The Absent Father and Theology
This paper moves to the psychological imagining of the Divine or the absent Father (la nom du Pere) and explores the absent father in the works of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and contemporary philosopher Rav Shagar (Shimon Gershon Rosenberg).
It examines how these thinkers understand paternal absence and its implications for identity formation, desire, and the divine. By drawing on psychoanalytic theory and mystical interpretations, the paper highlights the psychological and theological dimensions of paternal absence, arguing that the interstices between these perspectives offer a profound framework for understanding human subjectivity and spiritual experience. The convergence of these approaches reveals how absence itself can function as a constitutive force in both psychological development and religious consciousness.