Freedom to conquer: From the severe father to the benchmark father

The decline of patriarchy, a tragic misunderstanding about the meaning of the paternal function in contemporary Western societies? Quite probably. But also, from a Jungian viewpoint, a difficulty in balancing the notions of creativity and limits, in a world that is constantly driving us to surpass ourselves. Hence the importance to revive a paternal archetype in both men and women, whose function, according to Jung, is to arouse our understanding, to permit movement and creativity, and to promote relationships with other individuals by establishing laws and limits. A paternal function that is capable of linking the difficulty of the duty of consciousness and the need for accepting alterity. A paternal function that is capable of asserting itself as the singular testimony of its own truth, while leaving space for the budding individuality of the son and daughter.