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A new lease for life? The return of vitalism in management and organization studies

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  • Weik, Elke

Abstract

This paper starts from a growing interest in the concept of concern, lived experience or “inhabiting” as part of the so-called “affective turn”. My main argument is that the notion of concern cannot be thought or understood without the concept of life. The concept of life, however, is somewhat of a taboo topic in the social sciences. I hold, nevertheless, that in order to reflect on their assumptions and to define concern for their own studies, scholars need to think about life and make a choice regarding the various approaches that can be taken. I therefore present and compare four vitalist approaches: romanticism and Lebensphilosophie, vitalism as ethos and pathos, neuroecosociality as well as vitalism as becoming.

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  • Weik, Elke, 2022. "A new lease for life? The return of vitalism in management and organization studies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 2-9.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eurman:v:40:y:2022:i:1:p:2-9
    DOI: 10.1016/j.emj.2021.11.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Moumita Roy & Ayatakshee Sarkar, 2025. "Craft approach to work: a humanist model of work in organizations," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(1), pages 557-593, February.

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