Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Where the Father is a matter of dialectics, of faith or of logic

Abstract

This article proposes a reflection on the function of the Father within the Christian triad — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — in light of Hegelian dialectics and Lacanian psychoanalysis. It traces the trajectory from the mythical Father to the symbolic one, culminating in its relativization within the real, thereby interrogating both the centrality and fragility of this figure in contemporary times. The articulation between Hegel and Lacan, mediated by Slavoj Žižek, reveals how negativity and void constitute the subject as well as the very concept of the Father, whose symbolic function proves indispensable, albeit emptied of substance. Lacanian topology, alongside Hegelian dialectics, offers conceptual tools through which the figure of the Father can be reconsidered within contemporary culture and subjectivity.