English 101 the family - Essay Example

According to Malinowski, the family had fulfilled the universal need and so it is a universal institution. Malinowski was definite then with his view that every family has to have a father (Collier et al 1997). He stated that: "The human infant needs parental protection for a much longer period than does the young of even the highest anthropoid apes. Hence, no culture could endure in which the act of reproduction, that is, mating, pregnancy, and childbirth, was not linked up with the fact the father and mother have to look after the children for a long period, and in turn, derive certain benefits from the care and trouble taken.

" Anthropologies however disagree with Malinowski's view regarding the need of the father to define a family. They argued that the composition the basic social unit is not necessarily the nuclear family setting where father is needed but only the mother and the children are the only ones that composed it (Collier et al 1997). They justified their own view when they claimed that "whether of not a mate become attached to the mother on some more or less permanent basis is a variable matter". Conversely, they are maintaining Malinowski's idea of that family as a universal human institution without the attachment of the father in the family (Collier et al 1997).

In some sectors' perspectives, anthropologis. Conversely, they are maintaining Malinowski's idea of that family as a universal human institution without the attachment of the father in the family (Collier et al 1997). In some sectors' perspectives, anthropologists' view is being favored more than Malinowski's. Neurophysiologists such as Diane Ackerman's, through her book A Natural History of Love (1994), agreed indirectly to the fatherless system of the family. According to Ackerman "young children go berserk when separated from their mothers, but not necessarily when separated from their fathers.

Ackerman's view rely on love of the parents' towards their offspring, as the latter's reaction depends on the form of love a parent has given. Ackerman stated that mother's love is absolute, that even serial killers have mothers who love them. On the other side, fathers tend to love conditional, and more distant, thus this make children have exclusive affection towards the father (Ackerman 1994). "Fatherly love tends to punish and reward, set limits, make demands and expect obedience" as stated by Ackerman.

She explained that it is really part of the parenting that an offspring to be ruled by tyrants, and obeying laws. Sara Ruddick, through her work Thinking about Fathers (1990), said that the idea of men in charge of the family threatens the systems such as household arrangements, political alliances, intersex friendship, and heterosexual relationships. In a feminist's view, domination in the family and career is the issue when men presence comes into the picture in a unit as they tend to suppress women's right to deliberately manage household concerns (Ruddick 1990).

However, Ruddick tried to be balance by citing that "fathers are necessary ingredients both of childhood and good enough of