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Sad passions and the career imaginary: A critical perspective on policy and possibility.
Event Title
Critical Perspectives on Career and Career Guidance (COCAG) / COST Action CA23112
Year (definitive publication)
2026
Language
English
Country
Belgium
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Abstract
This paper uses Spinoza’s notion of sad passions to critique how contemporary career imaginaries, rooted in autonomy, upward mobility, and predictability, shape experience and constrain possibility. Drawing on Cassirer’s symbolic forms and critical career theory, it shows how managerial individualization and policy temporalities of prediction and control can generate affective burdens when individuals cannot meet structurally unrealistic expectations. The argument proposes a policy for responsive possibility, shifting from compliance with predefined trajectories to cultivating conditions that expand power‑to‑act. Practical guidelines illustrate how organizations and individuals can reduce structural noise, create options, and support becoming, reframing careers as emergent fields of potential rather than fixed paths.
Acknowledgements
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Keywords
Careers,Moral philosophy,Freedom,Power
Fields of Science and Technology Classification
- Economics and Business - Social Sciences
- Sociology - Social Sciences
- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion - Humanities
- Anthropology - Social Sciences
