ABSTRACT
The question asked here implies a reflection on the undeniable waning of the patriarchal nucleus in our Western societies. Does this waning and change inevitably lead to a collapse of the paternal function as that which inscribes the subject into a symbolic line of descent, the succession of generations, and culture? Put differently, do the changes in social and imaginary representations of fathers irremediably affect the symbolic function of the father as Freud described it? Should we not stop confusing the transmission of a “paternal cultural” with a contested and contestable predominance of the masculine in our time?
