Actor-network theory (chapter 8 of the book An introduction to science and technology studies) - Sismondo (2009) - Article

What is the Actor-network theory?

The actor-network theory is a general social theory that is centered on technoscience. It attempts to understand science and technology since it believes that they involve importantly similar processes. It represents technoscience as the creation of larger and stronger networks. Some important characteristics of the actor-network theory:

• The actors are heterogeneous, including both human and non-human entities with no methodological difference between them. Both humans and non-humans form associations that link with other actors to form networks. Both have interests that cause them to act, that need to be accommodated and that can be managed and used. A stable network (a successful piece of technoscience) is the result of the actors and their associations contributing towards a goal.
• The technology and the sociology cannot be separate, since neither one will come into being without the other, though both can be brought into being together.
• It is a materialist theory. Even the ‘social’ is reduced to the material. Science and technology work by translating material actions and forces.
• It is based on a relational materiality. Objects are defined by their places in networks and their properties appear in the context of tests and not in isolation.

What does an ecological approach to technoscience entail?

An ecological approach to technoscience emphasizes that multiple and varying elements contribute to the success of an idea or artifact. Any element in an idea or artifact’s environment may be responsible for failure. An idea by itself can’t solve a problem, it needs to be combined with time to develop it, skilled work to provide evidence for it, rhetorical work to make it plausible to others and the support to put all of those in place.

What kind of objections have been made against the actor-network theory?

• The actor-network theory portrays science and engineering as rational. It believes that technoscientists use the resources available to achieve their goals. But even rational choices are made in the context of cultures and practices. But the theory does not pay attention to these.
• The actor-network theory views humans and non-humans in the same way. However, humans have intentionality, and most non-humans do not. To treat humans and non-humans the same way would mean to deny that this intentionality is necessary for actions and deny that the differences between humans and non-humans are important for the overall theory.
• The actor-network theory views science and technology as powerful because of the objectivity of their procedures. However, there is always the problem with rule following and translations. No statement of a rule can determine its interpretations. Much routine science and engineering involves expert judgment and that judgment cannot be reduced to formulas.
• The actor-network theory is viewed by some as a version of constructivism, since what is, is constructed by networks of actors. Natural objects cannot be said to have any real scientific properties before their public circulation and use. This runs against the arguments of realists that, at least some, things have real and intrinsic properties, no matter where in any network they sit.