Order with Things? Humans, Artifacts, and the Sociological Problem of Rule‐Following

Abstract

This paper examines the thesis formulated by the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), namely that understanding social order and action needs treating artifacts as its active co-constituents. This contention has at its core the principle of generalized symmetry formulated by Bruno Latour. The grounds of the argument are to be found in the concepts of rule and of rule-following action. Starting from them, the paper examines the ANT solution to how social rules are followed and reproduced, and compares it with the solutions offered by ethnomethodology and by Bourdieu's practice theory. Two key methodological aspects guide the analysis: how these constituents are conceived and which concepts are needed to describe them. Against this background, a distinction is made between methodological and ontological symmetry. The paper argues that the notions of social rules and of rule-following social action can be understood only on the premises of ontological asymmetry. In the conclusion, the paper argues against Bruno Latour's principle of generalized symmetry, that (1) applying a principle of methodological symmetry leads to (2) conceiving the asymmetry between human actors and artifacts as a necessary condition for the reproduction of social order.