Below is a clean conceptual map of speculative materialism, and how it relates—without collapsing—to OOO and New Materialisms.
What is
speculative materialism
?
Speculative materialism is a post-Kantian ontological project that insists:
Reality exists independently of human thought, and philosophy can speak about it directly.
The term is most closely associated with Quentin Meillassoux, especially his critique of correlationism—the idea that we can only ever know the correlation between thinking and being, never being itself.
Its core commitments (in four theses)
1.
Anti-correlationism
Reality is not reducible to how it appears for us.
There were stars before observers—and philosophy must be able to say so.
2.
Absolute contingency
There is no necessary reason for the laws of nature to be as they are.
- Laws are stable for now
- But could change without reason
This is Meillassoux’s radical move: necessity itself is contingent.
3.
Materialism without vitalism
Matter is:
- not meaningful
- not intentional
- not alive in a metaphorical sense
Speculative materialism rejects:
- phenomenology’s primacy of experience
- process philosophies’ emphasis on becoming-as-life
4.
Speculation as rational access
Unlike empiricism or phenomenology, it allows reason to think the absolute—without grounding it in subjectivity.
How does this relate to
OOO
?
Overlap
Both speculative materialism and OOO:
- reject correlationism
- defend a mind-independent reality
- decenter the human
The decisive difference
|
Axis |
Speculative Materialism |
OOO |
|
Ontology |
Laws + contingency |
Withdrawn objects |
|
Key move |
Abolish necessity |
Preserve autonomy |
|
Metaphysics |
Mathematical / rational |
Metaphorical / indirect |
|
Relation |
Reality without us |
Objects without relations |
Graham Harman breaks with Meillassoux by insisting that:
- objects withdraw not only from humans, but from each other
- relations are always vicarious
Meillassoux says: we can think the absolute.
Harman says: nothing ever fully touches anything.
So: OOO is post-speculative, not a subtype of speculative materialism.
How does it relate to
New Materialisms
?
Here the distance is larger.
New Materialisms emphasize:
- relationality
- process and becoming
- distributed agency
- ethics and politics of entanglement
Speculative materialism insists on:
- non-relational absoluteness
- indifference of matter
- no inherent agency
- no ethical grounding in ontology
|
Axis |
Speculative Materialism |
New Materialisms |
|
Matter |
indifferent |
active / efficacious |
|
Agency |
none |
distributed |
|
Ontology |
absolute contingency |
relational process |
|
Ethics |
suspended |
central |
|
Mood |
austere |
affirmative |
Speculative materialism therefore does not belong to New Materialisms and often criticizes their vitalist tone.
The bigger constellation (who stands where)
- Speculative materialism → Quentin Meillassoux
- OOO → Graham Harman
- New Materialisms → Karen Barad, Jane Bennett, Rosi Braidotti
All three arise from the speculative realist rupture of the late 2000s—but diverge sharply.
A single diagrammatic summary
- Speculative materialism:
Reality is absolute, lawless, indifferent. - OOO:
Reality is composed of autonomous, withdrawn objects. - New Materialisms:
Reality is entangled, active, and politically consequential.
Translated into
your
idiom
- Speculative materialism
→ 物之無辜、無情、無必然
(matter owes us nothing) - OOO
→ 物之退隱、萬物皆孤
(everything withdraws) - New Materialisms
→ 物的反撲，人的退位
(matter pushes back; humans step aside)
Final sentence
Speculative materialism clears the ground by breaking correlationism;
OOO builds a metaphysics of withdrawal on that ground;
New Materialisms plant ethics, politics, and ecology there.
Different houses.
Same earthquake.
If you wish, next we can:
- read withdrawal through trauma / the Real
- place Meillassoux vs Barad side by side
- or ask whether absolute contingency is thinkable clinically
