Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and Speculative Materialism/Realism share some affinities with New Materialism in their critique of anthropocentrism and their focus on materiality and the nonhuman. However, they do not neatly belong to the same trend as New Materialism, as they differ in their ontological commitments, philosophical emphases, and methodologies.
Here’s an exploration of their relationship and distinctions:
1. Shared Philosophical Concerns
• Critique of Anthropocentrism:
• All three movements challenge the primacy of human subjectivity in understanding reality.
• They emphasize the autonomy and significance of the nonhuman world, whether objects, material processes, or networks.
• Focus on Materiality:
• New Materialism emphasizes the vitality and agency of matter, while OOO and Speculative Materialism focus on the reality of objects independent of human perception.
2. Distinctions Between New Materialism, OOO, and Speculative Materialism
a. Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO)
• Key Figures: Graham Harman, Levi Bryant, Timothy Morton.
• Core Ideas:
• Objects as Autonomous: Objects exist independently of human perception and have their own reality, regardless of whether humans engage with them.
• Flat Ontology: All entities—humans, rocks, trees, stars—are equally real and ontologically significant.
• Withdrawal of Objects: Objects always exceed their relations, meaning their essence is never fully grasped or exhausted by interactions.
• Relation to New Materialism:
• OOO’s emphasis on objects as discrete and autonomous differs from New Materialism’s focus on processes, flows, and relationality.
• OOO often avoids the vitalism or emphasis on matter’s agency found in New Materialism.
b. Speculative Materialism/Realism
• Key Figures: Quentin Meillassoux, Ray Brassier.
• Core Ideas:
• Accessing the Real: Rejects the Kantian idea that we can only know the world through human categories (correlationism). Instead, Speculative Realism seeks to think about reality independent of human thought.
• Necessity of Contingency: Meillassoux, for example, argues that the only necessary feature of the universe is its contingency—its capacity to change unpredictably.
• Focus on Abstract Entities: Speculative Realism often engages with abstract, non-material entities (e.g., mathematical structures, metaphysical principles), which contrasts with the concrete materialism of New Materialism.
• Relation to New Materialism:
• Speculative Materialism diverges from New Materialism’s embodied, process-oriented ontology by focusing on abstract, often metaphysical principles.
• It critiques the “correlationism” inherent in many New Materialist approaches, which emphasize entanglements of human and nonhuman actors.
c. New Materialism
• Key Figures: Karen Barad, Jane Bennett, Rosi Braidotti.
• Core Ideas:
• Matter as Active: Matter has agency, vitality, and the ability to shape the world alongside human actors.
• Relational Ontology: Emphasizes networks, flows, and interactions rather than discrete objects or entities.
• Immanence: Rejects transcendence in favor of a focus on the dynamic, ongoing processes of becoming.
• Distinct from OOO and Speculative Realism:
• New Materialism emphasizes relationality and entanglement, which OOO resists by focusing on the autonomy of objects.
• It is more concerned with ethical and political implications, especially in feminist, ecological, and posthumanist contexts, while Speculative Materialism is more abstract and metaphysically oriented.
3. Philosophical Methodologies
• New Materialism: Empirical, interdisciplinary, drawing from quantum physics, biology, and ecology. It emphasizes material-discursive entanglements and situated, embodied knowledge.
• OOO: Philosophically abstract, ontological, and focused on metaphysical questions about objects’ independence and their relationships.
• Speculative Materialism/Realism: Theoretically rigorous, often speculative, concerned with the metaphysical structures of reality beyond human perception.
4. Key Divergences
Aspect New Materialism Object-Oriented Ontology Speculative Materialism/Realism
Ontology Relational, process-oriented, vitalist Autonomous objects, flat ontology Abstract structures, contingency
Epistemology Embodied, situated, interdisciplinary Philosophical abstraction Speculative, beyond correlationism
Focus on Ethics/Politics Central (ecology, feminism, posthumanism) Peripheral Rarely addressed
View of Objects/Matter Matter as dynamic and agential Objects as discrete and withdrawn Abstract and contingent realities
Conclusion: Do They Belong to the Same Trend?
While New Materialism, Object-Oriented Ontology, and Speculative Materialism/Realism share a common interest in moving beyond anthropocentrism and exploring the significance of the nonhuman, they diverge significantly in their methods, emphases, and ontological commitments.
• New Materialism is more process-oriented, relational, and politically engaged.
• OOO focuses on the autonomy of objects and rejects relational ontologies.
• Speculative Materialism/Realism pursues abstract metaphysical questions about reality’s structure and independence from human thought.
Thus, while they are often grouped as part of a broader posthumanist and post-anthropocentric turn, they represent distinct philosophical trajectories rather than a unified movement.
