The “non-substantialistic turn” refers to a philosophical movement away from understanding reality and entities in terms of static, unchanging substances or essences (substantialism), toward a view that emphasizes process, relation, and becoming. This shift can be seen across various fields, including metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and social theory.
Here are key aspects of the non-substantialistic turn:
1. Process Over Substance: Instead of focusing on objects as fixed, self-contained substances with intrinsic properties, this approach sees reality as constituted by dynamic processes and relationships. Philosophers like Alfred North Whitehead and Gilles Deleuze emphasize that entities are not independent “things” but are continually forming and changing through interactions.
2. Relational Ontology: The non-substantialistic perspective holds that the nature of an entity is defined by its relationships to other entities and processes. In this sense, identity and being are not fixed but are co-constructed through interactions. This is evident in relational philosophies such as those of Martin Buber or the process philosophy of Whitehead.
3. Critique of Essentialism: Substantialistic views often assume that objects or beings have fixed essences. The non-substantialistic turn rejects this idea, suggesting that essences are not pre-existing qualities but emerge from dynamic systems or networks of relations.
4. Influence in Social Theory and Philosophy of Mind: In social theory, this turn manifests in perspectives like actor-network theory (Bruno Latour) and poststructuralism, where the focus is on how social realities are constituted by networks and relations rather than by fixed social structures. In philosophy of mind, thinkers like Evan Thompson emphasize the mind’s emergent and processual nature, rather than seeing it as a static “thing.”
Philosophically, this shift is closely related to existentialism, phenomenology, and process philosophy, and can be seen as a reaction to metaphysical traditions influenced by substantialism, such as those of Aristotle or Descartes, where the emphasis was on fixed, enduring essences.
