Non-Biological Family

The only relationships one could not will away or spontaneously dissolve at any time are the connections one has on a biological level with family members.  Yes, a person could turn their backs on family whether or not it is just to do so, but the family tie would remain.  With friendships and romantic relationships (the latter being a thriving friendship itself when it is handled correctly), there is always a voluntary element, something that makes them more fundamental to social expression and something more life-giving than just family bonds alone.  These relationships are selected and nurtured with intentionality.

Family that is chosen, either the non-biological family of close, rationalistic, friendships with philosophical equals or a rationalistic romantic partner (with a compatible personality) that might receive lifelong commitment, is always greater in significance than the people to whom one has involuntary, happenstance, mere biological ties.  That is, this is true unless one's literal family is worthy of the same kind of personal devotion.  One can certainly be friends with biological family members and, unless they have done something to deserve being ignored or unless one is willing to show mercy towards their failings, this is a good thing to pursue.  Unfortunately, many family relationships are not this positive, though they could be or could have been.

Investing in quality friendships and romantic/marital relationships is by default higher than investing in natural, biological family relationships simply because they involve siblings or parents.  For parents, there is a responsibility to take care of their children while they need it, but if they become or remain irrationalists as they physically mature, then their children, too, are not as worthy of attachment and personal love as intellectual, moral, and relational equals united in rationality and mutuality.  Biological family members are not enemies or inferior because they are family, just not special in any way as a human or an individual.

Seeking out and actively prioritizing friendships or the bond with a significant other, if they are chosen on valid grounds, that is, is the ultimate form of building human relationships.  Friendships can be shared between siblings, parents and their children, and extended family, of course, so this does not exclude family members, who could wind up being excellent people worth investing in relationally.  That these friendships within family are chosen is what makes them superior, more genuine, more personal, more stable.  Voluntary, mutual relationships can always have what mere biological ties do apart from the blood relationship; they also can have so much more depth and expansiveness.  Non-biological "family" is often the very best kind.