In this article, we engage the tension between the failures and possibilities of theories to which we hold attachments. The failure of theory for us is also the failure of qualitative research because as scholars who engage in philosophically informed and critical inquiries, research and theory are inextricably bound. Drawing on our individual and collective experiences, we explore moments when the promise of philosophy crumbled as seismic shifts in culture, politics, and public health rendered useless theories we had long relied upon. We attempt to bring the affective feeling of failure into a productive space and explore how the failure of theory in our lives and our research is not static but rather shifts with the material conditions of the world.
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