論行動者網絡理論的行動本體論

On the Ontology of Actor-Network Theory

思考科學知識與理性的社會特質，是催生科技研究(STS)的問題意識之一。探詢此議題時，STS取徑逐漸由探討產生科學知識的社群，轉向思考知識內容的認識論，後來更發展出一種本體論思考，將知識活動視為與知識對象的客體密不可分。其中，行動者網絡理論(ANT)是重要取徑之一。本文首先指出ANT的本體論轉向的幾個思考重點。進一步，本文希望指出，在此轉變中浮現一種「行動本體論」，不同於劃定萬物次序與根本性質的終極本體論。本文將指出，大部分對ANT的方法論與觀點的質疑，往往來自於無法掌握此基進的本體論思考，從而衍生對ANT的政治承諾的質疑。最後，為了回應對ANT的質疑，本文借用與行動本體論思考相近的傅科的「歷史本體論」作為參照，企圖展示行動本體論如何可能成為學術上基進、實踐上亦具批判力的思考基礎。

Exploring the social characteristics of scientific knowledge and rationality has been an intrinsic problematic of science and technology studies (STS). After examining sociological studies of scientific communities and social studies of scientific knowledge, STS enquiries now have turned to the role of knowledge and knowing in the constitution of the known object. Among them, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is an important approach. This paper first delineates this ontological turn of ANT: ontology-in-practice. Ontology-in-practice specifies the relationally emergent, mediated, and heterogeneous constitution of being-in-action, which is not a transcendental schema of beings and essences in the universe once and for all. It is argued that most criticisms against ANT and its political implications are due to critics’ failure to understand this radical ontology. To remedy this, the paper turns to the historical ontology as effective history proposed by Foucault, which is similar to ontology-in-practice, so as to illuminate how ANT could be a critical perspective both in its scholarship and practice.