Ethical subjectivity at work: ethical experience and faithless faith

This paper addresses how a managing director in a social initiative forms and sustains herself as an ethical subject at work. Drawing on ethnographic material and Simon Critchley's philosophy, I theorize her ethical subjectivity through the concepts of ethical experience and faithless faith. The analysis shows how she, through an ethical experience, is passively moved by a felt demand (creating equal opportunities) and then actively binds herself to a notion of good (being a spokesperson). It further shows how her ethical subjectivity is sustained through her faithless faith (practical commitment and continuous striving). The paper extends research on whether ethical subjectivity should be viewed as passive or active by highlighting how it unfolds as both over time. It also contributes to research on how ethical subjectivity can be sustained amid multiple demands and challenges. These insights advance research on ethical subjectivity as a messy, situated, embodied, meaningful, and relational practice.