Review article
https://doi.org/10.31337/oz.81.4.6
The Modern is Not Yet: Latour and the Concept of Modernity
Hexiong Yang
; University of Macau, Macau, China
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
In 1991, French philosopher Bruno Latour published his work titled, We Have
Never Been Modern, and in 1993 it was translated into English. Latour defined
herein the concept of modernity and characterized it by dichotomy. According
to Latour, the dichotomic narratives and divisions such as nature versus society,
human versus non–human, and scientific versus non–scientific are not actual but
rather illusory. By claiming such narratives to be illusory, Latour concludes that
humanity as a collective has never achieved modernity. Regardless of whether
Latour’s claim is valid or not, it is very meaningful, not only because it is a bold
statement, but also because a critical and thorough examination of his claim will
yield further intellectual findings, while opening more possibilities for potential
questions and investigation. By examining Latour’s We Have Never Been Modern,
the author argues that the origin of Latour’s project is rooted in his perception
of crises, and that such perception leads Latour to a positionality of neutrality.
Keywords
history; Latour; neutrality; modernity; postmodernity
Hrčak ID:
349810
URI
Publication date:
1.10.2026.
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