Affirmative Ethics and Organizing for Community from a Posthumanist Practice Theory Perspective

This article contributes to the debate on relational ethics in organizational studies, proposing affirmative ethics, derived from critical posthumanism, as an innovative analytical framework for organizing for community and the common good. Analysing the case of a spontaneous mutual aid organization during the pandemic, the article adopts Posthumanist Practice Theory (PPT) as a theoretical and methodological lens capable of capturing the movements of sociomateriality and affect as connective forces in the development of collective ethical practices. The PPT-based empirical analysis shows how affirmative ethics unfolds in an assemblage of bodies, affections and technologies. Furthermore, the contribution highlights how affirmative ethics enriches organizational research on relational ethics by overcoming anthropocentrism, strengthening the critical dimension, and tracing the forces of ethical action that guide collective action. Finally, the article emphasizes the importance of Posthumanist Practice Theory as a methodological tool for analysing affirmative ethics in concrete contexts. Thanks to its focus on practices, material relations and collective processes, PPT enables us to observe the effects and potential of affirmative ethics in action, transforming it from a philosophical principle into a practical interpretative lens for analysing resistance, creativity and transformation in organizations.