To some extent can't a courtship be viewed as manipulation in general?
Indeed, but the poster to whom I was replying talked about playing F like a "gentleman" and - depending upon your definition of such - I was noting that the character can't really be considered a pure-of-heart father or date for D, given what we knew of his inner motivations. We should accept that F does take advantage of the inherent power imbalance which a respected parent has over his child at points in this story.
Since we're given insight to both of their inner thoughts and - as the father, you don't typically expect a courtship-style behavior towards their offspring - we see his self-rationalization just before he acts upon his recognized, cresting lusts for his daughter ... as if these are merely normal reactions to act upon with a naive daughter who looks to him for guidance and support.
Sure, I can entirely understand the point that attractions can cross societal and cultural norms when it comes to two people interacting, and in their case we have a societal situation where there are few fears of ramifications (e.g., legal, developmental, etc.) in doing so - it's a different world than our typical Western culture.
But, while D was still firmly within her naive shell from a sheltered upbringing, relying upon F for helping her realize there was more to her life beyond the controlled environment and emotional blocks Rachel had placed before her (again, by inherent use of parental authority), we would see F self-identifying his growing desires for her as a woman, which made him question whether he should continue with allowing their path to grow more intimate: something for which he was in almost complete control in Chapter 1 and 2. He questioned his own motivations and still allowed them at every stage.
Do I approve? For the game, sure. But, unlike the aggressive courtship of someone who goes after another person they desire from work, next door, online, etc. for whatever reason - and might use all sorts of unsavory tactics to eventually bed or control them, in this case we already have a case of parental respect by a young adult offspring being used for similar goals and effect. I have read of situations where parents and kids fell into incestuous relationships in our world and neither felt damaged by the experience years later, but how a parent comes to let that happen without their kid having both arms broken as an excuse should probably be considered rather severely, IMHO.
In a game fantasy situation, no problem!