ABSTRACT:
The goal of this paper is to induce a reflexive stance on the subjectivity, and its transformations in irreversible time, considering its implications on qualitative studies of human development. Initially, a historical-philosophical overview of the notions of 'subject' and 'reality' are provided. In the second part of the paper, five dead-locks of contemporary research on human development are debated: (a) representing phenomena while they are changing; (b) the complexity involved in investigating integrative psychological categories - such as 'subjectivity'; (c) the assumption that research practices themselves promote dynamics of microgenetic development; (d) the recognition that researchers are a part of the investigated reality, also developing subjects; and, (e) the quest for coherence between theory and methodology, demanding non-instrumental methodological approaches.
Keywords:
subject; qualitative research; human development