Ontological Pluralism, Modes of Existence, and Actor-network Theory: Upgrading Latour with Latour

Bruno Latour, one of the architects of actor-network theory, has now enfolded this approach within a larger project:An Inquiry into Modes of Existence. Framed as an empirical inquiry into the ontological and epistemological conditions of modernity, Latour argues for a radical shift in how 'objectified knowledge' is established within the world. In this article I draw on AIME in order to respond to criticisms of actor-network theory that derive from broader sociological and philosophical standpoints. I argue that actor-network theory should now only be understood as an integral aspect of Latour's newer inquiry, and ought no longer to be considered in isolation but instead as being integrated within a critical as well as pragmatic reading of Latour's AIME project.