The Possibility Studies in a Case Analysis: The Emergence of Parental Perspectives Through Adoption

This article aims to illustrate the application of Vlad Petre Glăveanu’s Theory of the Possible as a theoretical-methodological tool for examining case studies. The Theory of the Possible posits that the possible is a domain where multiple possibilities emerge regarding what can be thought or done with a given object. The emergence of these possibilities is linked to the coordination of two or more perspectives simultaneously. Utilizing Glăveanu’s theoretical framework, the authors analyzed data from Valério’s master’s dissertation to explore the emergence of the perspective of becoming parents through adoption, specifically the arrival of a first-born child through this process. In these data, the couple experienced the emergence of this realm of possibilities during the interviews. We understand that the arrival of a child can occur through two distinct pathways: biological and adoptive. In many societies, the biological path is widely endorsed, while adoption is often perceived as a last resort for embracing parenthood, especially when alternative avenues such as medical treatments, artificial insemination, or in vitro fertilization have been exhausted without success. Adoption, both legally and emotionally, involves an individual taking on a child or adolescent available for adoption, thus establishing a family unit. The authors are not focused on an analysis of parenthood per se, but rather on the process of opening up the realm of possibility, leading to the deconstruction of the biological perspective and the construction of a new possibility: adoption. Throughout the analysis of our data, it was observed that the exploration of the theme of parenthood during the interview revealed uncertainties, ambivalences, fears, affective memories, and reassessments. These elements contributed to the dialogue of distinct perspectives and opened the way to a new domain: the zone of possibilities. Through the juxtaposition of different viewpoints—pregnancy as the predominant construction of parenthood versus adoption as an alternative perspective—the couple became receptive to a new approach to constructing parenthood.