The aim of this paper is to present and discuss certain fundamental biographical and theoretical aspects in the proposal and development of Fernando González Rey’s Theory of Subjectivity. Thus, it highlights his early participation in the Cuban Revolution, the first advances in his studies (1968–73), his concern surrounding the study of Personality (1973–97) and, finally, his development of the Theory of Subjectivity and Qualitative Epistemology (1997–2019). We specifically highlight the critical dialogue with cultural-historical psychology, especially with L. Bozhovich and L. Vygotsky. We also outline his main theoretical concepts related to the Theory of Subjectivity. Finally, his Theory of Subjectivity is analysed as a complex ‘macro-theory’, with a critical and subversive vocation, open to the generation of new spaces of intelligibility that facilitate the study of the creative and generative character of human phenomena.

Given the emphasis that the notion of competence has acquired in both organizational and educational contexts, the purposes of this article are, first, to outline a brief history of the emergence of this notion through its main definitions and some of the problematizations that have been put forward on its use, highlighting underlying conceptions and limitations, while considering aspects related to the conjuncture of their emergence and diffusion; and second, based on the Theory of Subjectivity developed by González Rey from a cultural-historical perspective, to present, based on its central concepts, contributions that will help us progress in the understanding of the processes that the notion of competence is intended to describe, considering the limitations its hegemonic use presents. Among the contributions presented, it is the concept of subjective configuration of action that allows us to advance in the understanding of the constitutive complexity of competence, bridging the dichotomy between social and individual dimensions.