Actor-Network Theory and methodology: Just what does it mean to say that nonhumans have agency?

被引:245
作者
Sayes, Edwin [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Melbourne, Dept Sociol, Melbourne, Vic 3010, Australia
关键词
Actor-Network Theory; Bruno Latour; methodology; nonhumans; LATOUR;
D O I
10.1177/0306312713511867
中图分类号
N09 [自然科学史]; B [哲学、宗教];
学科分类号
01 ; 0101 ; 010108 ; 060207 ; 060305 ; 0712 ;
摘要
Actor-Network Theory is a controversial social theory. In no respect is this more so than the role it gives' to nonhumans: nonhumans have agency, as Latour provocatively puts it. This article aims to interrogate the multiple layers of this declaration to understand what it means to assert with Actor-Network Theory that nonhumans exercise agency. The article surveys a wide corpus of statements by the position's leading figures and emphasizes the wider methodological framework in which these statements are embedded. With this work done, readers will then be better placed to reject or accept the Actor-Network position - understanding more precisely what exactly it is at stake in this decision.
引用
收藏
页码:134 / 149
页数:16
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