Actor-Network Theory - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Actor-Network Theory (ANT), a beguiling approach within social theory and particularly resonant with economic sociology, proposes that the social world is composed of heterogeneous networks of human and non-human actors, equally influential and constantly negotiating reality. Often misunderstood as simply emphasizing non-human agency, it pushes us to reconsider the very fabric of causality and the boundaries of the "social." Could our conventional understanding of actors, agency, and structure be fundamentally flawed?
The explicit articulation of ANT emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely through the work of Michel Callon, Bruno Latour, and John Law, though its intellectual roots stretch back further. One can trace early, albeit nascent, ideas to ethnographic studies of science and technology from the 1970s. While no single primary source marks its definitive birth, the collaborative research surrounding technological controversies, specifically the development of electric vehicles in France, provided fertile ground for its conceptual framework. This period witnessed a growing unease within social sciences regarding deterministic models, fueled by postmodern critiques and a rising awareness of technology's profound, yet often invisible, impact on society.
Over time, ANT's application widened, infiltrating fields from organizational studies to geography. Key texts such as Latour's Science in Action (1987) and Callon's work on scallop fisheries illustrated the intricate relationality between humans and the materially real. The seemingly simple act of scallop cultivation, when viewed through an ANT lens, becomes a complex drama involving government regulations, scientific instruments, scallop biology, and the unpredictable currents of the ocean – all shaping and being shaped by each other. Yet, ANT's very radicalism sparked considerable debate, challenging established notions of power and social structure. Does attributing agency to non-humans dilute human responsibility?
ANT's legacy lies in its persistent questioning of taken-for-granted assumptions. Its influence echoes in contemporary discussions of artificial intelligence, climate change, and global supply chains, where the intertwining of human and non-human entities becomes increasingly apparent. The very notion of an "actor-network" continues to be reinterpreted and deployed to understand the complex interplay of forces shaping our world. Can we ever truly disentangle ourselves from the networks we create and, in turn, are created by?