从“地方空间”、“流动空间”到“行动者网络空间”:ANT视角

"SPACE OF PLACES","SPACE OF FLOWS" AND "SPACE OF ACTOR-NETWORKS":FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANT

"空间"一直是地理学的核心论题,并在全球化背景下日益复杂化。行动者网络理论用"行动者"(actor)来消除人(human)与非人(non-human)的鸿沟,用"行动者网络"(actor-network)来解除自然与社会的二元对立,并以转译(translation)来联接行动者网络,从而把整个世界联结为一个"无缝之网",由此提供了一个新颖独特、耳目一新的研究视角和方法。在行动者网络视域下,传统的"地方空间"(space of places)和全球化所促成的"流动空间"(space of flows)可以被统一理解为由实践所形成的"行动者网络空间"(space of actor-networks),并日益走向融合,同时也大大拓展了人们对人文地理学"空间"概念的认识和理解。

＂Space＂ is always regarded as the core of Geography Studies and becomes more and more complex for the reason of globalization. This paper aims to examine ＂space＂ from the perspective of Actor-network theory （ANT）. After the 1980s, Kuhnian scientific paradigm theory was replaced by sociology-culture of science, a steam of Post-Kuhn theory, in which sociology of scientific knowledge （SSK） holds a dominant position. The Edinburgh School and the Paris School are the two centers of sociology of scientific knowledge and Bloor, Barnes, Latour, Callon and Law are the representative scholars of sociology of scientific knowledge. Edinburgh School established the ＂strong program＂ on which Paris School made criticism. While, Paris School put forward ＂general symmetry principle＂ which is regarded as ＂Copernican revolution＂ and made actor-network theory （ANT）, based on SSK, which led to a revolution in the sociology of scientific knowledge. ANT provides a new way to research on human geography. Also, ANT emphasizes on the detailed, historical and practical dimension and explains the relationship between the human economic activities and the natural environment with the symmetry principle. Furthermore, ANT offers a new perspective for the study of human economic activities in different geographical spaces and explains the dialectical relations of macro and micro, the objectivity and the subjectivity, the absolute and the relative, and the universality and the particularity. ANT uses ＂actors＂ to present human and non-human factors, ＂actor networks＂ to present integrate nature and human society, and ＂translation＂ to link the actor networks as a ＂seamless web＂. The ＂space of place＂ which is from traditional theory, and ＂space of flows＂, which comes with globalization, will be explained by ＂space of actor networks＂ in ANT. Therefore, the concept of space will be understood comprehensively in the field of human geography.