CONTENTS - Bruno Latour

CONTENTS
Prefnca
Itttrodtrctit'tn
The GominglintoBeing of Scientilic Obiects
L o r r a i t t cD s s t o n
-l
I
Preternatural Philosophy
15
LL)rrAlllL'UnStOll
2
Mathematical Entities in Scientific Discourse
11
P A U L U SG U L D I N A N D H I S D / S S E R I A I / O
DE MOTU TERRAE
RtukaFel'lhtty
3
Dreams and Self-consciousness
67
N4APPING
THE I\4
I N D I N T H E L A T EE I G H T E E N T H
A N D E A R L YN I N E T E E N T HC E N T U R I E S
D o r i s K a t t fn r a r r n
4
Mutations of the Self in Old Regime
and Postrevolutionary France
F R O I \ 4A M E T O M O I Ï O
86
LE MOI
l n t tG o l d s t e i t t
5
The Cominglinto BeinglandPassing Away of
Value fheories in Economics (1776-1976)
G é r n r dI o r l n t t t l
717
CONTENTS
"An Entirely New Obiect of Gonsciousness,
of Volition, of Thouglht"
t32
1 S T ) P A S S I N GA W A Y
T H E C O M I N G I N T O B E I N G A N D ( A L I \O
O F " S O C I E T Y "A S A S C I E N T I F I CO E J E C T
PeterWagner
'Sentimental Pessimism" and Ethnographic Experience
158
O R , W H Y C U L T U R EI S N O T A D I S A P P E A R I N G" O B J E C T "
PREFACE
MarslutllSahlins
How the Ether Spawned the Microworld
8
r
,-
^
|
|
|
teû L. rJucfiwala
q
-l
Life Insurance, Medical TestinEl,and ths
Managlement of lflortality
Theodore
M.Porter
fl
226
On the Partial Existence of Existint andNonexistinglObiects 247
I J r U t l ùL t T t O l l r
1I I 1
Gytoplasmic Particles
THE TRAJECTORY
O F A S C I E N T I F I CO B . E
I CT
Hans-Jôrg
Rheinberger
L i s to f C o n t r i b u t o r s
Index
295
297
The essaysin this volumr
e n c eo n " T h e C o m i n gi n t
held in September1995a
encein Berlin.This wasor
stitute,and was alsothe I
historicalepistemologyo
entific Experience"( June
1998).Eachof the confer
the sciences-object,ex1
ca
developmentin specific
The aim wasto launcha h
that make s
classification
s c e n d e n t aq lu e s t i o n isn a
Most of the papershav
at the conferenceand sub
the commentatorsat the
Heilbron,KrzysztofPom
two anonymousreferees
The ideafor the confer
with Lc
ing conversations
us werefirst sketchingou
might be like.ToJùrgen'sr
realizationof our plans:a
diedon 29 September199
r e r e a d i n g sa,r n dn o r m a l a n da b n t u r n d e p e n d eodn n e w l n s t r u EKG rnachines.
They required
:ople:technicians
to operatethe
m a n i p u l a t et h e n u m b e r sa, n d
earnedto rely lesson the feelof
n d m o r eo n l a b o r a t o r yr e p o r t s .
in alliancewith the right kinds
.The linkageis nor sorighrasto
researchers
or of old objectsby
t i o n st h a t f a v o rt h e m u l r i p l i c a e, a leadingrole rvasplayedby
S i m i l a r c o n s i d e r a t i o nasp p l v
researchaswell.
t the biood hadno pressurebeLeuseof sphygmomanometers
ty beforetherewere actuarres.
itieslike theseshouldratherbe
:ernative
w a v so i k n o w i n g O
. f,edby a viiriety of interestsar.rd
r a n do b j e c t i v i t yi n t h i ss t o r yo f
r e i n e v i t a b lper o d u cot f s c i e n c e
' .R a r h e ri t, w a sa n a d a p t a t i o tno
:nts,physicians,
businessexecthe unforthcorningapplicanrs
'orsand actuirries.
I
i
On thePartialExistence
of Existing
andIl{onexistingObjects
P R O L O G U ED: I D R A I \S, IE S I I D I E O F T U B E R C U L O S I S ?
ln797 6, the mummy of Rarnses
II waswelcornedat a Parisair brrservith the
honorsdue to a headof state,greetedbv a rnirristeq,
trLlmpets,
and the Rep u b l i c a nC u a r d si n f u l l a t t i r e .A s h i n r e da r i n t h e f i e r y t i t l e o ( P n r i s À l n t c h - " N o s s a v a n t sa u s e c o u r sd e R a m s è sI I t o m b é m a l a d e3 0 0 0a n s
a p r è ss a n t o r t " ( O u r s c i e n t i s ttso t h e r e s c u eo f R a m s e sI I , w h o f e l l i l l t h r e e
thousandyearsLtfter Itis detttll-something is at stakeherethat defiesthe
n o r m a lf l o w o f t i m e . r S i c k n e s e
s r u p t sa f t e r d e a t ha n d t h e f u l l b e n e f i to f
m o . - l e rtrer c h n o l o g a
y r r i v e sa t i n y b i t t o ol a t ei o r t h eg r e a tk i n g .I n t h i ss t u n n i n gp i c t u r e( t i g u r e1 0 . 1 )t,h em u n l m y i s b e i n go p e r a t e u
d p o no n r h es u r g r c , r lt a b l e ,v i o l e n t l y l i t b y f l o o d l i g h t ss, u r r o u n d e db y " o u r s c i e n t i s r si"n
white coatswearing masksagainstcontagion(either to protect Ramses
againsttheir modern-madegermsor to protectthemselvesfrom Pharaoh's
cr.rrse).
After carefulexamination,the verdictof the postrnortem('/posr//
i n d e e d! ) i s o f f e r e dR
: a m s e sI I h a dv e r y b a dt e e t h ,a t e r r i b l ed e f o l r l a t i o no i
T h i s c h a p t e r e t n a i r r sc l ( ) s et o t h e p a p e rr v r i t t e nf o r t h e c o n i e r e n c e
that isirt theorigin of this
b o o k . Am u c h m o d i f i e dv e r s i o n m
, o r e t c c h n i c aal n d m o r c p h i l o s o p h i c ahl ,a sb . ' c np u b l i s h c da s
c l r a p t t ' r5 o f P L u I L l o r ùH' so / , c :E s s r r r /i,t.t t l t e R eo l i t v o f - S c i c n , -' cSrfi r l l c sl C a n r [ . r i d g eH: i r r v a r d
U n i v e r s i t yP r e s s1, 9 9 9 ) .
l.lnspiteoftheflippanttitlesusualforPirris-r\lrrfrh.irreadingoftlietextshowsthatitis
n o t i ' l c t u i l l l vt h e k i n g l v h o h a sL r e c o msei c ka f t e rh i s d c a t h .b u t r r t h t r t h e m t : r n n r r ,f,r o m a n r n i e c t i o nL r , " 'fau n 5 ; u sI .n o n e t h e l t ' slsr a v ck c p t t h r ' i i r s t i n t e r p r e t i r t i o na,s s o c i r t e ud i t h t h e i r n a g e .
I , e c a u s t ' oi It s o n t o l o g i c . :i)n t e r r ' s tA
. ] l t h c d c ' t . r i los n t h e n r u n r n r r t. r i l n s p o r t i r t i o l, r n , lc u r ec a n
[,efound rn Christirne Desroches-NoblecouR
r t i, l / , l s i i I I , I n t é r i t L t [ t l t/ r i s l o r r c( P a r i s :P v e m a l i o n 1. 9 9 6 l .
)17
248
BRUNO
LATOUR
ilF
gtttrl8
fit
3Et!ott3s
I}Enlil888
lebaodldo
SlXtrrnrrpràc
ramort
I
Figure10.1. Our scientists
to therescue
of Ramses
II,whofellill threethousand
(FromPrrrisMotclt,September
yearsnfter ltistletttlt.
19561
the spinalcordthat causedextremepain.Too late for an intervention.But
not too late to claim still anothertriumph for Frenchphysiciansand surgeons,whosereachhasnow expandedin remotetime aswell as in remote
space.
The greatadvantage
of this pictureis that it rendersvisible,tangible,and
materialthe expenseat which it is possiblefor us ro think of rhe exrension
in spaceof Koch'sbacillus,discovered(or invented,or mader-rp,
or socially
c o n s t r u c t e di n) 1 8 8 2 L
. e t u s a c c e ptth e d i a g n o s iosi " o u r b r a v es c i e n t i s t sa"t
facevalueandtakeit asa provedfactthat Ramsesdiedof tuberculosis.
How
could he havedied of a bacillusdiscoveredin 1882and of a diseasewhose
etiology,in its modernform, datesonly from 1819in Laênnec's
rvard?Is it
not anachronistic?
The attribution of tuberculosisand Koch'sbacillusto
RamsesII shouldstrike us as an anachronismof the samecaliberas if we
had diagnosedhis deathas having beencausedbv a Marxist upheaval,or
a m a c h i n eg u n , o r a W a l l S t r e e tc r a s h I. s i t n o t a n e x r r e m ec a s eo f " w h i g gish" history,transplantinginto the pasrrhe hiddenor porenrialexisrence
of the future?Surely,if we want to respectactors'categories,
theremust be
in the Egyptian languagea term and a set of hieroglyphs,for instance
Ë,ri_çfln.
"Saodowaoth,"that definethe c
i n c o m m e n s u r a bw
l ei t h o u r o w
p o s s i b l yr e p l a c ei t b y " a n i n f e c
localhistory that limits rhem to
be allowedto spreadto all the r
claim is accepted
asa factand in
c e r t a i n l yt h e y c a n n ojtu m p b a c
A n d y e t ,i f w e i m m e d i a t e l v
c h i n eg u n ,a M a r x i s tg u e r i l l am
t h e E g y p to f 1 0 0 08 . c . ,w e s e e n
e x t e n s i o no f t u b e r c u l o s itso t h t
a t l e a s tw
, e s e e mt o b e t o r n b e t r
w h i c hw o u l db ea r a d i c a l l vr r n t i
i n g t h e e x p r e s s i o "nR a r n s e sI I r
t e n c eW
. e a r ea l l o w e do n l v t o s
r n 7 9 7 6t o i n t e r p r e tR a m s e sI I ' s
l o s i sb u t ,a t t h e t i m e ,i t w a si n r
o r s o m es u c hw o r d .S a o d o w a o
i s n o w o r d t o t r a n s l a t ei t . T h e c a
s h o u l dr e m a i n i r r e t r i e v a b l ei n
r a n t . "T h e s e c o n d
s o l u t i o ni s I s
t h a t a c c e p t st u b e r c u l o s i sa n d I
p r o v i s i o n a l l yf i n a l r e v e l a t i o nc
c o u r s eo f h i s t o r y .S a o d o w a o tah
m i s t a k e sw; h a t r e a l l y h a p p e n e
e n t i s t s".
F o r t u n a t e l yt h, e r ei s a n o r h e r
b y t h ew o r k t h a th a sb e e nc a n ' i
of science.
Kochbacilluscanbe e
to the radicalanti-whiggishpos
To allow for suchan extenslon,s
laboratorywork. The mummy h
t a l , e x a m i n e db y w h i t e - c o a ts p
rayed,bonessterilizedwith cob
practiceis quietly ignoredby the
tensron
i n t i m ea si f i t w e r ea s i m
strurnent,no specialiytrainedsu
P n r i s - M a t c hp i c t u r ei s t h a t R a r
feature:tubercr-rlosis.
But none <
thernselves
beexpandedor trans
other words,Koch'sbacillusma1
Ë . t i s f i n s . r r r r / N o r r c " r i , s f ir r g O b i e c f s
/
@
#
rmses
II,rvhoiellill threethousancl
m b e r1 9 5 6 )
-oo
late for an intervention.But
for Frenchphysiciansand surerrlotetime aswell as in rernote
rt it rendersvisible,tangible,and
' [ o r u s t o t h i n ko f t h ee x t e n s i o n
nvented,or madeup, or socially
n o s i so f " o u r b r a v es c i e n t i s t sa"t
a m s e sd i e do f t u b e r c u l o s iH
s .o w
i n 1 8 8 2a n d o f a d i s e a s w
e hose
r m 1 8 1 9i n L a ë n n e c 'ws a r d ?I s i t
erculosisand Koch'sbacillusto
ism of the samecaliberas if we
,usedby a Marxist upheaval,or
r not an extremecaseoi "whigh e h i d d e no r p o t c n t i ael x i s t e n c e
actors'categories,
theremust be
et of hieroglyphs,for instance
219
" S a o d o w a o t "ht,h a td e f i n er h ec a u s eo f R a m s e sd' e a t h B
. u t i f i t e x l s t si t i s s o
i n c o m m e n s u r a bw
l ei t h o u r o w n i n t e r p r e t a t i o ntsh a t n o t r a n s l a t i o nc o u l d
possiblyreplaceit by "an infectionof Koch'sbacilh,rs."
Koch bacillihavea
locah
l i s t o r yt h a tl i m i t st h e m t o B e r l i na t t h e t u r n o f t h ec e n r u r yT. h e y r n a y
be allon'edto spreadto all the yearsthat cornen.ffer1882providedKoch's
asa factand incorporatedlater into routine practices,
clairnis accepted
but
c e r t a i n l yt h e y c a n n ojtu m p b a c kt o t h ey e a r sb e fo r e .
A n d y e t , i f w e i r n r n e d i a t e l dy e t e c t h e a n a c h r o n i s roni b r i n g i n ga m a c h i n eg u n ,a M a r x i s tg u e r i l l ar n o v e m e n to, r a W a l l S t r e e tc a p i t a l i sbt a c kt o
t h e E g y p to f 1 0 0 08 . c . w
, e s e e mt o s w a l l o ww i t h n o t s om u c h a sa g r . r l pt h e
e x t e n s i o no f t u b e r c u l o s itso t h e p a s t .M o r e e x a c t l y f, o r t l t i st y p e o f o b j e c t
a t l e a s tw
, e s e e mt o b e t o r n b e t w e e nt w o o p p o s i t ep o s i t i o n sT. h e f i r s t o n e ,
w h i c hw o u l d b ea r a d i c a l l ya n t i - w h i g g i s hh i s t o r y ,i o r b i d su s f r o m e v e ru s i n g t h e e x p r e s s i o "nR a m s e sI I d i e do f t u b e r c u l o s i sa" sa m e a n i n g f u ls e n t e r r c eW
. e a r e a l l o w e do n l y t o s a y t h i n g sl i k e " o u r s c i e n t i s t h
s a v es t a r t e d
i n 7 9 7 6 t o i n t e r p r e tR a r n s e IsI ' s d e a t ha sh a v i n gb e e nc a u s e db y t u b e r c u l o s i sb u t , a t t h e t i m e .i t r v a si n t e r p r e t e da sb e i n gc a r - r s ebdy ' s a o d o w a o t h '
o r s o m es u c hw o r d .S a o d o w a o t ihs n o t a t r a n s l a t i o no f t u b e r c u l o s i T
s .h e r e
i s n o w o r d t o t r a n s l a t ei t . T h e c a u s eo f R a r n s e s ' d e a ti sht h u s u n k n o w na n d
s h o u l dr e m a i n i r r e t r i e v a b l ei n a p a s t f r o r n w h i c h w e a r e i n f i n i t e l y d i s t a n t . "T h e s e c o n ds o l u t i o ni s a s o r t o f s e l f - c o n f i d e n lta, i d - b a c kw h i g g i s m
t h a t a c c e p t st u b e r c u l o s i sa n d K o c h ' sb a c i l l u sa s t h e l o n g - e x p e c e da n d
p r o v i s i o n a l l yf i n a l r e v e l a t i o no f w h a t h a s b e e na t w o r k a l l a l o n g i n t h e
c o u r s eo f h i s t o r y .S a o d o w a o tahn da l l s u c hg i b b e r i s hd i s a p p e aarss ol n a n y
m i s t a k e sw; h a t r e a l l yh a p p e n e di s e v e n t u a l l ye x p o s e db y " o u r b r a v es c i e n t i s t s".
Fortunately,thereis anothersolutionthat is revealedby this pictureand
by the work that hasbeencarriedout, ior a generationnow on the practrce
Kochbacilluscanbe extendedinto the pastto be sure-contrary
of science.
r
a
d
i
c aal n t i - w h i g g i s hp o s i t i o n - , b u t t h i s c a n n o rb e d o n et t t t t o c o s t .
to the
To allow for suchan extension,somework hasto be done,especiallysome
l a b o r a t o r yw o r k .T h e m u m m y h a st o b e b r o u g h ti n t o c o r t t t t cwt i t h a h o s p i tal, examinedby white-coat specialistsr-rnderfloodlights,the lungs Xrayed,bonessterilizedwith cobalt60, and so on. All this labor-intensive
practiceis quietly ignoredby the whiggishposition,which speaksof the ext e n s i o ni n t i m e a si f i t w e r ea s i m p l em a t t e t r e q u i r i n gn o l a b o r a t o r yn,o i n struûlent,no speciallytrainedsurgeon,no X rays.What is madeclearby the
P a r i s - M a t c hp i c t u r ei s t h a t R a m s e sI I ' s b o d y c a nb e e n d o w e dw r t h a n e w
i e a t u r e t: u b e r c u l o s i sB.u t n o n e o f t h e e l e m e n t sn e c e s s J rtyo p r o v ei t c a n
themselves
be expandedor transportedbackto threethousandyearsago.In
other words,Koch'sbacillusmav travel in time, not the hospitalsurgeons,
250
BRUNo
L,\roLrR
f ,t I s f I r
n o r r h e X - r a y m a c h i n e ,n o f t h e s t e r i l i z a t i o no u t f i t .
When we impute
retroactivelya modern shapedevent to the pastwe
ha'e fo sortorf the
fact-Koch bacillus'sdevastatingeffecton tl.r.lung-*ith
that of the material and practicalsetupnecessary
to renderthe th.itvisible.It is only if we
believethat factsescLtpt'
their 'etwork of productio' that we arefaceâwith
the questionrvhetheror not RamsesII dieclof tuberculosis.
The problemappearsdifticult orriy for sortett/peofobjects
ancro.ry for
.
the f l,rc dime'sion,c)bvio'slv no onecoultlho'L'th" rr,r.,"
worry fora mac h i n eg u n ,u n l e s sw e i n v e n ta t i r n ec a p s ' r eI.t i s i m p o s s i b lfeo r
u st o i m a g i ' e
t h a t a m a c h i n eg u n c o u l db e t r a n s p o r t e idn t o t h e p a s t .
T h u s ,t e c h n o l o g i c a r
objectsdo not ha'e the samepopularontologynnà .un,..,o,
tra'el rrackinto
tJrep.as1
under any circumsrances,
which ,orl'ht b. one wervof ,ouing ,t n,
the philosophyof technologyis a betterguidefor ontology
it-rnn,t pf;itor"
o p h y o f s c i e n c eF'o rt e c h n o l o g yo,b j e c t s, . . , . , ' . r . o p . r h e
c o n d i t i o nâ
, f,h"i,
productions.
An isolatedmachinegun in the remotepastls a pragrnatic
absurdity-and so,by the way,is an isolated,.,'rochi,re
gun in th" pr"l.,-rtwithout the k.ou'-ho*,, bullets, oil, repairmen,ancl logistics
,.,...rrury ,o
actir'ateit. Another adva'tageof a technological
artifa-ctis that we haven,
d i f f i c u l t vi n i m a g i n i n gt h a t i t r u s t su * o y r n J , r i r a p p e a r s .
T h u si t a l * , a \ , sr e m a i n st i e d t o a c i r c u m s c r i b eadn d r v e i l - d e f i n esdp a t i o t e m p o r a r
en'eiope.,
A n i s o l a t e dK o c hb a c i l l u si s a l s oa p r a g m a t i ca b s ur d i t y
s i n c et h o s et y p e so f
factscannotescape
their networksof procluctioneither.yet *. ,..^ to b.lievethey can,because
for science,
,r,rilf n, science
orrly,weforgetthe local,
materitri,trnd practical.ne*vo.ksthar acconrpanyartifacts
ii.ough th.
r v h o l ed u r a t i o no f t h e i rl i v e s .
of course,rvehavelearned,after readingsciencesrucries
of trllsorts,thirt
frrctsca.nnot,
evenlry the wildestimaginati"on,
escape
their Ioc.'rl
concliti,ns
of production.We now know that even to verifv sLrch
a uniye,rsalfirctas
gravitationwe needsomehorvto connectthe local
scenervith a laboratory
t h r o t r g ht h ec r u c i a l m e d i r . romf m e t r o l o g ya n ds t a r r d a r d i z a t i o n . A n c l
v e t ,w e
r a r e l yb e l i e v et h i s t o b e t h e c a s ei n t h e r , , o f e . f r f r r r . c - t h e r e
s e e m s ' rboe a
time when rhe Kochbacillusproliferaresevervwhere
without bacteriologi c a ll a b o r a t o r i e s - a n di n t h e ' c r r r o f cp n s t - t h e r e
s e e m st o b en o n e e cfr, r a
ne*vork ro artachRamsesII to a diagnosis.
unlike technologicalartifacts,
scie.tificf.rctsseem,onc.ewe wanderawayirom t]relocal
conitio',, of f .oductionin the pastaswellasin the fr.rtr-rre,io
fr.. themselvesirorn trreirspatioternporalenvelope.Inertiaser'n1s
to takeoverirt no cost.The gre;rtlesson
2 . E x c e p ti n t h r F r a n k e n s t e j n i i rnni g l t t n t â r e sS. e em 1 ,
,'{rrrnrio
s r i/rc Lo.,r,olIt,r/rno/c,Srl,
rransC
. a t h e r i n eP o r . t e(rC a n r b r i d g e : H a l , , a rUc nl r v e r s i t l ,p r e s s ,
1 9 9 6 ) .O n t h e l a v e r r n gi r s p e c t
o i t e c h n o l o g i es e et h t n r l r . r . e l , , r n
5 ( ) \ , 1 [. r1' R i c h , r r dp u r ' c r . sG
. ( 7 [ r r c ,]r.72 ( N e r r , ) b r k :
F,rrrac
S r r . r u s s . r nCtilr i l u r I Q u 5L
oI the pictureshoi.t,n
aboveis t
t u r e ,a n de x t e n s i o n
in space
mi
cases,
rhe localsceneshotrld[.
s o m es o r t o f e x t e n d e do r s t a n
p o s s i b l et o p r o n o u r l c teh e s e n
o u t b r i n g i n gb a c ka l l t h e p r .
sentence.
In other'"vords,
providt.dth,
nologicalprojects,(2) we trea
c o s r l rc' ,r r df r a g i l ea se x t e n s i u n
to [.,ethe nrode]that rendersi nr
o f p r o d u c t i o nt,h e n w e a r e f a c
o u g h h i s t o r i c i z a t i onno t o n l r rc
i e c t sf / r , ' r r r - . c / i ,Bc ys .l e . r r n i r r ti l
network accollntof realitr,tha
a nt i - w h i g g i s m
h etaphvsirs.
P U R G I N GO U R A C C O U N T S
N E V E R ,A L W A Y S N
, OWHER
To forn.rtrlate
the questionof thi
o f t h e p r o l o g u e( W h a t h a p p e n
w r o n g l vg i v e nt o t h ec a r r s e , I, it.
beforeI8B2 and7976?1:
. Where were rhe objecs
tht
t h e i r l i m i t e da n dh i s r o r i c i i l l l
. W h e r ew e r et h eo h l e c r s
rl.'r
c i s i v ea n dn o l o n g e rh i s t o r i c a
I n ' i l l n o t t r y t o a n s w e rt h e s e
logicallevel,3rvhichI couldcall ,,
r i a i i s r n l - i n w h i c ht ] r er r o r i o nts
t h e d o m i n a n tr o l e .M v g o a li n t h j
s o p h i c a Il .s i m p l yw a n t i o d i gn l . ,
d e di n w h a t c o u l db e c a l l e dt h e , ,
science
s t u d i e sN
. ot that I want r
estedirr mappinga corlmon gror
i t t fe r n t e t l i n r yb e t w e e nt h e p r a c t i
- 1 .F o r t h j s s e e r n v p r l r i , / o r a . j H r ) p r r
Er
H i r r v a r d U n i v e r s i t v p r e s s ,1 9 9 9 1 .
E r i s f i n I r r l i i N o r rr , r i s t i r r g O b j r ' L fs
ation outfit. When we irnpute
he past r.t'ehave fo sorf olrf the
r t h e l u n g - w i t l r t h a to f t h e m a er the firctvisible.It is only ii we
roductionthat we are facedwith
I of tuberculosis.
o m e t y p eo f o b j e c t sa n do n l y i o r
l d h a v et h es a m ew o r r y l ' o ra m a l t i si m p o s s i b lf eo r L r st o i m a g i n e
n t o t h e p a s tT
. h u s ,t e c h n o l o g i c a l
l o g y a n dc a n n o t r a v e ll r d c ki n t o
n i g h t b e o n e w a y o f s a y i n gt h a t
i d ef o r o n t o l o g yt h a nt h ep h i l o s -rer escilpe
the conditionsof their
]e reûlotepastis a pragmaticabn a c h i n eg u n i n t h e p r e s e nw
t ith, e n , a n d l o g i s t i c sn e c e s s a r vt o
ogicalartifactis that we haveno
nd disappears.
Thus it alwaysrel
fined spatiotemporalenvelope.
i c a b s u r d i t ys i n c et h o s et y p e so f
:rctioneither.Yet we seemto besciettcc
t'tnly,we forgetthe locarl,
- o n r p a n yi . r r t i f a c ttsl r r o u g h t h e
q sciencestudiesof all sorts,that
o n ,e s c a p teh e i rl o c a lc o n d i t i o r r s
r verifv such a urriversalfact as
he localscenewith a laboratorl,
, r r ds t a n d a r d i z r t i o n . . Ay ne dt ,n e
o t ef t t t t r r e - t h e r es e e r . rt.or sb e a
, e r y w h c r ew i t h o u tb a c t e r i o l o g - t h e r es e e m st o b e n o n e e df o r a
;. Unlike technologicrrl
artifacrs,
from the localconditionsof pror freethemselvesfrom their spao v e ra t n o c o s tT. h e S r e a lt e s s o r l
251
o i t h ep i c t u r es h o w na b o v ci s t h a te x t e n s i o n
i n t h ep a s t e
, xtension
i n t h ef u t u r e ,a n de x t e n s i o ni n s p a c e
l n a v r e q u i r et h e : ç r i r rtryep eo f l a b o rI.n t h et h r e e
cases,
the localsceneshouldbe hookedup to laboratorypracticethrouglr
somesort of extendedor standardized
or lnetrologizednetwork.It is impossible
t o p r o n o u r l c teh e s e n t e n c "eR a r n s e IsI d i e do i t u b e r c u l o s i sw" i t h o u t b r i n g i n g b a c k i ' r l lt h c p r a g n r a t i c o r r d i t r o n tsh a r g i v e r r u r h t o r h i s
sentence.
In other wor ds,providedthat (1) we treat all scientificobjectslike techn o l o g i c apl r o j e c t s(,2 ) w e t r e a ta l l e x p a n s i o ni n t i r n t ' i r sb e i n ga s d i f f i c u l t ,
c o s t l l 'a, n df r a g i l ea se x t e n s i o nisn s p a c ea,n d1 : 1w e c o n s i d esr c i e n cset u d i e s
to bethe modelthat rendersirrtl:ttssible
the escape
of a factfrom its network
o i p r o d u c t i o nt,h e n w e a r e f a c e dw i t h a n e w o n t o l o g i c apl u z z l e t: h e t h o r o u g h h i s t o r i c i z a t i onno t o n l v o f t h e , / i s c o t , c ro1i7o b . i e c t sb,u t o f t h o s eo l r j e c t sf / l c i i l s e / i r cB
, e r n i g 6 tp r o v i d ee r
s .) ' l e a r n i n gt h e l e s s o no f t h i s p i c t u r ew
network âccoLrnt
of realitv that wor-rldescapeboth whiggish and radical
anti-whiggish
metaphl,srcs.
O F F O U RA D V E R B S :
P U R G I N GO U R A C C O U N T S
N E V E R ,A L W A Y S N
, O W H E R EE. V E R Y W H E R E
T o f o r m u l a t et h e q u e s t r o n
o f t h i se s s a vl e t m e g e n e r a l i zteh et l v oq u e s t i o n s
of the prologue(What happenedafrer7976 to "Saodowaoth,"the narne
w r o n g l ys i v e nt o t h e c a u s eo f R a m s e sd' e a t h7W h e r ew e r et h e K o c hb a c i l l i
b e f o r c1 8 8 2a n d1 9 7 6 ? ) :
. Where were the objectsthat no longer exist when they existedin
t h e i rl i r n i t e da n dh i s t o r i c a l l yc r o o k e dw t r v s?
. W h e r ew e r et h e o b j e c t st h a t n o w e x i s tb e i o r et h e y a c q u i r e d
t h i sd e c i s i v ea n dn o l o n g e rh i s t o r i c i rml o d eo I e x i s t e n c7e
I w i l l n o t t r y t o a n s w e rt h e s eq u e s t i o n sa t t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a, rl n do n t o l o g i c alle v e l , 3w h i c hI c o u l dc a l l" h i s t o r i c , rrle a l i s r . n " - n o t h i s t o r i c aml a t e r i a l i s ml - i n w h i c h t h e n o t i o n so f e v e n t sr,e l a t i o n sa, n dp r o p o s i t i o npsl a y
althor"rgh
theoretical,is not philothe dornirrantrole.lvly goalin this essay,
s o p h i c a Il .s i m p l l ,w a n tt o d i go t r tt h et h e o r vo f " r e l a t i v ee x i s t e n c ee"m b e d d e di n r v h a tc o u l dl , e c a l l e dt h e " b e s tp r a c t i c e o" f h i s t o r i a n so i s c i e n c a
end
s c i e n c se t u d i e sN
. o t t h a t I w a n t t o g i v e t h e m a l e s s o nI. a r n s i m p l y i n t e r that rvouldbe
estedin rlirpping a corrllnonground,a corrlrnonvocaL.tr-tlary,
i t t t e r m e d t t r yL ' t e n v e et hne p r a c t i c eo f h i s t o r i c anl a r r a t i v ei n t h e s o c i ahl i s -
m \ ' , ' l r r r i n r , ço r f / r c ,L o i ' t ' t r f 1 ? ' c h n o l o , q r r
, i t v P r e r s .I q g o r .O r r t h e l r r e r i n g . r r p u . t
P o r v e r s ,C l r t / r l f r ' r2r . 2 l N e l t ' Y o r k : F a r r e r .
i casm b r i d g e :
3 . F o r t h i s s e em v P r r l l r i o r r rI' sJ o p t ' rE s s n r Ttsr t t l t t ' R e L t l i t tol f - S c i , ' r t c e , S t l r di C
H i r r v a r dU n i v e r s i n 'P l e s s ,l ! l c l 9J .
252
BRUNO
I-A'IOUR
t o r y o f s c i e n coen t h eo n eh a n da n dt h eo n t o l o g i c rqr lu e s t i o n tsh a ta r er a i s e d
b y t h i sp r a c t i c e
o n t h e o t h e r .M y i d e ai s s i m p l yt h a t i n t h e l a s tt w e n t yv e a r s
science
hrrveraisedenoughproblems,monsters,and pr-rzzles,
historiansof
s ,e t , r ç r h y s r s u c ha st h a to i R a m s e sI I ' sc a u s eo i d e a t h t, o k e e pp h i l o s o p h e r m
. e r r rl d d l cg r o l tr l dI r ' v a ntto e x c i a n sa, n ds o c i atlh e o r i s t sb u s yf o r d e c a d eTs h
p l o r eh e r ec o u l da t l e a s tp r e v e n tu s f r o m a s k i n gt h e w r o n gq u e s t i o n os f t h e
h i s t o r i c anl a r r a t i v e sa t h a n d ,a n d s h o u l dh e l p f o c t r so u r r t t e n t i o n o n n e w
benveenrealismand rei,rquestionshitherto iriddenby tlre iierceciebates
tivism.
To give sornefleshto the theoreticalquestionsraisedhere,I will ttse,not
r h ec a s eo f R a r n s eIsI ( a r b o uwt h i c h I d o n o t k n o n ' e n o u g h )b, u t t h e c l e b a t e s
generation.I do not wish
betweenPilsteurand PouchetovL'rspontaneous
it
hereto addanything to its historiography,but to useit preciselvbecause
i s s ow e l l k n o w nt h a t i t c a nb e u s e cal sa c o n v e n i e ntto p o sf o r a l l r e a d e r s . t
W h a t i s r e l a t i v ee x i s t e n c ei ?
t i s a n e x i s t e n cteh a t i s n o l o n g e rf r a m e db y
t h e c h o i c eb e t w e e nn e v e ra n d n o w h e r eo n t h e o n e h a n d ,a n d a l r v a y sa n d
everywhereon the other.If we startby havingto choosebetweenthesepos i t i o n si m p o s e du p o n u s b y t h e t r t r d i t i o n af lo r n r t r l a t i o nosf t h e p h i l o s o p h y
o f s c i e n c ew,e c a n n o th o p et o f u l f i l t h e g o a l so f t h i s b o o k .P o u c h e t 'ssp o n t a w i l l h a v en e t ' c 'br e e nt h e r ea n y u , h e r ei n t h e w o r l d ;i t w a s
n e o u sg e n e r a t i o n
a n i l l u s i o na l l a l o n g ;i t i s n o t a l l o n ' e dt o h a v eb e e np a r t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o no f
e n t i t i e sr l a k i n g u p s p à c ea n d t i n r e .P a s t e u r ' ise r m e n t sc i r r r i e dL t vt h e a i r ;
and have been
been there. all along, ai,cryu,ltr'ra,
however,have rrla,rry,.
bonafide membersof the populationof entitiesrnakingup spaceand time
To Lresure,historianscantell us a iervamusingthin5is
long beforePtrsteur.
on why Pouchetand his supportersrvrongly believedin the existenceof
generation,andwhy Pasteurfumbleda few yearsbeforefindspontaneous
irrgthe right rrnswer,
but the tracingof thosezigzagsgivr'sus no ne\t'essen. lthuughtht'r'provide
t i à l i n f o r n r . r r r oor rn t h e e n t i t i e si n q u e s t i o n A
i n f o r m a t i o no n t h e s u b j e c t i v i t ya n d h i s t o r v o f l t u n r a r ta g e n t sh, i s t o r y o f
science,in such a rendering,doesnot provide any other inforrnationon
pa
r t u r eB
. v a s k i n ga n o n h u m a ne n t i t v t o q v i q l w h t r tm a k e st t p r t o n l t r t n t r n
- 1 .J o h n F a r l e l ' ", T h e S p o n t a n e o u G
s t ' n t ' r a t i o nC o n t r o v e r s ' " ' 1 7 0 0 l 8 6 0 : T h c O r i g i n o I
P .rra s i t i cW o r r n s, " l o u r n n lo i t h r ' H r s l o r 'o. vf 6 i o l o g v5 ( 1 9 7 2) :9 5- 1 l r ; I o h np . t 1 . t .1 / 1 e- Ç p o r r f . i r ? r , r ) uCsr ' / l r ' r r l l r t l rC o n f r o i ' t r s yf r r l l I ) t s c r i r l e si r r L ) | r t r i n ( B a l t i m o r r ']:o h n sH o p k i n sU n i v r ' r s i t y P r e s s ,1 9 7 - l ) ;G er ; r l d G e i s o n , l - h L ' P r i i ' r t cf - Ç r : i i ' t t r,cr f L o t t t s P r r scf t t r ( P r i n c c t o n :
s e P a s t e t t rs u r l t ' s
P r i n c c t o nU n i v e r s i t v P r c ' s s , 1 9 9 5 )R; i c h r r d l v { o r t ' a u ", L e s e x p é r i e n c e d
g e n é r a t i o n s p o n t a n é e sL:e p o i n t d t ' r ' u ed ' u n m i c r o b i o l o q i s t t ' .p"a r t s I ( " L a f i n d ' u n I n v t h e " )
a n , 11 ( " L e sc o n s é q L r e n c eLs r" tli , i , ' r i l ' s c i c t t r , 9' s,n o . I ( 1 c ) 9 1 ) : 2 3 1 - 6 0 ; n- {o( .1 9 9 1 1 ; l S 7 - 3 l l ;
l o u c h c t : T h r ' I I e t e r o g e n e soifst h e H i s t r r r vo I S c i c n c r ' ,i"n H i s t o r 1 l
B n r n o L a t o u r ," P a s t e uar n L P
o f S c i c n t i [ i c T h o r r gehdt ,.N { i c h t 'Sl e r r e s( L o n d o nB: l a c k r v c l ] , 1 9 9 5 1 , 5 2 6 - 5 5 .
Ë-ti-çti
o r m o r e e . \ a c t l yt o h r v e e x i s t
where,the epistemological
qrfactsand bansit for nonhum,r
C o n t r a r yt o t h i s p o p u l a rv e
b e s a i dt h a t t h e n e w s o c i a ol r
q r ' l r ' in / i : n fi o r t o . fh i s t o r i c i t r r
and psychologrcal
agerrcy,ro
w o r s h i p e l sw, i l l a s k t h e q u e s
will requirePouchet1tlhs1'glrr
Pasteur's
findings-under the
a t i v ee x i s t e n c ies e x a c t l vr v h a
tory; it is alsowhat lve takefor
t h e s o c i aal n d t e c h n i c ael v e n r
p u t i n t o t h e P r o c r u s t e abne do l
r s t i n gs o r n e w h aitr,r v i n gI l r t
time,havingpredecessors
and :
l i n e a t i n gt h e s p a t i o r e n l p o rearl
o i t e r m sa n de r p r e s s i o ntsh t l rs l
i t s e l f a n di o r t h eg e
{eneration
L e t m e t r y î v e r y s k e t c h lh
s v m m e t r i c ahl i s t o r i c i z t r t i o n
S
tant phenon-renon
in a Europec
nomenoneveryonecouldeasi
phenomenom
n a d em o r ec r e d
s c o p eP. a s t e u r 'd' se n i a lo f i t s c x
n a r r o wc o n f i n eos f t h e r u ed ' U l
t o p r e v e n tr v h a th e c a l l e d" g e r
flasks.When reproducedin Rc
a n d t h e n e r vb o d i l ys k i l l sw e r e
Paristo Normandy and sponta
flasksas readily as before.Pas
c o m m o np h e n o m e n o n
irom sp
t . . \{' f' , r s i r ) ul f l a b o r a t o r yp r i c r i
sary."Finally,"the wholeof ern
i c i n e ,b y r e l y i n g o n r h i s n e \
g e n e r a t i o nw, h i c h ,u s i n gt h e p a
t h i n g t h a t ,a l t h o u g hi t h a d b e e
n o w a b e l i e fi n a p h e n o m e n o n
t
w o r l d .T h i s e x p u l s i o nt r r r de r a
textbooks,the making of histo
tions from universitiesto the
E - r i s t i r ? l i r i n d N o r r e r i s f i r r g O b . ie c f s
, i c a l c l u e s t i otnhsa ta r er a i s e d
t h a ritn r h el a s tt w e r r t yy e a r s
.enls,monsters,an.l puzzles,
e pp hi l o s o p h e rm
s ,e t a p h y s i : n r i d t l l eg r o u r r rIl w a n t t o e x gthe'"vronq
g u e s t i o n os f t h e
f o c u so u r a t t e n t i o no n n e w
's Lretween
realisrl and rela'nsraisedhere,I will use,nor
c w e n o u g h )b, u t t h e c l e b a t e s
u s g e n e r a t i o nI.d o n o t l v i s h
t o ( r s ei t p r e c i s e l b
v e c i r u siet
ient toposfor all readers.+
: that is no longerfrrrmedby
e one hand,and alwaysand
to chooseL.retween
thesepon u l i r t i o n so f t h e p h i l o s o p h y
t h i s b o o k .P . r u c h e t s' sp o n t a t y i p l l s v ,i n t h e w o r l d ;i t w a s
l e n p a r to f t h e p o p u l a t i o no f
ferrnentscarriedby the arç
: t , c r r 1 u , h e Taen,d h a v eb e e n
s r t r i r k i n 5uip s p a c ea u d t i n r e
: e l lu sa i e w a n r u s i n e
things
L.telieved
in the existenceof
bleda few yearsbeforefind; z a g sg i v e su s n o n e we s s e n n. .A,lthoughthey pror.'ide
f l t t n t t t t tat g e n t sh, i s t o r v o f
i l n y o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o no n
r c l n h u m a ne n t i t y t o e x i s t -
e r s r - I l 0 0 - l b o U :T h e U I i ( : n , , 1 '
l 1 : : ) 5 l l - 5 ; I o h n F r r l e y ,7 - l r c- Ç p o r r r l B a l t i r n o r eJ:o h n sH o p k i n sU n i r..' of loriis Pristcll lPrinceton:
's !'xpérienced
s e P i r s t e u rs u r l e s
; t r . . "p a r t s1 1 " L r f i n d ' , u nu r v t h e " )
l ) : 1 . 3 1 - 6 0n; o . - 1( 1 9 9 2 )1: 8 7 3 2 1 ;
: h r 'H i s t or v o f S c i c n c e" ,i n H i , çf o r V
, 19t)5),546_55
253
or more exactlyto haveexisted-either ne!'er-nowhere
or alrvays-everyn ' h e r et,h e e p i s t e m o l o g i ccallu e s t i o ini m i t s h i s t o r i c i t vt o h u r n a n sa n da r t i f i r c t sa n db a n si t f o r n o n h u m a n s .
Contraryto this popularversionof the role of history rn science,
it could
be saidthat the new socialor cultural history of scienceis definedby the
gertt'rttlizatiort
ct.fltistttriclry,usuallygrirntedonly to social,technological,
and psr,'chological
agencv,to natural agencies.No one, even his French
rvorshipers,
will ask the question,"Wl.rerewas PasteLrr
[refore\822?" Or
w i l l r e q u i r eP o u c h etto h a v eb e e nn o n e x i s t e nitn 1 8 6 4 - w h e n h e d i s p u t e s
Pasteur's
findings-under the pretextthat he wasdefeatedby Pasteur.
Relativeexistenceis exactlywhat we ;1reusedto dealingwith in human history; it is alsowhat we takefor grantedior technological
artifacts.None of
t h e s o c i aal n d t e c h n i c , ,ervl e n t sm a k i n gu p a h i s t o r i c anl a r r r l t i v eh a v et o b e
put into the Procrr-rstean
bedof never-nowhere
or allvarvs-everywhere.
Existing sornewhat,having a little realitv occupyinga definitiveplaceancl
time,havingpredecessors
and successor's:
thosearethe normal waysof delineiltingthe spatiotemporal
envelopeof history.Theseareexacrlyrhekind
o f t e r m sa n de x p r e s s i o nt h
s a ts h o u l db eu s e df,r o m n o w o n ,i o r s p o nt a n e o u s
q e n e r a t i o int s e l fa n d f o r t h eg e r m sc r r r r i e b
d y t l i ea i r .
the narrativeof which relieson this
Let me try a verv sketchyhistorr,',
s y m m e t r i c ahl i s t o r i c i z a t i o nS.p o n t a n e o ugse n e r a t i o nr v a sa v e r y i m p o r tant phenomenonin a Europedevoidol refrigeratorsand preserves,
a phenomenoneveryonecor"rld
easilyreproducein one'skitchen,an undisputed
p h e n o m e n om
n a d em o r ec r e d i b l et h r o u g ht h e d i s s e m i n a t i oonf t h e m i c r o s c o p eP. a s t e u r 'cs. l e n i ior fl i t s e x i s t e n c eo,n t h e c o n t r a r ve x i s t e do n l y i n t h e
n r r r r o wc o n i i n e o
s f t h e r u ed ' U l m l a b o r â t o r yâ,n do n l y i r r s o f aar sh e w a sa b l e
to preventwhat he called"germs" carriedby the air to enter the culture
flasks.When reproducedin Rouen,by Pouchet,the new materialculture
and the new bodily skillswere so fragilethat they couldnot migratefrom
P a r i st o N o r m a n d va n d s P e 1 1 1 3 n g g
oe
un
s e r i r t i o pn r o l i f e r a t e icnl t h e b o i l e d
t-lasks
as readily aisbefore.Pasteur'ssuccesses
in u.ithtlrttwirrgPouchet's
c o m m o np h e n o m e n o fnr o m s p a c e - t i r nree q u i r e da g r a d u a l a n dp u n c t i l i o u s
extensionof laboratorypracticeto eachsite and eachclairnof his adversarv."Finally," the wholeof emergingbacteriology,
agribusiness,
andmedicine, Lrv relying on this new set of practices,eradicatedspontaneous
generation,rvhich,usingthe pastperfect,they hadtransforr.ned
into somet h i n g t h a t ,a l t h o u g hi t h a d b e e na c o m m o no c c u r r e n c tco r c e n t u r i e sw, , r s
n o w a b e l i e ii n a p h e n o m e n o n
t h a t " h a dn e v e r "e x i s t e d" a n y w h e r e "i n t h e
world. This expulsionand eradication,howeve4requiredthe writing of
textbooks,the making of historicalnarratives,the setupof many institu. uch work had to be
t i o n s f r o m u n i v e r s i t r e tso t h e P a s t e u rN { u s e u m M
,t
l3 -|
BRUNO
LATOUR
done-has still to be done,as we will seebelow-to maintain Pouchet's
c l a i ma sa b e l i e fi n a n o n e x i s t e npt h e n o m e n o n .
if, to this da1',1'out.I put "finally" irltovein quotationmarks,becattse
producePouchet'sexperimentin a defectivemanner,by being,for instance
like me, a poor experimentetnot linking your bodily skills and material
c u l t u r et o t h es t r i c td i s c i p r l i noef a s e p s iasn dg e r mc u l t u r el e , r r n e idn m i c r o s u p p o r t i n gP o u c h e t 'csl a i m sw ' i l ls t i l l
b i o l o g yl a b o r a t o r i e tsh, e p h e n o m e n a
appear.5
Pasteurians
of coursewill callit "contamination," andif I warrtedto
p u b l i s ha p a p e rv i n d i c a t i n gP o u c h e t ' sc l a i m sa n d r e v i v i n g h i s t r a d i t i o n
b a s e do n r n y o b s e r v a t i o nnso o n ew o u l dp u b l i s hi t . B u t i f t h ec o l l e c t i vbeo d y
o f p r e c a u t i o n st h, e s t a n d a r d i z a t i otnh,e d i s c i p l i n i n gl e a r n e di n P a s t t ' u r i a n
laboratorieswere to be interrupted,not only by me,the badexperimenter,
b u t b y a w h o l eg e n e r r r t i oonf s k i l l e dt e c h n i c i a n st h, e n t h e d e c i s i o na b o u t
l h o l o s tw o u l db em a d eu n c e r t a i na g a i n . As o c i e t yt h a tw o u l d
w h o l v o na n cw
no longer know ho."vto cultivate microbesand control contamination
of 1864.
would havedifficulty in judging the claimsof the two adversaries
Thereis no point in history wherea sort of inertialforcec,tnbe countedon
to takeover the hard work of scientistsarrdrelay it ior eternity.{'For scient i s t st h e r ei s n o S e v e n t hD a y I
v f t h i s a c c o u n tb, u t r a t h e r
W h a t i n t e r e s t sm e h e r ei s n o t t h e a c c u r a c o
t h e À o n r o g e r t e i toyf t h e n a r r a t i v el v i t h o n e t h a t w o u l d h i r v ed e s c r i b e cf ol ,r
i n s t a n c et ,h e r i s eo f t h e r a d i c apl r a r t yf r, o m o b s c u r i t yu n d e rN a p o l e o nI I I t o
l n g i n e si n t o
o f D i e s ee
prominence
i n t h eT h i r d R e p u b l i co, r t h e e x p a n s i o n
s u b m a r i n e sT.h e d e m i s eo f N a p o l e o nI I I d o e sn o t m e a r lt h a t t h e S e c o n d
E m p i r en e v e re x i s t e dn; o r d o e st h e s l o w e x p u l s i o no f I ' o u c h e t ' s p o l l t â r e a nt h a t i t w a s n e T e rp a r t o f n a t u r e .I n t h e
n e o u sg e n e r a t i o nb v P a s t e u m
althoughtheir
sameway that we couldstill, to this day,meetBonapartists,
s e e ts p o n t a n e o ugse n e r c h a n c eo I b e c o m i n gp r e s i d e nits n i l , I s o m e t i m e m
, prebia t i o nb u f f sr v h od e f e n dP o u c h e t 'csl a i mb y l i n k i n gi t , f o r i n s t a n c et o
n
e
v
e
r
m
ânage
, l t h o u g ht h e y
o t i c sa n dw h o w a n t t o r e w r i t eh i s t o r ya g a i n a
to get their "revisionist" paperspublished.Both gror.rpshave now been
p u s h e dt o t h e f r i n g e ,b u t t h e i r m e r ep r e s e n c ies a n i n t e r e s t i n gi n d i c a r t i o n
t h a t t h e " f i n a l l y " t h a t a l l o w e cpl h i l o s o p h e rosi s c r e n c ei n, t h e f i r s t m o d e l ,
definitivelyto cleanthe world of entitiesthat havebeenprovedwrong was
t o o b r u t a l .N o t o n l y i s i t b r u t a l ;i t a l s oi g n o r e st h e m a s so f w o r k t h a t s t i l l
5.lhadthechanceinlgg2forthenventy-frfthanniversaryofnrvcentertoredothoseexp e r i m e n t si n t h e c o m p a n vo f S i m o n S c h a f f e rS
. e e t h e e s s a - ivn t h i s v o l u m e b y H a n s - J ô r g
Rhernberger.
6 . S e et h e i n t c r e s t i n gn o t i o no f " g r e y b o r e s "i n K a t h l e e nJ o r d a na n d I r { i c h a eLl v n c h ," T h e
N ' l a i n s t r e a m i nogf a M o l e c u l i r rB i o l o g i c a l T o o l , "J e c û r i o l o g yi r r t V o r k i r l gO r d c r ; - S f r r , l i cosl
l , V o r , (l r, r t c r r r c t i tot , , t n t l T c t h n r r l o ge, yd,.C . B u t t o n ( L o n d o n :R o L r t l e d g e1,9 9 3 ) .
Ë,risfirr
/ r r i .tço b e d o n e ,d a i l y ,t o a c r i v a
a l l , t h e R a d i c ap
l ilrtv disappe
m a s s i v ei n v e s t m e n t si n d e n t o c
to be taught,practiced,kept up,
that, i..rt
somepoint in historr,,I
phenornenathat harvebeenso ,
" d e f i n i t e l y "e x i s t st h i s d o e sn c
d e n t l y o f a l l p r a c t i c ea n d d i s c i
c o s t l Va n dm a s s i v ei t t s t i t t r t i t ut lt
g r e a tc a r e( s e el r e l o r v )T. h i s i s a
by ciemocrats
lvl.rosawthe Thir
a n db y t h e h i s t o r i a n sw h o s a u 'r,,
i n F r e r n c e" i.n e r t i r r , "o l . t v i o n s l
c o nt r o v e r s i e s .
DEI\4ARCATIONIS THE ENEI
Horv can we now rnâp the t\r'o d
w i t h o u ta p p e a l i ntgo t h et w o c l r a
F a s o lot f a l w a y s - e v e r y w h eir e
D
a t i v i s n r t n dc l a i mt h i r tb o t ha r g u
and temporal,trndthr-rscannotb
given enoughtime, to revisethe
two drrrgonsclairn,or more exalc
b o a s to, n l y a n u n d i f i e r e n t i a t es(
oncedemocracy,
commonsense(
way, accordingto them, to esca
and localityevery factthat hasbt
n o n h i s t o r i c anla t u r ew h e re i t l . r a
b y a n y s o r to f r e v i s i o nD
. entnrc
t h i s r e a s o nh, i s t o r i c i t yi s t h e nm r
a n d e n r p e r o r sw,h i l e n a t u r ei s p
phenomena
t h a t c l u t t e rH e r .I n t
a way for hurnansto access
nonl
a r y ,a n e c e s s a reyv i l ,b u t i t s h o u l
ers,a durablemodeof existencef,
The.seclaims,althor"rgh
thev
dangerous.
Dangerous,becausei
o f k e e p i n gu p r h e i n s t i t u t i o n st h
d u r a b l ee x i s t e n c er .e l ; , ni g i n s r e
m o r ei m p o r r a n t l yf o r t h i s b o o k ,t
E - r - i si fr E . i , r r l N o r rc " r i s t l r r g O l r l e c f s
[orn,-to maintain Pouchet's
ecauseif, to this day,you rer.lnneLby being,for instirnce
rr bodily skills and mare-rial
r m c r r l t u r lee a r n e d
in rnicrong Pouchet'sclaimsrvill still
Lminationa
, "n di f I w a n t e dt o
; and reviving his tradition
h i t . B u t i f t h ec o l l e c t i vbeo d y
l i n i n g l e a r n e tiln P a s t e u r i a n
)y me, the badexperimenteç
a n s ,t h e n t h e d e c i s i o na b o u t
n a g a i nA. s o c i e t yt h a tw o u l d
a n d c o n t r o lc o n t a r n i n a t i o n
the tlvo adversaries
of tSO+.
'rtial forcecanbe countedon
ay it for eternity.6For screny o f t h i s â c c o u n rb, u t r , r t h e r
at would havedescribed,
for
r u r i t y u n d e rN a p o l e o nI I I t o
n s i o no i D i e s eel n g i n e isn r o
3 not ûreanthirt the Second
u l s i o no f P o u c h e t ' s p o n t a nei,erpart of nature.In the
3 o n a p a r t i s tas l,t h o u g ht h e i r
e sm e e ts p o n t â n e o ugse n e r :ingit, for instance,to prebiI t h o u g ht h e y n e v e rm a n a g e
oth groups have now been
i s a n i n t e r e s t i n gi n d i c a t i o n
f science,
in the first model,
Lavebeenprovedwrong was
; t h e m a s so f w o r k t h a t s t i l l
s a r y o f m y c e n t e rt o r e d ot h o s ee x ; s a yi n t h i s v o l u m e b y H a n s - J i i r g
: n J o r d a na n d M i c h a e lL y n c h ," T h e
r g v i r l . V o r k i r r gO r d e r : S t : i d i t so f
Rout)edge,1993).
255
/rrlsto be clorre,
daily',to activ.rtethe "definitive" versionof history.After
as dld the Third Republic,for lack of
all, the Radicalparty disappeared,
massiveinvestmentsin democraticculture',which, like microbiology,has
to imagine
to L.te
taught,prilcticed,kept r,rp,sunk in. It is ahvaysdarrgerous
t h a t ,a t s o m ep o i n t i n h i s t o r y ,i t t t ' r t i ai s e n o u g ht o k e e pu p t h e r e a l i t yo f
p h e n o m e n at h a t h a v et ' e e ns o d i f f i c u l tt o p r o d u c eW
. hen a phenomenon
" d e t i n i t e l y "c ' x i s t st h i s d o e sn o t n r e a nt h a t i t e x i s t sf o r e v e r o, r i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f a l l p r a c t i c ea n d d i s c i p l i n eb, u t t h a t i t h a s b e e ne n t r e n c h e di n a
d ith
c o s t l ya n dm a s s i v ei r t s t i t u t i o rt rh a t h a st o b e m o n i t o r e da n dp r o t e c t e w
g r e a tc a r e( s e et r e l o w )T. h i s i s a l e s s o nt h i r tw a sl e a r n e dt h e h a r dr v a yb o t h
who sarvthe Third Republicflounderin the handsof Vichy,
by c{emocrats
andby the historianswho saw,to their dismay,the negationistsgain credit
i n F r i r n c e".l n e r t i a , " o [ . , v i o r . r s\l.ya,s n o p r o t e c t i o nr r g a i n srt e o p e n r n go f
controversies.
DEMARCAÎION
I S T H E E N E M YO F D I F F E R E N T I A T I O N
How canwe now map the two destiniesof Pasteur'sand Pouchet'sclairns
andthe
without appealingto the two dragons,the Faffner of never-nowhere
relFtrsoltof aiw,rys-everlrlvhgre
? Do we haveto embracea sir.nplemindecl
ativismandclaimthat both ârgumentsarehistorical,contingent,localized,
and temporal,and thus cannotbe differentiated,eacl.r
of them being able,
g i v e ne n o u g ht i l r e , t o r e v i s et h e o t h e ri n t o n o n e x i s t e n c eT?h i s i s w h a t t h e
exactlyroar threateningly.WithoLrtthem,they
two dragonsclairn,or r11ore
boast,only an undifferentiatedseaoi equalclaimswill appeatengulfingat
oncedemocracy,
commonsense,decency,
morality,andnature. . . The only
way,accordingto them, to escaperelativismis to rvithdrawfrom history
and localityevery frrctthat hasbeenprovenright, and to stockit safelyin a
n o n h i s t o r i c anla t u r ew h e r ei t h a sa l l v a v sb e e na n dc a nn o l o n g e rb e r e a c h e c l
. e n t s r c t t t i o rfto, r t h e m ,i s t h e k e y t o v i r t u ea n d ,f o r
b y a n y s o r to f r e v i s i o nD
this reason,historicityis then maintainedonly [or humans,radicalpartres,
a n d e m p e r o r sl ,v h i l e n a t u r ei s p e r i o d i c a l l .pvu r g e do f a l l t h e n o n e x i s t e n t
p h e n o m e n tah a t c l u t t e rH e r .I n t h i s d e m a r c a t i o n i vs ite w h i s t o r yi s s i r n p l y
, c o n v e n i e nitn t e r r n e d i a w a y f o r h u m a n st o a c c e snso n h i s t o r i c anl a t u r e a
ary,a necessârv
evil,but it shouldnot be,accordingto the two dragonkeepers,a durablemodeoi existenceior facts.
Theseclaims,although they are often made,are both inaccurateand
the pricc
Drrngerous,
l.tecause,
as I havesaid,they iorget to 1tttt1
dangerous.
o i k e e p i n gL r pt h e i n s t i t u t i o n st h a t a r e n e c e s s a rfyo r m a i n t t r i n i n gf a c t si n
durableexistence,relying inste,rdon the free inertia of ahistoricity.But,
m o r ei m p o r t a n t l yf o r t h i sb o o k ,t h e y a r e i r r t t c c u r a tNeo. t h i n gi s e a s i etrh a n
256
BRUNo
LATouR
E.tlsf
to differentirirein greardetailthe claimsof pasreurand pouchet.This differentiiition,contraryto the claimsof our riery keepers,
is rnadeevenmore
t e l l i n go n c ew e a b a n d o nt h e b o a s t i n ga n d e m p t y p r i v i l e g et h e y w a n t f o r
nonhumansover human events.Demarcationis herethe enemv of differe n t i a t i o nT. h et w o d r i r g o n b
s e h i r v lei k ee i g h t e e n t h - c e n r u ar yr i s r t c r a rw
s ho
claimedthat civil societvwould crashif it was not solicllvheld urrbv therr
noble spinesand was delegatedinsteadto the hurnbl" ri,ould.r, oi-u.,y
c o m m o n e r sI.t h a p p e n st h a t c i v i l s o c i e t yi s a c t u a l l yr a t h e rb e t t e rm a r n t a i n e db v t h e m a n v s h o u l d e ros f c i t i z e n st h a nL . , tvh e A t l a s - l i k ec o n t o r r i o n s
of those pillars of cosmologicalanc-lsocialorier. It seemsrhar the same
d e m o n s t r a t i o ni s t o b e m a d e f o r d i f f e r e . t i a t i n gt h e s p a t i o t e r n p o r e
an
l velopesdeployedby historiansof science.
The commonhistorian-s
seemro
do a much betterjob ar maintainingdiiferencesthan the roweringepistemologists.
Let us comparerhe rwo accounrsby lookingat figure 10.2.In thosedia_
grams existenceis not an all-or-nothingproperty but a relativeproperry
Associations AND
verslon
n, timet
c
verston
Ç
timet+l
:
!
!'!r5lon
timet+?
the air + culture + contamination
Assemblageof human and nonhuman elements
Fig're 10.2. Relativeexistence
mav be mappedaccordingto two dimensions:association(AND'),that is,how manv elementscohereat a given time,and substitu_
tion (oR), that is,horvmanv elementsin a given associati.,n
haveto [-emrrclrfiet]
to
allorvother new elementsto coherewith rheproject.The resultis a curvein which
e v e r ym o t i i f i c ; r t i ui n t h e , r s s o c i a t i oinss" p . r i àt o r " l r y . ' r n u v ei r rt h eo t h . ' rd i m e n sion.Pouchet'sspontaneous
generationbecomeslessand lessreal,and pasteur,s
culturernethodbecomesmore and rnorerealaiterundergoingmanv transformations.(FromBruno Latour,Pandor,'sHope fcambridge:HarvardUniversity
Press,19991,1-î9;copyrighto 1999bv the presidentand Fellowsoi Harvarj college-Reprintedbv permissionof HarvardUniversitl,press)
that is conce.ived
of asthe c,r
a s s o c i a t i oann ds u b s t r t n t r o
associated
w,ithnranvothr,rs
i n r e a l i t vi i o n r h e c o n r r a r v
m . r n sa n d n o n h r r m a n sT. ;À. r
stagein rvhichhistoricitVrvi
t o r i c i t y ,a n d n a t u r a l r
b l a c k - b o x i n gs ,o c i a l i z a t i oinn
i n g r v i l lb ea l r l er o a c c ( ,nur l i r r
w o u l db et r e a t e dM
. a t t e r so f f r
t h e d i a g r a m t, h e r e a l i t vo i p
t h r o u g hr n e v e rg . " . r " . n , , n l
machines,
gestrlres,
textbooks
T h e s a r r ed e f i n i t i o nc a nb e a p
time /, arerveakbecause
thev I
c n c es. t li m p o r t a n tt o r , 1 1f pl p . 1
a l i t y a n d p o u c h e t ,ssh r i n k i n j
d i f f e r e n cies o n l y , r sô i ( a 5 s h . ,
a n dt h e l o n gs e g r n e nâtt t h e r i g
w h a t h a sn e v e rb e e nt h e . eo , r
r e a la n d r e l a t i v e l ve x i s t e n tr, h
d o e sn o t e x i s t , ,b, u t , , t h i si s t h r
e x p r e s s l o n ' s p o n t a n e ogLelnse
T h e s e c o n dd i m e n s i o ni s t l
s c i e n c de o e sn o t d o c u m e n t r i r
s t û t t c eS. u c ha m o v e w o u l c la c
rnents.History of scjencedocr
c o m p o s l n ag n a s s o c i a t i oonf e n t
lnstitnce,
is rnerde,
Lrtthe beginn
r i e n c ea, n t i - D a r w i n i s r nr,e p u b
tory skills in observingegg cle
c r e a t l o n sR, o t t e nn a t u r a lm u s e
t lter
t e u r ' so p p o s i t i o np, o u c h e a
s u b s t i t u t i o no, r t r a n s l a t r o nm c i
the diagrerm.
To associate
elerne
t e n c eh, e h a sr o m o d i f y t h e l i s t t l
e l e r n e n t sw i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i lIv
through the diagrarnspacet'ha
/. Marvlint
tions,199-t).
C u n t o r , p 1 r 1 1 6 / 7 3ç 14 ,i , , 1 1
E,tlstilr
of Pasteurand Pouchet.This diffiery keepers,
is madeevenmore
d empty privilegethey want for
rtion is herethe enemy of dlfferaristocrats
who
;hteenth-century
: was not solidly held up by their
r t h e h u m b l es h o u l d e r so f m a n y
' i s a c t u a l l yr a t h e rb e r r e m
r ainh a nb y t h eA t l a s - l i k ce o n r o r r i o n s
al order.It seemsthat the same
ntiating the spatiotemporalenThe commonhistoriansseemto
r e n c e st h a n t h e t o w e r i n ge p i s t e rking at figure 10.2.In thosediaproperty but a relativeproperty
AssociationsAND
nonhuman
elements
:d accordingto two dimensions:
asrhereat a giventime,and substitun association
haveto be rnodifiedto
oject.The resultis a curvein which
or" bv a move in the other dimen:s lessand lessreal,and Pasteur's
ter undergoingmany transformambridge:HarvardUniversity
identand Fellowsof HarvardCol:rsity Press)
r r/ r r l N o r rr . r i s f i r r g O Û j c c f s
257
t h a t i s c o n c e i v eodf a r st h e c . t p / o r n t i oor rf a t w o - d i m e n s i o n aslp a c em a d eb y
a s s o c i a t i oann ds u b s t i t u t i o nA, N D a n dO R .A n e n r i r yg a i n si n r e a l i t vi f i t i s
a s s o c i a t ewdi t h m a n l , o t h e r st h a ta r ev i e w e da sc o l l a b o r a t i nwgi t h i t . l t l o s e s
in realitv ii, on the contrary,it hasto shedassociates
or collaborators(hum a n s a n d n o n h u r n a n s )T. h u s ,t h e s ed i a g r a r n sd o n o t c o n s i d e ra n 1 ,f i n a l
, i l l b e a b a n d o n etdo b e r e l a y e db f i n e r t i a ,a h i s s t a g er n w h i c hh i s t o r i c i t lw
toricity, and natr-rralness-althoughvery well knorvn phenomenalike
b l a c k - b o x i n gs ,o c i a l i z a t r oi n ,s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i osnt,a n d a r d i z a t i oann, dt r a r n i n g w i l l b e a b l et o a c c o u nfto r t h e s m o o r ha n do r d i n a r yw a y si n w h i c h t h e y
wouldbetreated.Melttersof factL.tecorne
mattersof course.Atthe bottornof
t h e d i a g r a m ,t h e r e a l i t v o f P a s t e u r ' gs e n n c a r r i e db y t h e a i r i s o b t a i n e d
r h r o u g ha n e v e rg r e a r e rn u m b e ro f e l e m e n t sw i t h w h i c h i t i s a s s o c i a t e d rlachines,gestures,
textLrooks,
institutions,taxonomies,
theories,andsoon.
The samedefinitioncanbe appliedto Pouchet'sclairns,which at versiorlri,
time f, arewetrkbecause
thev havelostahnostall of their reality.The dlfference,so irnportantto our dragonkeepers,
betweenPasteur'sexpandingrea l i t y a n d P o u c h e t 's h r i n k i n gr e a l i t vi s t h e n p i c t u r e da d e q u a t e l yB.u t t h i s
differenceis only a-sûig,rsthe relationbetweenthe tiny segmenron the left
a n dt l . r el o n gs e g m e nat t t h er i g h t .I t i s r r o fa n n à s o / rf rc d e r n a r c a t i obne t w e e n
w h a t h a sn e v e rb e e nt h c r ea n d w h a t w a sa l w a y st h e r e .B o t h a r er e l a t i v e l y
r e a la n d r e l a t i v e l ye x i s t e n tt,h a t i s e x t a n t .W e n e v e rs a y" i t e x i s t s "o r " i t
d o e sn o t e x i s t , "b u t " t h r s i s t h e c o l l e c t i v e
h i s t o r yt h a t i s e n v e l o p e b
dy t h e
'spontaneous
e x p re s s i o n
g e n e r a t i o no' r ' g e r m sc ar r i e db y t h e a i r . " '
The seconddimensionis the one that captr-rres
historicity.History of
n
o
t
s c i e n cdeo e s
d o c u m e n t r a v e lf / l r o l r g /tl i m e o f a n a l r e a d ye x i s t i n gs r r b s t t l n c eS. r - r cah m o v e w o u l d a c c e pt o o r n u c h f r o m t h e d r a g o n s ' r e q u i r e m e n t s .H i s t o r v o i s c i e n c d
e o c u m e n t st h e m o d i f i c a t i o nosf t h e i n g r e d i e n t s
c o m p o s i n ag n a s s o c i a t i oonf e n t i t i e sP. o u c h e t 'ssp o n t a n e o ugse n e ar t i o n ,f o r
i n s t a n c ei s, m a d e a, t t h eb e g i n n i n go, f m a n y e l e m e n t sc:o m m o n s e n seex p c r i e n c ea, n t i - D a r w i n i s mr,e p r , r b l i c a n i sP
mr,o t e s t a ntth e o l o g yn, a t u r a lh i s t o r y s k i l l si n o b s e r v i n ge g g d e v e l o p r n e ngt ,e o l o g i c atlh e o r y o f m u l t i p l e
creations,Ror.ren
naturirl museuln equipment,etc.; In encounteringPast e u r ' so p p o s i t i o nP, o u c h eat l t e r sm a n y o f t h o s ee l e m e n t sE. a c ha l t e r a t i o n ,
s u b s t i t u t i o no, r t r a n s l a t i o nm e a n sa m o v e o n t o t h e v e r t i c a d
l i r l e n s i o no f
t h e d i a g r a r l .T o a s s o c i a teel e r n e n tisn a d u r a b l ew h o l e ,a n d t h u s g a i ne x r s t e n c eh, e h a st o r n o d i f yt h el i s t t h a tm a k e su p h i s p h e n o m e n o nB.u t t h e n e w
e l e m e n t sw i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i lhy o l d w i t h t h e f o r m e r o n e s ,h e n c ea m o v e
t h r o u g h t h e d i a g r a r ns p â c et h a t d i p s - b e c a u s eo f t h e s u b s t i t u t i o n - a n d
7 . N { a r r , l i n e C a n t o t P o l c / r e f , s r T i ' ( t / ?tf' f . , l r l t r r r i s a f r , r l ' : I J r r s d e t t f é t o t t L l i t é ( N i c e : Z ' é d i tions,199-1).
258
BRUNo
LArouR
may movetowardthe left because
of lackof associations
betr,veen
the newly
" r e c r u i t e d "e l e m e n t s .
F o ri n s t a n c eP, o u c h eht a st o l e a r na g r e a td e a lo f t h e l a b o r a t o r yp r a c t i c e
of his adversaryin orderto answerthe Academvof Sciences
commissions,
lrut, by doing this, he losesthe supportof the academyin Parisand hasto
rely more and rnoreon republicanscientistsin the provinces.His assoclat i o n sr n i g h te x t e n d - f o r i n s t a n c eh e g a i n sl a r g es u p p o r ti n t h e a n t i - B o n a partist popular press-but the support he expectedfrom the acrrdemy
v a n i s h e sT.I . r e
c o r n p r o m i sbee t w e e na s s o c i a t i o nasn ds u b s t i t u t i o nissw h a t I
call exploringthe socionaturalphasespace.Any entity is such an exploration, such an experiencein what holds with whom, in who holds with
whom, in what holdswith what,in who holdslvith what. Ii Pouchetaccepts
the experirnentsof his adversarybr,rtlosesthe academyand gainsthe popu l a r a n t i e s t a b l i s h m epnrt e s sh, i s e n t i t y ,s p o n t a n e o ugse n e r a t i o nw, i l l b e a
di.fferententity.It is not a substance
crossingthe nineteenthcentury.It is a
setof associations,
a syntagm,madeof shifting compromise,a paradigm,E
exploring what the nineteenth-centurysocionaturemay withhold. To
Pouchet'sdismay,thereseemsto be no wirv from Rouento keepthe following united in one singlecoherentnetwork:Prorestantism,
republicanism,
the academy,boiling flasks,eggsemergingde novo, his ability as narural
historian,his theory of catastrophic
creation.More precisely,
if he wantsto
maintirinthis assemblage,
he hasto shift audiences
and give his network a
completelydifferentspaceand time. It is now a fie11,battleagainstoftjcial
science,
Catholicism,bigotry,and the hegernonyof chemistryover sound
n a t u r a lh i s t o r y . e
P a s t e uar l s oe x p l o r e st h e s o c i o n a t u roef t h e n i n e t e e n t hc e n t u r yb, u t h i s
a s s o c i a t i oins m a d eo f e l e m e n t st h a t ,a t t h e b e g i n n i n ga, r el i l r g e l yd i s t i n c t
f r o m t h o s eo f P o u c h e tH. e h a sj u s t s t a r t e dt o f i g h t L i e b i g ' sc h e m i c atlh e o r y
of fermentationand replacedit by a living entiry,the ferment,the organic
m a t t e ro f t h e m e d i u mb e i n gt h e r en o t t o c a u s ef e r r n e n t a t i o na,sf o r L i e b i g ,
b u t t o f e e dt h e l i t t l e b u g t h a t n o l o n g e ra p p e a r a
s sa u s e l e sbs y - p r o d u c to f
f e r m e n t a t i o nb u t a si t s s o l ec a u s e . 1T0h i s n e w e m e r g i n gs y n t a g mi n c l u d e s
mtrny elements:a modificationof vitahsm madeacceptable
againstchemistry,a reemploymentof crystallographicskills at sowingand cr-rltivating
e n t i t i e sa, p o s i t i o ni n L i l l e w i t h m a n y c o n n e c t i o ntso a g r i b u s i n e srse l y i n g
E . I n t h e l i n g u i s t ' su s a g ;oef t h e r v o r d ,n o t t h e K u h n i i r no n e .
9 . W e s h o u l dn o t f o r g e th e r et h a t P o u c h e it s n o t d o i n g f r i n g e s c i e n c eb,u t i s b e i n gp u s h e d
t o t h e f r i n g e .A t t h e t i m e ,i t i s P o u c h e rt v h os e e m st o b e a b i et o c o n t r o lr r h a t i s s c i e n t i l i cb v i n s i s t i n gt h a t t h e " g r e at p r o b le ms" o i s p o n t r r n e o ugse n e r a t i o nsh o u ld b et a c k l e do nl v b v g e o l o g v
a n dr v o r l dh i s t o r l i n o t b v g o i n et h r o u g h P a s t e u r ' fs- l a s kasn d n a r r o l vc o n c e r n s .
1 0 . S e eL a t o u r ,P L u t L l o r ûH' so p c ,c h a p . 4 .
È,risti
o n f e r m e n t a t i o na, b r a n d _ n
o f i n e r t m a t e r i a l a, c i r c u i t o u
t h e f e r m e n t st h a t p a s t e u ri s l
cificproduct-one for alcohc
r a r i o n ,a t h i r d f o r b u t y r i c
s p o n t a n e o u s lays, p o u c h e ct l a
t h e e n t i t i e sa l r e a d ya s s e r n b
t h a t v i t a l i s mi s b a c k c; u l t u r e s
c a u s eo f u n c o n t r o i l a b l ce o n t a
be reformattedin orderto bec
u n d e rt h e m i c r o s c o p ea;g r i b u
t e r e s t e di n a l a b o r a t o r vp r a c t
tice;etc.
In this very sketchydescr
from Pouchet,as if the for...
p h e n o m e n aa n d t h e s e c o n dn , i
h o l d t o g e t h e ra s m a n y e l e m e
t h o s ea r e n o t t h e _ s c n reel e m e
g a n i s mw i l l a u t h o r i z ep a s t e u tr
and the specificityof ferment
t h e m i n s i d et h e h i g h l y c l i s c i p
r n u s c o n n e c t i n ga t o n c ew i t h t
Pasteurtoo is exploring,nego
who holdswith whom, *hnùn
is no other way ro gain reality.B
s t i r u r i o n sh e e x p l o r e sm a k ea d j
of his rnovesrnodifiesthe defir
well asthe emperor;the laborat
of Appert'spreserves,
the taxon
a g r ib u s i ne s s .
S P A T I O T E I \ 4 P O REANLV E L O
I showedrhat we cansketchpast
calfashion,recoveringasmany c
out using the demarcationbetw
rudimentarymapto replacejuclg
the spatiotemporalenvelopesdt
substitutions,syntagms,ancl pa
move?Why wor-rldsciencestudie
rattveto accountfor the relativee>
Eristitlt
rf associations
betweenthe newly
e a td e a lo f t h e l a b o r a t o r yp r a c r r c e
- ' . r d e yr no f S c i e n c ecso r n m i s s i o n s ,
f the acadernyin Parisand hasto
i s t si n t h e p r o v i n c e sH.i s a s s o c i a s l a r g es u p p o r ti n t h e a n t i - B o n a he expectedfrom the academy
a t i o n sa n ds u b s t i t u t i o niss w h a t I
ce.Any entiry is such an explowith whom, in who holds with
rldswith what.If Pouchetaccepts
; the academyand gainsthe popDontaneous
generation,will be a
n g t h e n i n e t e e n t hc e n t u r yI.t i s a
ifting compromise,a paradigm,s
socionaturemay withhold. To
,'from Rouento keepthe follow(: Protestantism,
republicanism,
g d e n o v o ,h i s a b i l i t y a s n a r u r a l
rn. More precisely,
if he wantsto
ucliences
and give his network a
rolva fiery battleagainstofficial
rnonv of chernistryover sound
: t h en i n e t e e n t h
c e n t u r yb, u t h i s
: b e g i n n i n ga, r el a r g e l yd i s t i n c t
o fight Liebig'schemicaltheory
e n t i t y .t h ef e r m e n tr, h eo r g a n i c
trsefermentation,asfor Liebig,
r e a r sa sa u s e l e s bs y - p r o d u c o
tf
ervemergingsynragmincludes
rnadeacceptable
againstchern; k i l l sa t s o w i n ga n dc u l r i v a t i n g
e c t i o n sr o a g r i b u s i n e sr es l y i n g
irn one.
r i n g f r i n g e s c i e n c eb,u t i s b e i n gp u s h e d
: a b l et o c o n t r o lw h a t i s s c i e n t i f i cb v i n r r i o ns i r u L r lbder . r c k l eodr r l rb u g . , , i o q , ' '
: sa n d n a r r o wc o n c e r n s .
a i l i 1 N o r r c r i , ç t i r t gO b l e c t s
259
on fermentation,a brand-newlaboratory,experimentsin making life or"rt
o i i n e r t r n a t e r i a la, c i r c u i t o u sm o v et o r e a c hP a r i sa n d t h e a c a d e m ye,t c .I f
t h e f e r m e n t st h a t P a s t e uirs l e a r n i n gt o c u l t i v a t ee, a c hh a v i n gi t s o w n s p e cificproduct-one for alcoholicfermentation,the other for lacticfermenr a t i o n ,a t h i r d f o r b u t y r i c f e r m e n t a t i o n - a r e a l s o a l l o w e dt o a p p e a r
of
as Pouchetclairns,then this is the end of the association
spontaneously,
i
n
t h e e n t i t i e sa l r e a d ya s s e m b l ebdy P a s t e u rL.i e b i gw o u l d b e r i g h t s a y i n g
bet h a t v i t a l i s mi s b a c k c; u l t u r e si n p u r em e d i u mw i l l b e c o m ei m p o s s i b l e
c o n t a m i n a t i o nc;o n t a m i n a t i o ni t s e l fw i l l h a v et o
c a u s eo f u n c o n t r o l l a b l e
be reformattedin orderto becomethe genesisof new life forms observable
u n d e rt h e m i c r o s c o p ea;g r i b u s i n e sfse n n e n t a t i o nw o u l d n o l o n g e rb e i n d si t s o w n c e n t u r y - o l dp r a c t e r e s t e di n a l a b o r a t o r vp r a c t i c ea sh a p h a z a r a
t i c e ;e t c .
In this very sketchvdescription,I am not treating Pasteurdifferently
from Pouchet,as if the former were strugglingwith real r:ncontarninated
phenomenaand the secondwith myths and fancies.Both try their bestto
hold togetheras rlanv elementsas they can in order to gain reality.But
t icroort h o s ea r e n o t t h e s , r n r ee l e m e n t sA. n a n t i - L i e b i ga, n t i - P o u c h em
g a n i s mw i l l a r . r t h o r i zPea s t e utro m a i n t a i nt h e l i v i n gc a u s eo f f e r m e n t a t i o n
and the specificityof ferments,allowing him to control and to cultivate
them inside the highly disciplinedand artificial limits of the laboratory,
thus connectingat once with the Academy of Scienceand agribusiness.
, e g o t i a t i n gt,r y i n g o u t w h a t h o l d sw i t h w h o m ,
P a s t e u tro o i s e x p l o r i n g n
w h o h o l d sw i t h w h o m ,w h a t h o l d sw i t h w h a t ,w h o h o l d sw i t h w h a t .T h e r e
. u t t h e a s s o c i a t i o nhse c h o o s easn dt h e s u b i s n o o t h e rw a y t o g a i nr e a l i t y B
and each
stitutionshe exploresrnakea differentsocionaturalassemblage,
entities:the air, as
of his rnovesmodifiesthe definition of the associated
well asthe emperor,the laboratoryequiprnentaswell asthe interpretation
the taxonomy of microbesasrvellas the projectsof
of AppL'rt'spreserves,
agribusiness.
EA
NLV E L O P E SN, O T S U B S T A N C E S
SPATIOTEN4POR
I showedthat rvecansketchPasteur'sand Pouchet'smovesin a symmetriâswe wish betweenthernwithcalfashion,recoveringasmany differences
out using the demarcationbetweenfact and fiction.I also offereda very
ce
y
r u d i m e n t a rm
y a pt o r e p l a c e , l u d g m eanbt os u te x i s t e n coer n o n e x i s t e n b
a
s
s
o
c
i
a
t
r
o
n
a
s
n
d
w
h
e
n
r
e
g
i
s
t
e
r
i
n
g
e
n
v
e
l
o
p
e
s
d
r
a
w
n
the spatioternporal
paradigms.
What
is
being
gained
by
this
syntagms,and
sr.rbstitutions,
move?Why would sciencestudiesand history of scienceoffer a betternarofall entitiesthanthe oneoffered
rativeto accountior the relativeexistence
260
BRL'NO
L.\TOUR
b y t h e n o t i o r ro i , r s u L . , s t a nrceem a i r - r i nt hg e r ef o r e v e r ?\ ' V h ys h o u l da d d i n g
t h es t r i r n g e
a s s u m p t i oo
n f h i s t o r i c i t yo f t h i n g st o t h e h i s t o r i c i t yo f h u r n a n s
s f b o t h?
s i r n p l i f yt ] r en a r r a t i v e o
The first advirntageis that wc.clonot haveto considerphysicalentities
s u c ha sf e r m e n t sg, e r r n so, r e g g ss p r o u t i n gi n t o e x i s t e n caesb e l n gr n d i c a l l y
d i f f e r e n tf r o m a c o n t e ï tr n a d eo i c o l l e a g u e se,l n p e r o r sm
, o n e y ,i n s t r u a versionin
ûlents,body prirctices,
etc.Eachoi the networksthirt rnakesup.r
t h e d i a g r a ma b o v ei s i r l i s t o f h e t e r c l g e n e oausss o c i i l t i o nt hs i i t i n c l t r d e hs u m a n sa n d r r o n h u m a ne l e m e n t sT. h e r ea r e m a n y p h i l o s o p h i c adli i f i c u l t i e s
w i t h t h i s r v a y o i a r g u i n g ,b u t i t h a s t h e g r e a ta d v a n t a g o
e f r e q r - r i r i nugs
to staL.rilize
neither rhe list of whirt makesup natLlrenor the list of rvhat
makesup context.Pouchetand Pasreurdo not definethe siimephysicalelem e n t s - t h e i i r s t o n e s e e ' i ng e n e r t r t i ow
n h e r et h c o t h e r s e e sc o n t a m i n a t i o n o f c r . r l t u r e s - n od
r o t h e y l i v e i n t h e- ç r i r rsi co c i aal n dh i s t o r i c acl o n t e x t .
E a c hc h a i no f a s s o c i a t i o ndse f i n e sn o t o n l v d i f i e r e n tl i n k sw i t h t h es a m ee l ements,but tlifierentelemerrts,rsrvell.
S o ,h i s t o r i a n si l r en o m o r e f o r c e .tl o i r n a g i n eo n es r n g l en a t u r eo f w h i c h
P a s t e u trr n dP o u c h ew
t o u l d p r o v i d ed i f f e r e n t" i n t e r p r e t a t i o n st"h a n t h e y
a r et o i m a g i n eo n e s i n g l en i n e t e e n t hc e n t u r vi m p o s i n gi t s r m p r i n to n h i s toricalactorsWhat is at stakein eachof the two constructionsis what God,
To usea semieggs,vats,colle,rgr.res,
etc.areableto c'lo.
the emperor,rni:rrter,
o t i c v o c a b u l a r yp,a r t ' o r n t t cl ne -aç r e r v h a ti s n e e d e di n t h o s eh e t e r o g e n e o u s
a s s o c i a t i o r rasn,d n o t c o n 7 ) e t c t l c ci rsn p l y i n gt r n h i d c l e ns u b s t r a t eo r s u b and is an eventcrestance.Eachelernentis to be delinedbv its associations
This wrll work for lactrc
atedat the occirsion
of eachof thoseassociations.
fermentation,aswell as for the city of Rouen,the emperof,the rue d'Ulm
and
laboratory,God,or Pasteur'sand Pouchet'sown standing,psychology,
p r e s u p p o s i t i o rTr sh.e f e r m e n t so f t h ea i r a r ed e e p l ym o d i f i e db v t h e l a b o r a rvhoL.,ecomes
Pouchet'svictor;and so i s
tory at rue d'Ulm, btrtso is Pasteur,
t / r en l r t h a ti s r l o ws e p a r a t e tdh, t r n k st o t h es w a nn e c ke x p e r i m e n it n, t o w h i r t
t r a n s p o r to
s x y g e no n t h e o n eh a n da n dw h a t c a r r i e sd u s ta n dg e r m so n t h e
historicit-vis allocirtedto n//
other.In the rrarrativesof historiansof science,
t h ee n t i t i e s .
Second,as I saidabove,we do not haveto treatthe two envelopesasymm e t r i c a l l yb y c o n s i d e r i n tgh a t P o u c h eits f u m b l i n gi n t h e d a r kw i t h n o n e x i s t i n ge n t i t i e su , [ r i l eP a s t e u irs s l o r v l vt a r g e t i n ga n e n t i t v p l a y i n gh i d e and-seek,lvhile the historians punctuate the se.rrchlry r,,,arningslike
" c o l d1 , "" y o u a r eh o t1 , "" y o u a r er v i r r m! " B o t h P a s t e uar n dP o u c h eat r ea s sociatingand substitutingelements,ve11,few of rvhicharr'similat and exp e r i m e n t i n gw i t h t h e c o n t r a d i c t o r yr e q u i r e m e n t so f e a c h e n t i t y . T h e
envelopesdraivn by both protagonistsirre sirnilarin that they are a spa-
E_trsti
t i o t e m p o r ael n v e l o p teh a t r e r r
pirically observa['le.
T h i r d ,t h i s s i m i l a r i t l d
, o e sr
i n g t h e s d r T ?nse t w o r k sa n ds h ;
a s s o c i a t i o nhsa v e a l m o s tn o
s e t t i n gd e s i g n e bd y P a s t e uar n
m e n t a l d e s i g n so f P o u c h e tn
à s y m m e t r yh e r e )F. o l l o w i n g
t
completelydifferent definitio
haveshown elsewhele,event
T h i s n r e a n st h a t t h e i n c o
positions-an incommensu
j L r d g m e n t - i si t s e l ft h ep r o d r
rvorks.In the end-a locirl.rn
p o s i t i o n sa r ei n c o m r n e ' n s u r
Thus, there is no difficr"rl
w o r k so n c et h e i rb a s i cs i m i l a r
v e l o p eo f s p o n t a n e o ugse n e r a
of germscarriedby the air and
The abyssbetweenthe'clirirns
u n d e rt h r e a ro f p u n i s h r r r e n
is
definitivedernarcationwhere
took over has disappeared.
Th
workscomparable
at lastbecir
and historicizingeven the e-tt
Pasteurhas won over Pouche
"everywhere,"this evervwhe
frorn the Acadernyof Scierr
1 8 6 4 t h r o u g h P a s t e u r ' sw o r k
l a s t e da l o n gt i m e a n dh a dt h e s
chemicaldictatorshipreceding
Sothey hadthe fieldto themse
felt the sameway.Well, the cor
I l . B r t r n oL . r t o u tf û i t a i i , i r i l r Lr { r ,
r : n . I a 9 - l l l. o u e h e t f. o r i n s t , r r t cue r. i r r '
o f s p o n t a n e o ugse n e r a t i r r nP. a s t e u
t tht
b u t t h i s t i m e t o a s kf o r h i s n ' l o n e yn, o t
t h e s r r n ee m p c r o r ?N o . r i n c r r , n ei s j L
o n e - P o u c h e t ' se m p e r o r - i s s u p p o s e
entistsw
, h i l e t h e o t h e r i s s u p p o s e dt o
p , r l i t i cbsu t [ u l l v t o ' u p p o r tt h e l , , r m y
Ë , r l - ç l i n i l . r n , /N o n r - r i - s rf r r t O l r l c c r s
thereforever?Why shouldaclding
t h i n g st o t h e h i s t o r i c i t yo f h u , n a n s
: h a v er o c o n s i d epr h y s i c ael n t i t i e s
n g r n r oe x i s t e n caesb e i n gr a d i c a l l v
eagues/emperors/money, instru_
:tworks that r.nakes
up a versionin
: o u sa s s o c i a t i o nt hs a t i n c l u d e sh u _
r r er n a n yp h i l o s o p h i c adii f t i c u l t i e s
( ' è i r c . tat d v n n r . r goeI r e q u r r . i ntgr s
( e su p n a r u r en o r t h e l i s t o f w h a t
o not definerhe sarnephysicalelen l r e r et h e o t h e rs e e sc o n t a r n u r i r ,srt
iirr'socialilrrdhistoricalcontext.
l y d i f f e r e n tl i n k sw i t h r h es t r m ee l I r i l s i n eo n es i n g l en a t u r eo f w h i c h
.-rent" interpretr-rtior-rs"
than they
t u r y i m p o s i l l gi t s i m p r i n t o n h i s _
he two constrLlctions
is what Gocj,
s .e t c .î r e a b l et o d o .T o u s er s e m i i s n e e d e di n t h o s eh e t e r o g e n e o u s
i i n g a n h i d d e ns u b s t r a r eo r s u b _
s a s s o c i a t i o nasn di s a n e v e n tc r e _
ciations.This will work for lactic
) u e n ,r h e e m p e r o Lt h e r u e d , U l m
's
own standing,psvchology,and
re deeplymodifledby the laL.,oraecorresPouchc't's
victor,and_so
is
swanneckexperiment,into what
h a tc a r r i e sd u s ti l n dg e r m so n t h e
r ' n c eh, i s r o r i c i t yi s a l l o c a t etdo , l / /
t o t r e â tt h e t w o e n v e l o p eass V r n t u m b l i n gi n t h e d a r kw i t h n , . , n a r g e t i n ga n e n r i r vp l a y i n gh i d e _
e t h e s e a r c hb y r v a r n i n g sl i k e
3oth PasteurarndPouchetareasfe.wof which aresimilat and extrirements of each entity. l'he
: s i r n i l a ri n t h a t t h e y a r e a s p a -
261
tiotemporalenvelopethat remainsIocallyand temporallysituatedandempiricallyobservable.
T h i r d ,t h i s s i n r i l a r i t yd o e sn o t m e a nt h a t P a s t e uar n dP o u c h eat r eb u i l d i n g t h es n n i É ' n e t w o r kasn ds h a r et h es r r i i l ch i s t o r yT. h ee l e m e n t si n t h e t l v o
irssociations
have almost no intersection-.rpart from the experimental
settingdesignedbv Pasteurand takenoverby Pouchet(noneof the expenmental designsof Pouchetwas replicatedbv Pasteur,revealinga clear
asyn'lmetryhere).Foilowingthe nvo networksin detailwill leadus to visit
( â sI
c o m p l e t e l yd i i i e r e n td e t l n i t i o r r os I n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u rsyo c i o n a t u r e
haveshown elsewhere,
even the definitionof NapoleonIII is different)."
This means that the incommensurabilitv itseli between the two
positions-an incommensurabilitythat seernsso importirrt for moral
j u d g m e n t - i s i t s e l ft h e p r o d u c to f t h e s l o wd i f f e r e n t i a t i o on f t h e t w o n e t rvorks.In the end-a localand provisionirlend-Pasteur's and Pouchet's
p o s i t i o nasr ei n c o r n m e n sr aub l e .
Thus, there is no diificulty in recognizingthe differencesin two netw o r k so n c et h e i rb a s i cs i m i l a r i t yh a sb e e na c c e p t e d . T hs ep a t i o t e r n p o reanl v e l o p eo f s p o n t a n e o ugse n e r â t i o h
n a sl i m i t sa ss h a r pa n da sp r e c i s a
e st h o s e
of germscarrieclby the air andcontaminatirrg
microbecuituresin mediurn.
The abyssbetwe'enthe claimsthat our two dragonschallengedus to adrnit
under threat of punishmentis indeedthere,L'utwith an addedbonus:the
d e f i n i t i v ed e m a r c a t i o n
w h e r e h i s t o r y s t o p p e da n d n a t u r a l i z e do n t o l o g y
t o o k o v e r h a sd i s a p p e a r eTd h. e a d v a n t , r gies i m p o r t a n ti n r e n d e r i n gn e t rvorkscomparable
at lastbecause
it allowsus to go on qualifving,situating,
and historicizingeven the ertensiotrof "final" reality.When we say that
Pasteurhas won over Pouchet,and that no\^/germs carriedin the air are
"everywhere,"this everywherecan be documentedempiricallv.Viewed
from the Ac:rdemyof Sciences,
spontaneoLls
generationdisappeared
in
Pasteur's
1864 through
work. But partisansof spontaneousgeneration
lasteda long time andhadthe sentimentthat they hadconquered,
Pasteur's
chemicaldictatorshiprecedinginto the fragile.fortressof "oiiicial science."
So they hadthe ileld to themselves,
eventhough Pasteurand his colleagues
ielt the samewây.Well, the comparisonof the two "extencled
fields"is fea1 1 .B r u n o L a t o u ï , P ù s t ? u r : l n r c s c i e t t c c , t r t t s t q l c , r r r s i i : c l c ( P a r i s : L i b r a i r i c a c a d é m i q u e P e r r i n , 1 9 9 . 1 )P. o u c h e tf,o r i n s t a n c ew, n t e s . : l e t t e rt o t h e e r r p e r o ra s k i n gh i m f o r s u p p o r tr n f a v o r
u s { e n er i rt i o n .P a s t e u
r ,t h e s am e y e ar ,al s on r i t e st o a s kf o r t h c t ' n rp e r o r ' ssu p p o r t
o I sp o n t a n e o
b u t t h i s t i m e t o i r s ki o r h i s m o n e . l ,n o r f o r h i s o p i n r o na t o u t t h e c o n t r o v er s v .D o t h e y w r i t e t t r
t h e s a m ee m p e r o r ?N o , s i n c eo n e i s s u p p o s e dt o h a v e ; n o p i n r o na n d t h e o t h e r o n e m o n e \ . ,
o n e - P o u c h e t ' s e m p e r o r - i s s u p p o s e tdo i n v a d es c i e n c e
a n d r e c t i f vt h e b a dl u d g m e n t so f s c r e n t i s t sw
, h i l e t h e o t h e r i s s u p p o s e dt o s t r i c t l v r e s p e c t h r -d e m a r c a t i o nb r ' t w e e ns c i e n c ea n d
p o l i t i c sb u t f u ) 1 vt o s u p p o r tt h e f o r m e r .k e e p i n gh i s o p i n r o r r tso h i m s e l f .
)62
BRUNO
E-risfirr
LATOUR
siblewithout recurring to some incompatibleand untranslatable"p,rradigms" tl-ratrvould forever estrirngePasteurfrom Pouchet.Repulrlican,
p r o v i n c i anl a t u r a lh i s t o r i a n sh,a v i n ga c c e stso t h e p o p u l a ra n t i - B o n a p a r t i s t
n .d o z e nm i c r o b i o f s p o n t a n e o tgl se n ( - r â t i o A
p r e s sm
, a i n t a i nt h ee x t e n s i o n
of spontao l o g y I a b o r a t o r i ewsi t h d r a wt h e e x i s t e n c oe f t h i s p h e n o m e n o n
neousgenerationfrorn natureand reformatthe phenomenait wirsrnadeof
b y t h e t w i n p r a c t i c eosf p u r em e d i u mc u l t u r ea n c pl r o t e c t i o na g i r i n sct o n t a minationT
. h e t w o a r en o t i n c o m p a t i b l pe a r a d i g n r(si n t h e K u h n i a ns e n s e
t h i st i m e )b y n a t u r e . T h e yh a v e b e e nr r r r r dirn c o l n p a t i b lbey t h e s e r i e so f a s sociationsand substitutionsconstructedby eachof the two protagonists.
T h e y s i m p l vh a d{ e w e ra n df e w e re l e m e n t si n c o m m o n .
The reasonwhy we find this reasoningdifficult is that we irnagrnefor
microbesa s,.rt'rstance
that would bea little bit nlorethan the seriesof its hrsWe rnight l'teready to grant that the set of perfortoricalmaniiestations.
mancesremainsalwa,vsinsideof the networksan.1that they aredelineated
by a precisespatiotemporalenvelope,but we cannotstlppressthe feeling
It
that the substance
travelswith fewerconstraintsrhanthe performances.
the
lVIary
in
like
the
Virgin
seens to live a life of its orvn,having Lteen,
dogmaof ImmaculateConception,alwaysalreadythere,evenbeforeEve's
fall, waiting in Heavento be translocatedinto Atrna'slvotnb at the right
t i m e . T h e r e i s i n d e e da s t t p p l e m e r ti tn t h e n o t i o n o f s u b s t a n c eb,u t w e
s h o u l dn o t ,f o l l o w i n gt h e e t v r n o l o g vo f t h e w o r d ," w h a t l i e su n d e r n e a t h , "
i m a g i n et h a t t h i s s u p p l e m e nrte s i d e "sb e n c ' a t ht"l r es e r i e so f i t s m a n i i e s t a with its notion
tions.Sociologvoffersa much betterdefinitionof substance
a
n
d
m
a
k e st h e m a c ta s
s
e
r
i
e
s
o
f
e
n
t
i
t
i
e
s
t
h
a
t
w
h
i
c
h
i
s
a
b
o
v
e
i
r
of instittttior ,
"the
germs"has
airborne
ir whole.Yes,
at the endof the nineteenthcentury,
and systetnaticbody of practicethat cilnnot
becomc'awhole,an or-ganized
is to be accountedfor by the
be shattered.But this solidity,this i'vholene'ss,
d st h e
i a c tt h a t i t i s n o w i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e "ds. u b s t a n c ec" a t rn o w L . tree d e i i n e a
by their
s u p p l e m e not f s o h d l t ya n d u n i t y g i v e nt o a s e r i e so i p h e n o m e n a
r o u t i n i z a t i o na n d b l a c k - b o x i n ga,n d w r o n g l v a t t r i b u t e dt o s o m e t h i n gl r ' i n g b e l o we v e r y t h i n ga n dp o s s e s s i nagn o t h e rl i f e .T h e a d v a n t a g c ' ot hf en o t i o n o f i n s t i t u t i o ni s t h a t i t i s n o t d i f f i c u l tt o e n t e r t a i nt h e i d e at h a t i t h a sa
h i s t o r v a b e g i n n i n ga n d a n e n d .W i t h t h e n o t i o r ro [ i n s t r t L r t i otno a c c o u n t
f o r t h e i r s o l i d i t ya n d t h e n o t i o no f t e c h n i c apl r o j e c t l 2t o a c c o u n ft o r t h e r r
t o t h e i rs p à t i o t e m l o c a ld e p l o y m e n tn, û t u r à lf a c t sb e c o m ef i r m l l , a t t a c h e d
like ghosts.
and stophoveringover their own l.todies
poralenvelopes
1 2 . P l o j e c t , l ' r ' o p p o s i t i r r n t o o i r i e c t , i s a n o roi gnitnoal ol g i c i l s t i l t e t h ù t h r s L r t - c ' nr *l oe cl lu . e c a b o v ea n c ' if,o r i n s t a n c t '\,\ ' i e b e
r n e n t e db v r e c e n th i s t o r v a n d s o c i o l o g vo f t c c h n o l o g l 'S
B i j k e r ,O f B i c v c / t ' sB. , r k c / i t c so,n t l B u [ [ t s : T r t i t , L tLr tt]T l t , ' t r r vç . f- S o r ; r o f c c / r t i cCaûl r r ; r g c( C . t m b r i d e e :l \ 1I T P r e s s1. 9 9 5l .
T h i s r e w o r k i n go f t h e n o t i r
a p h e n o m e n o nt h a t i s b a t i i yl
p h e n o m e n ar e n t a i n i t t e t i s t c t
s a yt h i r tP a s t e uirs r i g h t a n dP c
c o n d i t i o no f m a k i n g v e r y p r e
s t i l l a t w o r k t o m a i n t a i nt h e
w h o s ew o r l d a r ew e n o w l i v i n c
know ilbout vou, but for m.,'
e v e r yt i m e I e a tp a s t e ur i z e dv o
t i b i o t i c sI.n o t h e rw o r d s ,e v e n1
h a v et o g r i r n te x t r a h i s t o l i iri r
a t s o r n eb r e a k i n go r t u r n i n gp o
t o g oo n h i s t o r i c i z i n g
i r n dl c , c a
m a k eu p i t s d e s c e n d a n tlsn. t l
Pasteurover Pouchet,in the si,
o f r e p u b l i c a no v e ra u t o c r a t l cn
p r e s i d e n t i ael l e c t i o ni n s t e a do l
c l a i n tr h a ts u c hr v i c t o r yr - e qir
institutionw
, o u l d L . ef o o l i s h .I
h i s t o r v . l 3T o c l a i mt l . r a t h e e v
t h e w h o l es p â t i o t e m p o r aml a n
away from the networks,antl t
milk, and forms of governme
n e o u s l y .. .
G R A N T I N GH I S T O R I C I T T
Y(
T h i ss o l u t i o nw
, h i c hi s o b v i o u
republicsand for technologic,
pliedto naturaleventsbecause
r
n o n h u m a nm
s o b i l i z eb
d y t h en
antiempiricistfights,socialhist
s i o n" p l a s t i c i t yo f n a t u r a lf a c t s
n b o l r ft h e m .P a s t e uar n dP o u c h
b e c a u s es ,ot h e h i s t o r i a n s a 1t;f
c o n t r i l r yt o t h ec l a i m so i e n r p i r i
f i r s t t a s ko f s o c i a h
l i s t o r i a n s, . r
1 3 . S e e l s a b e l l e S t e n g e r s ,L ' i t t i , t t t t ' i t
for this Whiteheadian argurnent on des
ercept that pragnrrltism is extended to t
things.
E - t l s t i / r S r rr i r l N o r re r l s f i r r g O ù l e c t s
263
"paranpatibleand r-rntranslatable
)asteurfrom Pouchet.Republican,
c e s st o t h e p o p u l a ra n t i - B o n a p a r t i s t
neousgeneration.A dozenmicrobinceof this phenomenonof spontar m a tt h e p h e n o m e n iat w a sm a d eo f
rltrrre
a n dp r o t e c t i oang a i n scf o n t a e p a r a d i g m{si n t h e K u h n i a ns e n s e
t r / ci n c o m p a r i bbl ey t h es e r i eos i a s : d b y e a c ho f t h e t w o p r o t r g o n i s t s .
: n t si n c o m m o n .
ing difficult is that we imaginefor
l e b i u n o r et h a nt h es e r i e so f i t s h i s ady to grant that the set oi perfortworks and that they aredelineated
rut we cannotsuppressthe feeling
, n s t r a i n t tsh a nt h e p e r f o r m a n c eIst .
been,like the Virgin Mary in the
rysalreadythere,evenbeforeEve's
ted into Anna's womb at the right
r the notion of substance,
but we
t h e w o r d ," w h a t l i e su n d e r n e a t h , "
" r h es e r i e so f i t s m a n i f e s t a 'eneath
[inition of substance
with its norion
e so f e n t i t i e sa n dm a k e st h e m a c ta s
r c e n t u r y",t h ea i r b o r n e
g e r n r s h" a s
lmatic body of practicethat cannot
leness,
is to be accountedfor by the
rstance"cannow be redefinedasthe
to a seriesof phenornenaby their
'ongly attributedto somethinglyother life.The advantageof the noL l tt o e n t e r t a i nt h e i d e at h a t i t h a sa
h e n o t i o no f i n s t i t u t i o nr o a c c o u n r
r n i c apl r o j e c t l zt o a c c o u n ft o r t h e i r
f i r m l ya t t a c h etdo t h e i rs p a t i o t e m their own bodieslike ghosts.
l e c a u siet p o i n t st o
T h i s r e w o r k i n go i t h e n o t i o no f s u b s t a n cies c r u c i a b
f o r b y h l s t o r y o f s c i e n c eh:o w d o
a p h e n o m e n o nt h a t i s b a d l y a c c o u n t e d
e i t h o u t a l a w o f i n e r t i a ?W h y c a n ' tl v e
p h e n o m e n ar e n t L t i ri r t e x i s t e n cw
wrong?Well, we cansayit, but on the
saythat Pasteuris right and Por-rchet
c o n d i t i o no f m a k i n gv e r y p r e c i s et h e i n s t i t u t i o n a lm e c h a n i s m tsh a t a r e
s t i l l a t w o r k t o m a i n t a i nt h e a s y m r n e t r yb e t w e e nt h e t w o p o s i t i o n sI.n
w h o s ew o r l d a r ew e n o w l i v i n g?T h a t o f P a s t e uor r t h a t o f P o u c h e t I?d o n ' t
know about you, t.rutfor rny part, I live inside the Pasteuriannetwork,
d i l k ,o r s w a l l o wa n e v e r yt i m e I e a tp a s t e u r i z eydo g u r t ,d r i n k p a s t e u r i z em
t i b i o t i c sI.n o t h e rw o r d s ,e v e nt o a c c o u n ft o r a l a s t i n gv i c t o r y ,o n ed o e sn o t
haveto grant extrahistoricityto a researchprogramthat would suddenly,
a t s o m eb r e a k i n go r t u r n i n gp o i n t ,n e e dt t of u r t h e ru p k e e pO. n e s i m p l yh a s
a n dl o c a l i z i n gt h e n e t w o r ka n df i n d i n gw h o a n dw h a t
r og o o n h i s t o r i c i z i n g
m i r k eu p i t s d e s c e n d a n tIsn. t h i s s e n s eI p a r t a k ei n t h e " f i n a l " v i c t o r y o f
Pasteurover Pouchet,in tl.resameway that I partakein the "iinal" victory
of republicanover autocraticmodesof governrnentsby voting in the last
p r e s i d e n t i ael l e c t i o ni n s t e a do f a b s t a i n i n go r r e f u s i n gt o b e r e g i s t e r e dT.o
, o more
c l a i mt h a t s u c ha v i c t o r y r e q u i r e sn o l n o r ew o r k , n o m o r ea c t i o n n
institutionw
, o u l d b e f o o l i s h .I c a ns i m p l y s a yt h a t I l i v e i n t h i s c o n t i n u e d
To claim that the evervwhereand alwaysof sucheventscover
histor1,.1'l
S.t e p
ml a n i f o l dw o u l db e a t b e s ta n e x a g g e r a t i o n
t h e w h o l es p a t i o t e m p o r a
away from the networks,and cornpletelydifferent definitionsof yogurt,
m i l k , a n d f o r m s o f g o v e r n m e n tw i l l a p p e a ra n d t h i s t i m e , n o t s p o n t a n e o u s l y. . .
r a l o n t o l o g r c asl t a t et h a t h a sb e e nr v c l ld o c u rologr'. See abor,eand, ior instarrce,Wiebe
a T I t t o r t l o f S o c i o t e t h t t i t t rC/ / r a n g c( C i r n r -
s ,' i r r i , r , r r t i orr/ lt , ss c r e ' l c cns r o r / c n r i ' (sP r r i s :L a D é c o u v e r t e , 1 9 9 - 3 ) ,
1 - 1S
. c eI s a b e l LS- t e . n g e r L
i o r t h i s W h i t e h e i r d i a na r g u r n e n to n t l e s c e n d a n caen d h e r i t a g e . T h riss a p r x g n l p l i t l
"rgument
e x c e p t h a t p r a g m a t i s r .ins e x t t ' n d c dt o t h i n g s , , r n dn o l o n g e rl i m i t e d t o h u m a n r e l a t i o n sw i t h
t hi n g s .
YO O B J E C T S
G R A N T I N GH I S T O R I C I T T
This solution,which is obviousfor hurnan-rnadehistoricaleventssuchas
artifacts,seemsawkwardat first when aprepublicsand for technological
we do not want to sharehistoricitywith the
pliedto naturaleventsbecause
Under the influenceof therr
nonhumansmobilizedby the naturalsciences.
histor
ians
of
science
understandby the expresfights,
social
anriempiricist
s i o n" p l a s t i c i t yo f n a t u r a lf a c t s "o n l y t h e d e b a t etsh a t h u m a n sa g e n t sh a v e
disagreeaboutthe interpretationof facts
riûolrf them. Pasteurand Por-rchet
en
d dc a n n o t ,
b e c a u s es ,ot h e h i s t o r i a n s a y t, h o s ef a c t sa r eu n d e r d e t e r n t i r t a
forcerationalmindsinto assent.Sothe
contraryto the claimsof empiricists,
iollowing Hume's
first task of socialhistoriansand socialconstructivists,
264
BRUNo
LArouR
l i n eo f a t t a c kw
, a st o s h o wt h a tw e ,t h e h u m a n sf,a c e dw i t h d r a m a t i c a l luy n derdeterminedmattersof fact,hirveto enroil other resollrcesto reachconor-r
r professional
sensLls-our theories,ou r prejudices,
o r politicaI loyalties,
etc.In their view,matters
our bodily skills,our standardizingconventions,
beof facthad to be bannedforeverfrom narrativeaboutscientificsuccess,
ot
to shut down a controversy,
causeeitherthey weretoo underdetermined
worse,they could appearas the now bygonedisputeclosersof the realist
tradition.
This tack,which lookedreasonable
at first,tr-rrned
out to beat besta gross
exaggeration
of the abilitiesof socialscientiststo accountfor the closureof
disputes,and at worst a devastatingrnovedeliveringthe new iield of social
r n dF a s o l tW
. h y ?B e c a u sseo c i a l
h i s t o r i a n s t r a i g h ti n t o t h et e e t ho i F a f f n e a
historianshad to acceptthat historicity,like the now-dismantledapartheid
in SouthAfrican buses,rvas"for humansonly," mattersof fact playing no
role at all in the controversvhuman agentshaveaboutthem.Justwhat the
of the two archenemies,
dragonshad roaredal1along . . . The acquiescence
for opposed
socialconstructivists
andrealists,to the very samemetaphysics
sourceof somemerriment.
reasonshasalwaysbeenfor n1e.1
A completelydifferentsourceof plasticityand agitationcanhoweverbe
it is the one that residesin the mattersof factthemselves.
easilydiscovered;
s n d c o n s e q u e n c et hs a, t
T h e r ei s n o t h i n gi n n a t u r e ,i n t h e s e r i e so f c a u s e a
to do,to be,andhow they have
dictatesforeverwhat fermentsaresupposed
areredisis definedasan eventandthat substances
to behaveonceexistence
and relations.The germscarriedby the air in Pastributedinto associations
teLrr'srue d'Ulm air pump experimentare certainlynot fhe sr.lrleas those
appearat Rouenin Pouchet'sflasks.They haveto
eggsthat spontaneously
hirvingno time and spaceis supposedto enbe the sameonly if a sabstance
dure uttrlerthepassingattributesthat humansdetectthrough their passing
i n t e r p r e t a t i o nB
s .u t t h i s i s p r e c i s e l tyh e p h i l o s o p h yo f e x i s t e n cteh a t h i s t o r i a n so f s c i e n c d
e o n o t l i k e t o a p p l yw h e n o f f e r i n gt h e i r n a r r a t i v e so f h u events.Applied to things,sucha
man, technological,
and social-historical
Asking wherethe gerrnsof the air of Paris
reluctancemakesasmuch sense.
were in 7864at the rue d'Ulm, bet'ore7864 anàaway from the rue d'Ulm,
for instancein Rouen,hasaboutasmuch meaningasaskingwherePasteur
was beforehe was born, and rvherethe SecondEmpire rvasunder Lours
Philippe'sreign.Answer:they were nof there.To be sure,they had ascento them
dantsand predecessors,
but thosebearonly family resemblances
r
e
l
i
e
d
and
o n d i f f e r e n it r s s o c i a t r o n s .
It is only the threat of relativism,in the versionadvocatedby the two
have
dragons,andthe threatof realism,in the versionsocialconstructivists
fought for twenty years,that iorcedus to expecta beff er answer,an answer
E.rlsfliil
t h a t w o u l d e i t h e rn o t u s et h e l o b , j e c t s - n . r rt-r s et h e n o n h u r n
a n ds o c i afl a c t o r so n l y .T h e j o i n
p e a r st o [ r e ,t o m y e y e sa t l e a s
tively madeover two decades
1
forcesphilosophy,which had ,
valt'resupcriorto the collective
ing ir or ['y disrnanrling
ircornpletelvdifferentroure.,thar
t on o n h u m a n s .
T h a t t h i s d i s c o v e r vc o u l dn o
o u s ,s i n c e" t h a t N o b l eD r e a mo f r
m i r n h i s t o r y f u l l o f n o i s ea n d I
b n c k g r o r u rodf n a r u r a l i z e de n t i
t i n y s u b p r o f e s s i odne, a h n ga r o n
mer "naturalcontext,"hadto prtheç unti\ rt reachedthe point wh
doesand whirt tloesnot htrvehist
philosophicailvconsistenr,
requ
laborationrvith ontologv,meta
ignoreor deny its existencelvor
achieved.Constructivismand r
knowsthat,but the differencest
a h i s t o r yh i r sm a n a g e d
rorransf
s i t i o na b o u tn a t u r a l c n r i t i ei n
str
t i o n i s tp o s i t i o nS
. t r a n g ep a r a d o
C 0 N C L U S I 0 N :F R E E I N GS C
I do not claim,in this chapter,tt
b u t s i r n p l vt o h a v ec l e a r e d
t h ei n r
t h e b e s tp r a c t i c o
e I h i s r o r i a nos
h a n d ,a n d t h e o n t o l o g i c apl r o b
s e n s eo f t h e h i s t o r i c i t yo f t h i n g s
cleareris the cluestionof the spa
I f t h e e n o r m o u sw o r k o f r e t r
b o o kw r i t i n g , i n s t r u m e n tm a k i n
l o l i r l t i e sr n d g e n e a l o g i ei s i, g n
microbesL'refore
Pasteur?"takes
mind for a rninute or two. After
comesempiricallyanswerable:I
Erlsflng
1ans,facedwith dramaticallvun: o l lo t h e rr e s o u r c etso r e a c hc o n professional
orpoliticalloyalties,
ntions,etc.In their view matters
ativeaboutscientificsuccess,
beedto shut dow,na controversy,
ot
:ne disputeclosersof the realist
'st,tu rnedout to beat best gross
a
t i s t st o a c c o u nfto r t h e c l o s u r eo i
deliveringthe new field of social
' a n dF a s o l tW
. h y ?B e c a u sseo c i a l
' et h e n o w - d i s m a n t l eadp a r t h e i d
: n l y , " m a t r e r so f f a c tp l a v i n gn o
s haveaboutthem.Justwhat the
e s c e n coef t h e t w o a r c h e n e r n i e s ,
'v samemetaphysics
for opposed
solTlemerrln-lent.
ity andagitationcanhoweverbe
n the mattersof factthemselves.
f causesand consequences,
that
d to do,to be,andhow they have
rntandthat substances
areredis3germscarriedby the air in Pascertainiy noTfhe srlnTe
as îhose
n Pouchet'sflasks.They haveto
ime and spaceis supposedto ena n sd e t e c t h r o L r g thh e i r p a s s i n g
l o s o p h yo f e x i s t e n cteh a t h i s t o ofiering their narrativesof huvents.Applied to things,sucha
lere the germsof the air of Paris
' a n da w a y f r o m t h e r u e d ' U l m ,
eaningasaskingwherePasteur
:cond Empire was under Louis
ere.To be sure,they had asceny family resemblances
to rhem
: versionadvocatedby the two
'sionsocialconstructivists
have
'.pect
a better answetan ânswer
Objccts
265
t h a t w o u l d e i t h e rl o f u s et h e h u m a n s - n , t t u r e b e i n gm a d eo f n h i s t o r i c a l
o l r j e c t s - r r o ru s e t h e n o n h t t m , t n s - c o l " t s e n sbues i n g r e a c h e db v h u m a n
a n ds o c i afla c t o r so n l y .T h ej o i n t h i s t o r i c i t vo f h u m a n sa n dn o n h u r n a nas p pearsto be, to my eyesat least,the totally unexpecteddiscovervcollecof science.It
b,yhistoriarrsand sociologists
tively rlilde over two decades
i o r c e sp h i l o s o p h vw, h i c h h a d s o h e a v i l vr e l i e do r r a d e i i n i t i o no i t r u t h vah.resrrperior ro rhe collectiveproductiortof history-either by defending it or by dismantling it-to become rettlist ttgttitt,but through a
c o m p l e t e l vd i f f e r e n tr o u r e ,r h a ti s ,b y e x t e n c l i nhgi s t o r i c i t ya n ds o c i r t b i l i t y
to norrhumans.
T h a t t h i s d i s c o v e r yc o u l dn o t b e m a d eb y " s t r a i g h t "h i s t o r i a n si s o b v i ous,since"1[n1\s[le Drearnof Objetivity" forcedthernto dealwith a hum a n h i s t o r y f u l l o i n o i s ea n d i u r o r s ,w h i c h t o o k p l r r c ei r r s i c l c rl L t t u r û l
backcrortndof naturalizedentitiesthat they took ior granted Only our
t i n y s u b p r o f e s s i odne, a l i n ga t o n c ew i t h t h e " h u r n a ne l e m e n t "a n dt h e f o r m e r " n r l t u r acl o n t e x t , h" a dt o p u s ht h ep h i l o s o p h yo f h i s t o r ya l i t t l eb i t f u r the very distributiorrof rolesinto rvhat
ther,until it reachedthe point r,vhere
doesandwhat doesnot havehistory wasperformed.This point,to be made
to be sure,an enorlnouseffort in colphilosophicallyconsistent,reqr.rires,
, e t a r p h y s i casn, d t h e c o g n i t i v es c i e n c e sB.u t t o
l a b o r a t i o nw i t h o n t o l o g ym
i g n o r eo r d e n y i t s e x t s t e n clev o u l ds e e mi r p i t y n o r vt h a t s o m u c h h a sb e e n
Constmctivismand realismare two syttottytlls'everv builder
achier,.'d.
knowsthat,but the differencesbetweenwhat doesand what doesnot have
t o t r a n s i o r mt,h r o u g ht h e y e a r si,l c o n s t r t l c t i \ r ips ot a h i s t o r y ' h am
s anaged
irndevendeconstrucsition about naturâlentitiesinto a critical,skepticirl,
. t r a n g ep a r a d o xo f o u r i n t e l l e c t u ahl i s t o r y .
t i o n i s tp o s i t i o nS
CONCLUSION:
FREEING SCIENCE FROM POLITICS
I do not claim,in this chapter;to havepresentedphilosophicalarguments
b u t s i n t p l yt o h a v ec l e a r e tdh e i n t e r m e d i a r zv o n eb e t w e e nt h e n a r r a t i v eos f
t h e b e s tp r a c t i c eo f h i s t o r i a n so i s c i e n c ea r n ds c i e n c es t u d i e so, n t h e o n e
hand. and the orrtologicalpr-oblemsthat should now be tackletlto make
senseof the historicityoi things,on the other.What has,I hope,beenrnade
envelopeof phenomena.
cleareris the questionof the spâtiotemporal
If the enormo';srvorkof retroiitting that requirestristorytelling,textbook rvriting,instrument mirking,body training,creationof professional
is ignored,then the question"Where were the
loyaltiesand genealogies,
m i c r o l r eb
s e f o r eP i r s t e u r ?t"a k e so n a p a r . t l v z i n ga s p e ctth a t s t u p e f i e tsh e
mirrd ior a rnirtuteor two.After a few nrinutes,horvever,the tluestionbecomesernpiricallvanswerable:Pasteur,rlsotook careto extettdhis local
266
BRUNO
LATOUR
the subproductioninto other tirnesand spaces
and to rn.rkethe r.rricrobes
strateof others'unwitting action;the Frenchsurgeonstakegreatpainsto
bring the mummy into directcontactwith the hospitalnetwork soi1sto exp a r r dt h e e x i s t e n c o
e f t h e K o c h b a c i l l u st o s p i l nt h e t h r e e - t h o r . r s a n d - v e a r
s t r e t c ha n t lt o b e r n a d c ' v i s i b lien s i d et h e l r r i t t l eb o n e sY. e s ,t h e r ea r es r r ô that havebeenthere all along,but on the conditionthat they are
st(u1ces
rr The alwaysmtrdethe suL.tstrate
of activities,in the pastaswell asin space.
m i g h t b e r e a c h e db,u t i t i s c o s t l r a
, ,n di t s l o c a l i z eadn dt e m p o r a l
everywhere
extensionremainsvisibleall the way.This can be made'clearerthrough a
look at figure 10.3.
When we say that RtrmsesII diedof tuberculosis,
we now know almost
o f 1 8 9 2K o c hb a c i l a u t o m a t i c a l l tyh, a n v es h o u l da c c o u nfto r t h i se x t e n s i o n
lus onto the corpseof someonewho hasbeendeadfor more than threemillenniaby taking into accountthe bringing of the mr-rmrnyin 1976to the
s u r g i c atl a b l eo f a h i g h - t e c hb a c t e r i o l o g i sYt .e s t, h e b a c i l l u sh a sh e e nt h e r e
o l l a l o n g ,b u t o n l y a ft c r t h es a n i t a r yf l i g h tt o P a r i st h a t a l l o w e d" o u r s c i e n tists" to retrofit all of Egyptianhistory with a Pharaohthat, frotn tton,ott,
c o u g h sa n ds p i t sK o c h ' sb a c i l l ie, v e r r v h e nd i s p u t i n gw i t h N 4 o s easb o u th o w
s i l l l a s t. . . I t m i g h t t a k ea w h i l e b e f o r ej u g g l i n ge f l o n g t h e T e nP l a g u e w
fortlesslywith thosetimings,but thereis no logicalinconsistency
in talking
about the extensionin time of scientificnetworks,no more than thereare
i nsf o l l o w i r r gt h e i re x t e n s i o ni n s p i r c eI t. c a ne v e nb e s , r i dt h a t
discrepancie
to
the difficultiesin handlingthoseapparentparadoxes
aresrnallcompareci
t h e s m a l l e sot f t h o s eo f f e r e db y q u a n t u mm e c h a n i cosr c o s m o l o g y .
A f e we l e m e n t s h o u l dn o w b ec l e a ri n t h i sd i a l o e u eb e t r v e ehni s t o r va n d
p'hiiosophv.
. I f t h e h i s t o r i c i t yo f h u m a n si s t r e a t e ds e p a r a t e lfyr o m t h ea h i s t o r i c i t y o f n o n h u m a n s t, h e n t h e p r i n c i p l eo i s y m m e t r v ( B l o o r ' so n e ,
which fightswhiggism)cannorbe fully errforced.
. I f a s u b s t a n cies a d d e dt h a t w o u l dl i e u n d e rt h e r e l a t i o n so f a n v e n t i t y - h n r n a n o r n o n h u m a n ,i n d i v i d u a lo r c o l l e c t i v e - t h e n d i s t o r ,e
t i o n sw i l l r l p p e âirm r n e d i a t e l ivn t h e r e n d e r i n go I t h e i r h i s t o r r ,t' h
s u b s t a n c . ' b e i nugn a b l et o h a v et h e s a m et i m i n g a n dt h e s a m es p r e a d
as its properties,one floatingat no costin time while the othersare
s t u c ki n s i d et h e p r e c i s ee n v e l o p eo f t h e i r f l e s h - a n d - b l o onde t w o r k s ;
t h i s d i s t o r t i o nw i l l p r o d u c ea r t i f a c t u adl i i i e r e n c e a
s m o n g" m a k i n g
1 - 1S
. o t h e r e a r e n v o p r a c t i cmi rel a n i n g s n o n ' g i v t ' n t o t h e r v o r d " s u L , s t a n c e " ; o n e i s t h e i n s t i t u t i o nt h a t h o l d st o g e t h e râ \ ' â s tr r r n v o f p r â c t i c âsl e t u p s.,1 sw c s . r \ \ ' i l b ( r vaen. d t h e o t h e ro n e
i s t h e r e t r o l i t t r n gw o r k t h a t s i t u a t e sa m o r c r e c e n te \ e n t a s t h a t w h i c h " l i t ' sb t ' n c . r t h "a n o l d e r
Ë,tlsflrr
With
spontaneous
É l e n e r a t r o n a n dd
no fenrents s
With
a conflict
flict over
generaton
year
t86{
(il
t864
yeâr
IEô4
m od
fennents
rE6S
W i ! h f e r m e:nnt st 5 â n dd
)_eâl
rE64
ol
generaiion
1866
lvith mole ffemenb
emenb
a n d n o s p o n ( a n !o u s
genera(on
IEô]
ol
r6ô7
h
With no strcntaneous
generatron, ç1th
enzymoio8l
and historvof
rE64
p.ebtôrics
rgth-
Second dimensi
sedimentary sur
of time
Figure10.3. Time'sarrorvis the r
mension,the linearsuccession
of tir
the secondone,sedimenta
rv succe
186-l).When n'easkthe qtrestion" \
not reachthe top segmentof the co
trànsverseline that marksthe contl
the vear 186-1.
This,however.implie
tirne'sarrow alwaysmovesrrrl-\'er
H o p eI C a m b r i d g eH: a r v a r dU n i v e r
Presidentand Fellowsof HarvarclC
UniversityPress)
u p , " " i n v e n t i n g , "" d i s c o v e r i
i n g , " " d e c o n s t r u c t i n g , "e t c .
' If existenceand realitt' are c
i n s t i t u t i o n a l p r a c t i c et h a t e n l
by a mysterious law of inerti
the empirical research of his
t i o n , a n d s r a n c l a r d i z ; r t i oor ri "
asuell 0sin time. Forany ent
a d e e p r e a r r a n g e m e n ri n s p a c
cally.
. I f a s h a r p d e m a r c a t i o nb e t w
requested, in the manner mr
E . r rs f l n t
d to make the microbesthe sub1 c hs u r g e o n st a k eg r e a tp a i n st o
the hospitalnetworksoasto ex) spanthe three-thousand-year
rrittle bones.Yes,there aresubt on the conditionthat they are
a sw e l l a si n s p a c er. lT h ea l w a y s ly, andits localizedandtemporal
s can be madeclearerthrough a
c p i r r a t e l fyr o m t h e a h i s t o r i c of syrnrnetry (Bloor's one,
er.r
iorced.
n d c r t h e r e l a t i o n so f a n y e n I or collective-then distorrrderingof their history,the
: t i m i n g a n dt h e s a m es p r e a d
i n t i m e w h i l e t h e o t h e r sa r e
ir flesh-and-bloodnetworks;
differencesamong "making
r t o t h e r v o r d" s u b s t a n c e "o; n e i s t h e i n ' t u p sa
, sw e s â r vâ b o v ea, n d t h e o t h e ro n e
n t a st h a tw h i c h" l i e sb e n e a t h a" n o l d e r
ano
no fermen!s t
With
â conflict
flict o!er
over
t5
geneÉtion
m
mdd
fements
With
'nts a
no
f!rments
and
IE64
neous
less spontaneous
of
generation
rE66
year
emenB
mor! ffemens
I E64
and no spontaneous
turh
First dimension:
linear succession
of time
Irreversible
movement
of time
of
t !n e r â t i o n
r667
I
Wiih no spontâneous
teneretion. with
!n z t m o l o g l
I
267
yeer
r864
of
r86d
year
rE64
of
r86t
spontaneous
generaûon
lvi!h
rerculosis,
we now know,almost
ris exrensionoftSgZKochbacilendeadfor more than threemilg of the mummy in 1976to the
. Yes,the bacillushasbeenthere
t o P a r i st h a ta l l o w e d" o u r s c i e n rh a Pharaohthat,fronr now on,
l i s p u t i n gw i t h M o s e sa b o u th o w
t . r k ea w h i l e b e f o r e . l u g g l i negf r logicalinconsistency
in talking
rnvorks,no more than there are
i n s p a c eI .t c a ne v e nb e s a i dt h a t
rilradoxesaresmallcomparedto
rechanicsor cosmology.
risdialoguebetweenhistory and
t864
r863
lvith
. . r? d N o r re - r l s f i r l g O l t i e c t s
-1
year
1E64
prebioti
and histort of rgth'
r998
Second dimension:
s e d i m e n t a r ys u c c e s s i o n
of time
not one:the first diFigure10.3. Time'sarrorvis the resultof two dimensiorls,
of time,alwaysrnovesforward(1865is nff er 186'l);
mension,the linearsuccession
tnovesltackward(1865occursbcfor-c
the secondone,sedimentarl'succession,
1864).When rveaskthe question"Where wasthe fermentbefore1865?" we do
not reachthe top segmentof the'columnthat makesup the vear 1864,but only the
line that marksthe contributionof the vear 1865to the elaborationof
transverse
since
the vear 186-{.This,however,irnpliesno idealismor backwardcausation,
time'sarrow alwavsmovesirreversiblyforward.(FrornBruno Larour,Pandors's
UniversityPress,1999],171;copyrightO 1999by the
Hopc ICambridge:Harvard
Presidentand Fellon'sof HarvardCollege.Reprintedby permissionof Harvard
UniversitvPress)
u p , " " i n v e n t i n g , " " d i s c o v e r i n g , "" c o n s t r u c t i n g , " " s o c i a l l yc o n s t r u c t i n g ," " d e c o n s t r u c t l n g" ,e t c .
. If existenceand reality are detachedat some turning point frorn the
institutional practice that enforces them, and relayed from there on
by a mysterious law of inertia, then it becomes impossible to extend
the empirical research of historians to the stabilizaTion,routinizat i o n , a n d s t a n d a r d i z a t i o no f " d e f i n i t i v e l y " e x i s t i n g e n t i t i e s ,i n s p a c e
L1s
rL)ellas in time. For any entity to gain definitive âccessto existence,
a deep rearrangement in spaceand time has to be worked out practically.
. If a sharp demarcation between existing and nonexisting objects is
requested, in the manner made popular by the philosophy of lan-
268
BRUNO
L.\TOUR
g u a g et,h e n t h e d i f i e r e n t i a t i o n
o i t h e e n v e l o p eosf t , a r i o u sn t - n v o r k s
can no longerL.emadeempiricallyclear,the l.rattleior existenceand
n o n e x i s t e n coeb f u s c a t i n gt h e s u b t l ee x p l o r a t i o n so f p t o r t i n le r i s t e t t c e s . D e r n a r c a t i tosnh, o u l db eu n d e r l i n e di s, t h er n o r a lp, h i l o s o p h i c a l ,a n c lh i s t o r i c ael n e m y o i d i f f e r e n t i a t i o nT.h e c l a i r nt o r n o r a l i t y
m a d eb y d e m a r c a t i o n i sitsse n t i r e l yu n w a r r a n t e ds i n c eo, n t h e c o n t r a r y ,r e l i r t i v i s m
i s t h eo n l y r v a vt o p a yt h e i u l l c o s to f t h ee x t e n s i o n
in
spaceantltir.neof truth-valu!.sortdtltent(1it1tL't1tln(t,
thereof.
. T o a v o i dt h e d a n g e r o
s f r e l a t i v i s r ne,s p e c i a l ltyh o s eo f h a v i n gm a j o r ity rule imposedin rnattersof knowledge,realistshadto pushrratters
o f f a c ti n t o n o n h i s t o r i c anl a t u r el i n t i t i r t gh i s t o r yt o s o c i e t ya n d h u m a n p i r s s i o n tso; a v o i dt h ed a n g e r so f r e a l i s me, s p e c i i l l ltyh o s eo i c r e ating a suprasocialand sr,rprahistorical
scientificauthority, socral
c o n s t r u c t i v i s thsa d t o t t l t s t a i ni r o m u s i n s m a t t e r so f f a c tt o a c c o u n r
f o r t h e c l o s u r eo f h i s t o r i c açl o n r r o v e r s i ei ns s c i e n c et h; e r e s u l tr v a st o
i m a g i n ee i t h e rt h a t a n o n h i s t o r i c a l a nndo n c o l l e c t i vleu d g ew a sn e c e s s a r yf ( ) r d i f f e r e n t i a t i n gk n o w l e d g ec l a i m s o
, r r h a t s o c i a lh i s t o r y
s h o u l d n e v e r u s e t h i n g s - i n - t h e m s e l v eesx, c e p t t o d e b u n k t h e i r
c l a i m st o c l o s u r ea n de x p o s et h e i r p l a s t i c i t yH. o w e v e ra, ss o o na sh i s toricity and socialization
are extendedto rll/ membersof collectives,
t h e t w i n l i m i t so f r e l a t i v i s ma n dr e a l i s ma r ea l l e v i a t e da,sw e l l a st h e
s t r a n g em e t a p h v s i cosr p o l i t i c apl h i l o s o p h yt h e y t h o u g h tn e c e s s i l r ' y
to endorse.
As Whiteheadshor.vs
in his cosmo]ogy,rc'alismand relat i v i s mar e s y n o n y m o uesx p r e s s i o n s .
B y t h i s c o n t r i b u t i o r ri n, t e r m e d i a r yb e t n , e e n
p h i l o s o p h ya n d h i s t o r yo f
s c i e n c e - o rb e t t e ro, n t o l o g ya n dt h et h e o r yo f h i s t o r yo i s c i e n c e - l h o p et o
h a v ef o l l o w e dt h e i r r t e n to f t h i sv o l u m ea n do p e n e da t l ea s ts o r n ec o n v e r s a t i o n s a b o u tt h e p h i l o s o p h yo f h i s t o r v t h a t r v o u l dd o j u s r i c er o t h e r n o r e
s c h o l a r l yr v o r k p r e s e n t e di n t h e o t h e r e s s a y sA. f a s c i n a t i n gq u e s t i o nt o
t a c k l en o w r v o u l db e t o u n d e r s t a n d
w h y , i f I a m r i g h t i n t h i n k i n gt h a t t h e
t h o r o u g h g o i n gh i s t o r i c i z a t i ohne r eo f f e r e di s n e i t h e ri n c o n s i s r e nnto r i n
d a n g e ro f b e i n gm o r a l l yb a n k r u p ti,t i s n o n e t h e l e sssod i f i i c u l tt o e n t e r t ù i n
a n d s o p e n l o u st o d e f e n dW
. h a t i s e s p e c i a l lpr ,u' z z l i n gr o m e i s t h a t m a n 1 ,
naturalscientistshavealreadyrenderedthe lr,orlditselfpart of historl',n61
o n l v t h e l i v i r r go r g a n i s m o
s f D a r w i r r i a nt h e o r vb r - rat l s oc o s m o l o g y . W
't hy
l5.SeetheclassjcL.ooksofStephenJnyGould.esp.l\rotrdcrlulLift:T/rcBrrrrcss-(Àn1cnrr,/
t / r , 'N r rt r r r co f H r s t o r y( N e n \ i ; r k : V V W
. . N - o r r o n1, 9 E 9 )I.n l o u l d p r o b . r b l vl r ei n t t r t s t i r r qt o e n t e r i n t o â c o n v e r s : l r i ornv i t h " e v o l u t i o n a r vc . p i s t e m o l o r r " ' atth i s p c ' i n t ,i o r i n s t r n c eD : r v i t lL .
H u l l , - S c i c r l r : L r' ri 7Psr d a r ' s i : . ' 1f,l 1
' t r / r t t i o t t r t r rA/ c t o u t t t , r ft h r ' - S i r c i nùl n ( lC r ) n i a l l t t N D
l ,'i'c/o7,
r r r c r rof . f- Ç c l c r r c t ' ( C h i c aU
go
n :i v e r s i n ' o f C h i c a g oP r e s s1, 9 8 8 ) .
Existitt
i s t i m e ,i f i t i s a g o o de n o u g hr t
stablee
Big Bangs,not deemec.l
?As i
thoseentitiesthemselves
B e y o n dt h a rc o u l dh o l ds o c i e t
hal
purely contingentreasons,
ence,but is in no way relâtedt(
accountingfor their progresse
the politir
we coulddisentangle
t h a to f d e s c r i b i ntgh e h i s t o r y,
takenif we coulddepoliticizetl
t e n r o l o g ya n . 1H i g h e rS u p e r si f
icalreasons...?
E"rlsti tlt atld Norr existitt g Obi ects
networks
of varior'rs
n\,elopes
r, the battle for existenceand
e x P l o r a t i o nosf P n r if r i / ' ' l i s linec{,is the moral,PhilosoPhi a t i o n .T h e c l a i r nt o m o r a l i t v
nrvarrantedsince,on the conthefuli costof the extensionin
n'tttint ennnce thereof'
r e c i a l l yt h o s et r ih i r v i n gm, ' r J o l
ge,realistshadto Pushn]iltters
i,rt history to societYand huthoseo{ creespeciallY
"ulirrn,
socitrl
authorit)"
cal scientific
to.account
fact
sirrgmattersttf
the resultwasto
;iesin science;
judgewas llecd nclncoilective
: c l a i m s ,o r t h a t s o c i a lh i s t o r Y
:lves, except to debunk their
;ticity.However,assoonashisclto rrl/membersof coliectives'
surare alleviated,aswell tlsthe
rsophytheY thought necessarY
ls Àsmology, realismand rela, c t \ v e epnh i l o s o p hay n dh r s t o r lt ' f
to
orv of historYof science-l hoPe
conversaan.1openedat leâstsoûle
tnort'
that would do jr'rsticeto the
t"
e s s a v sA. f a : c i n a t i n gq t t e s t i o n
thc
y , i i I a m r i g h tt n t h t n xi n g t h a t
ttl
nor
'erec-l
inconsistetrt
is neither
t
'
r
ilt
e
n
t
e
r
t
o
d
i
f
f
i
c
t
r
l
r u o n e t h e l essos
t.nanr
is
that
me
:ciallypuzzlillgto
t.t"t
I the world itselfpart of histon"
r t h e o r yb u t a l s oc o s m o l o q r " 1 ' \ \ . h r
i'"'
l , e s p .l ' \ b r i , l , ' r f rLr 1
:'
1 9 s 9 1 . 1 t r , ' t çr 1r , 1
-:
e t r r r r l , r q' tr t ' :
ùlrllt ()r:':
rlrts. I '"
'
269
for particles,for
is time,if it is a goodenoughrepositoryior animal boclies,
Big Bangs,nor deemedstabieenoughfor the knowledgeclaimsmadeabout
?As if somethingelsewereneeded,an Aboveand
thàseentitiesthemselves
andmorality together?Somethingthat,for
hold
society
that
could
Beyond
to be rnixedup with the history of scihappens
reasons,
pur.ly conringenr
and
of describingthe sciences
question
to
the
related
way
.n.., tr, is in no
if
make
we
could
What
progress
accountingfor their progressand demise.
from
order
social
of
maintaining
the politicalquestion
we coulddisentangle
What stepforward couldbe
that of describingthe history of the sciences?
from the heavyburdenthat epistakenifwe coulddepoiiticizethe sciences
haveimposedon them for purely polittemologyandHigher Superstitions
icalreasons...?