Father–child relationship
The father–child relationship is the defining factor of the fatherhood role in life. A “dad” does not always have to be a child’s biological father. Some children refer to their stepfathers as dad. Stepfathers are not the biological fathers. When the biological father dies, or divorces, the mother may marry a second one who becomes the stepfather of the child. A father is known as a man who exercises paternal care over other people.
According to the anthropologist Maurice Godelier, the parental role assumed by human males is a critical difference between human society and that of humans’ closest biological relatives—chimpanzees and bonobos—who appear to be unaware of their “father” connection.
Authority figure
The father is often seen as an authority figure.
In the Roman and aristocratic patriarchal family, “the husband and the father had a measure of political authority and served as intermediary between the household and the polity”.
Determination of parenthood
Since Roman times fatherhood has been determined with this famous sentence: Mater semper certa; pater est quem nuptiae demonstrant (“The mother is always certain; the father is whom the marriage vows indicate”). The historical approach has been destabilised with the recent emergence of accurate scientific testing, particularly DNA testing. As a result, the law on fatherhood is undergoing rapid changes.
Like mothers, human fathers may be categorised according to their biological, social or legal relationship with the child. Historically, the biological relationship paternity has been determinative of fatherhood. However, proof of paternity has been intrinsically problematic and so social rules often determined who would be regarded as a father, e.g. the husband of the mother.
An individual who is a genetic chimera could theoretically have more than one biological father. No example of this has been reported but human chimeras were unknown to exist until recently and scientists are currently uncertain as to the extent of chimerism within the human population.
The most familiar English terms for father include dad, daddy, papa, pop and pa. Other colloquial expressions include my old man.
