcast, you can listen to the final episode of François Ansermet’s talk on “Discontents in Procreation”.
Click quickly and discover the gems!
[1] Cf. Miller, J.-A., “Le père devenu vapeur”, Mental 48, november 2023, pp. 13-16.
Proofreading: Robyn Adler
