Famiglie in trasformazione

Abstract

The family, precisely because of its complex nature, is an extraordinarily difficult subject of reflection and research, although paradoxically it appears to the observer as deceptively simple and linear. Sociological, anthropological, historical, and ethnological research has widely demonstrated that the family does not exist in an absolute sense. Rather, there are families and different models of organization that vary not only depending on historical, social, and cultural contexts, but also within those very same contexts. Within the human species, we can certainly recognize a social organization that is perceived as primary and that we call "family," yet it is difficult to provide a definition that satisfies all the various micro-realities. The term “family” itself is polysemic—that is, it refers to multiple meanings and encompasses a wide variety of experiences, affiliations, and relationships, while at the same time excluding many others. Family can therefore be understood as both a physical and symbolic space, as well as the product of a specific social and economic system. At the same time, it may represent a subjective, moral, and religious universe, or even a positive or negative archetype. Families are formed, they grow, shrink, split, dissolve, reconfigure, and transform. Aware of this dynamic nature, in the pages of this contribution, we do not intend to offer an exhaustive discussion on the family. We do not aim to either celebrate it or condemn it as an outdated institution. We are certain that the family still remains, even today, the last line of defense for a humanity increasingly threatened by epochal phenomena, but we are equally convinced that it can no longer be referred to exclusively in the singular.