This is an interesting book that begins to break into the question of where Bruno Latour disagrees with Graham Harman. Harman's "Prince of Networks," distributed prior to the debate at the London School of Economics (this book is that debate's edited transcript), was partially the focus of this debate. Without giving too much away from the conclusions of the debate, the tension is found to be between Latour's "empirical metaphysics" and Harman's "Heideggerian metaphysics." In essence, these notions are worked out a bit, and qualifications are made regarding what "metaphysics" means to both thinkers. The book is also enlightening in a number of other respects, I think, for fans of each thinker. In the kind of back-and-forth discussion contained herein, one finds Latour and Harman having to reiterate the fundamentals of their position in a fresh way, and also having to give a less general sense of their approach to relevant subject matter. Of particular value is their discussion regarding what they expect from philosophy, in terms of what they believe the function and limits of philosophy is supposed to be. Personally, I enjoyed the intellectual freedom with which Latour and Harman wander, touching topics as disparate as natural science and politics, and metaphysics and geography. I think folks interested in the speculative turn in philosophy will also find value in particular portions of the text, such as those discussing virtuality and so on.
The actual transcript is about 100 pages, so, at that length, I consider this a must-read for anyone remotely interest in Harman, Latour, modern thought on metaphysics, speculative realism, and similar. The format was particularly enjoyable.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle Cloud Reader.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Authors
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
