The Hard Core of the New Materialism in Social Theory

Abstract

This article attempts to describe the hard core (in Lakatos' terms) of the new materialism in social theory, which has not been defined in scientific sociological discourse. The existing ambiguity in the basic premises of this approach leads to the fact that researchers need to assess the explanatory potential of the new materialist optics. They assume it is a new version of essentialism or a variation of classical sociology but with flexible boundaries between the social and the material. The conceptualization of the hard core takes place through a correlation of the four new materialism fundamental theses with specific authors working in this direction: about focus upon matter (J. Bennett, R. Braidotti); explore what matter does, not what it is (M. Delanda, B. Latour); thoughts, memories, desires, and emotions have material effects (G. Harman); material forces act locally (K. Barad, L. Bryant). Besides, based on the works of the mentioned authors, the article reflects critical theses concerning new materialist theorizing. The author concludes that the new materialism has every reason to be called a new grand theory within sociology whose explanatory success or failure can be discussed in the next decade.