THE DISTORTION OF AFFECTION IN BRAZILIAN LAW IN CONTRAST TO THE ABOLITIONIST CRITIQUES OF THE FAMILY

Abstract

The celebrated principle of affectivity, a legal value that has recently risen to the status quo in Family Law, mainly as the foundation for the protection of new family arrangements and socio-affective parenthood, now faces criticism, not only for its incriminated use in jurisprudence but also for presenting itself, for a long time and now even more, as the focus of the central clashes of the theories that found the movement for the abolition of the family. The research proposed in this article is based on the investigation of affect in family relationships, seeking to understand how, at first, having it as a legal principle revolutionized what is understood as family in law – and all the rules unfolding from this perspective. In a second moment, its decline was investigated, since it began to serve interests other than those primarily defended. And, finally, the research was able to unveil its real nuances in the context of the 'postmodern' and neoliberal society, when the analysis took place from the unsettling perspective of the Abolitionist Movement of the Family.