The object of this doctoral research was to identify the theoretical and philosophical bases of academic production on health promotion, the relationships it establishes with contemporary social experience, and, finally, the place it reserves for subjects in health production. A study of the "epistemological detail" explored the notions of social dynamics present in the research material composed of a sample of doctoral theses and master's dissertations on health promotion. The analyses carried out allowed the elaboration of "epistemological profiles" of the notion of social dynamics, in an adaptation to the model proposed by Gaston Bachelard. They also made it possible to verify that the notion of social dynamics conditions the understanding of the place that subjects occupy or should occupy in health production. Finally, they found that in this sample, the prevailing understanding is one of subject insufficiency, which seems to be a problem to be addressed by health promotion.