Follow the actors, human and non-human alike. Facts, artworks and institutions are held together by networks of associations.
- +Fits Pragmatist Epistemology, Constructivist Epistemology
- –Tension with Critical Realist Epistemology
The longer story
Latour resists easy labels—he's claimed and disclaimed 'pragmatist' at different moments, and ANT itself keeps shapeshifting. Yet his Actor-Network Theory is frequently mobilised alongside pragmatist and constructivist approaches. ANT treats humans and non-humans symmetrically—both are 'actants' with agency. Follow the actors: the microscope does something in the laboratory; the door-closer does something in the building. For creative research, ANT means taking technologies, materials, and objects seriously as participants. The synthesizer isn't just a tool the musician uses; it's an actant that shapes what music becomes. Creativity happens in networks, not in individual minds.