As Father's Day approaches, many families shall celebrate the men who guided them through childhood, offered protection during uncertainty, and quietly assumed responsibility for burdens that their children never saw. Observing the day becomes less about celebration and more about gratitude. What makes a father?
The question of what it means to be a father has occupied philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and legal scholars for generations.
Developmental psychologists have long observed that fathers contribute uniquely to a child's emotional development, self-confidence, resilience, and social adaptation.
Michael Lamb, one of the leading scholars of fatherhood studies, observed that paternal involvement influences cognitive development, educational attainment, and psychological well-being throughout childhood and adolescence. Fatherhood, therefore, is not simply an event that occurs at birth but an ongoing process of engagement, guidance, and presence.
Similarly, the sociological work of David Blankenhorn described fatherhood as one of society's principal institutions of responsibility. According to this view, the significance of a father lies not merely in genetic parenthood but in the willingness to assume obligations towards the welfare and future of another human being. The measure of fatherhood is therefore found not in authority but in accountability.
Contemporary research has also challenged the simplistic notion that fathers contribute only economic support. Modern studies increasingly recognise fathers as emotional anchors within family life. Their presence has been associated with greater emotional security, improved behavioural outcomes, and stronger interpersonal relationships among children as they mature into adulthood.
The philosopher Michael J Sandel has observed that family relationships introduce obligations which are not freely chosen but nevertheless shape individual identity. Fatherhood exemplifies this principle. A father does not negotiate the duties arising from parenthood as though they were contractual obligations. Instead, fatherhood is characterised by acceptance, stewardship, sacrifice, and continuity.
Perhaps this explains why fatherhood continues to command such universal respect across cultures and legal traditions. The father is often the first example through whom a child encounters discipline, responsibility, perseverance, and protection. He becomes the bridge between one generation and the next, carrying forward family values, memories, traditions, and aspirations.
In this sense, a father is not merely the origin of a life. He becomes one of its principal architects. Long after childhood has passed, the influence of a father frequently survives in the decisions his children make, the values they uphold, and the lives they ultimately build for themselves.
It is therefore unsurprising that legal systems throughout history sought to recognise fatherhood not merely as a biological fact but as a continuing relationship of responsibility.
The law followed society in acknowledging a truth that families have always understood: fatherhood is ultimately measured not by what a father possesses, but by what he gives.
Fatherhood, filiation and the law
Across legal systems and throughout history, the institution of fatherhood has served as one of the principal foundations upon which family relationships, inheritance rights, maintenance obligations, and social stability have been organised.
The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which continues to influence several aspects of family and succession law in Goa, devoted substantial attention to the concept of filiation and parental authority. The Code recognised that every child should possess legal certainty regarding his or her place within the family structure. It accordingly established detailed provisions governing filiation, parental authority, maintenance, guardianship, and succession. The purpose was not merely to identify heirs for the distribution of property, but to preserve continuity between generations and ensure the protection of children within an identifiable family unit. (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, Arts. 101–118).
The Code further conceived parental authority as a protective institution rather than a proprietary one. Article 137 described parental authority as encompassing the governance, protection, education, and administration of matters concerning minor children. The legal relationship between parent and child was therefore founded upon responsibility rather than privilege. In this respect, fatherhood was not viewed as a status to be enjoyed, but as a duty to be discharged. (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, Art. 137).
Historically, Article 138 entrusted the father, during the subsistence of marriage, with the legal representation and defence of minor children before society and before the courts. While modern family law has evolved considerably and recognises the equal importance of both parents, the underlying principle remains instructive. The law expected a father to stand as a source of security and protection for his family, assuming responsibilities so that others within the household could flourish in confidence and stability. (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, Art. 138).
The same philosophy is reflected in the law relating to maintenance. Articles 171 to 184 imposed enforceable obligations upon parents to provide support, education, sustenance, and welfare to their children. The law thereby transformed affection into responsibility. Love was not left to sentiment alone; it acquired legal expression through duties capable of enforcement. Maintenance was recognised not as charity but as an extension of parenthood itself. (Portuguese Civil Code, 1867, Arts. 171–184).
Every inventory proceeding ultimately begins with a family tree. Every declaration of heirs depends upon legally recognised relationships. Every succession reflects a chain of continuity linking one generation to the next. Behind every share allocated by law lies the story of a family that existed long before the commencement of judicial proceedings.
Before inheritance comes sacrifice
And while the law may recognise fatherhood through rights and duties, a son recognises it through gratitude.
For before there can be inheritance, there must first be sacrifice.
Before there can be succession, there must first be stewardship.
Before there can be descendants, there must first be a father willing to dedicate a lifetime to ensuring that the next generation stands taller than the last.
As the American writer Clarence Budington Kelland once observed, “My father did not tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”
The law records family relationships. Society studies them. Philosophy seeks to understand them.
But a father's love gives them meaning.
