Graham Harman’s Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) can be seen as both a continuation of and a reaction to postmodernism. While postmodern philosophy focuses on deconstruction, relativism, and the critique of universal truths, Harman moves beyond this framework by reasserting a kind of metaphysical realism that acknowledges the independent existence of objects. Here’s a breakdown of his relationship to postmodernism and how OOO builds upon it: 1. Reaction to Postmodernism’s Anti-Realism Postmodernism, particularly as developed by thinkers like Jacques Derrida, [[Jean-François Lyotard]], and Michel Foucault, often critiques the idea of objective truth, focusing instead on language, power, and the instability of meaning. These approaches lean toward anti-realism, suggesting that the world is constructed through discourse and human perception. Harman acknowledges the value of postmodern critiques of foundationalism but rejects the anthropocentrism inherent in much of postmodern thought. For Harman, reducing everything to human language or cultural constructs neglects the reality and autonomy of objects themselves. In this way, OOO is a move beyond postmodernism’s tendency to privilege the human subject. 2. Building on Deconstruction Harman’s work engages with Derrida’s concept of “différance” and the notion of things being always deferred or incomplete. However, instead of focusing solely on language, Harman applies a similar idea to objects themselves. In OOO, objects “withdraw” from all relations, meaning they cannot be fully grasped, whether by humans or other objects. This metaphysical withdrawal builds on postmodernism’s insistence on the incomplete nature of meaning but expands it to a broader ontological realm. 3. Critique of Correlationism Harman critiques what he calls “correlationism,” a term coined by Quentin Meillassoux, to describe the postmodern tendency to link being and thought so tightly that reality is only understood in relation to human experience. Harman sees correlationism as a hallmark of much postmodern and phenomenological philosophy (e.g., Heidegger, Derrida). OOO counters correlationism by asserting that objects exist and interact independently of human thought. This builds on Heidegger’s and Derrida’s ideas of hiddenness and deferred meaning but reframes them in terms of object-object relations rather than human-centric concerns. 4. Expanding Postmodern Relationality Postmodernism often emphasises relationality—how power, meaning, and identities are constructed through interrelations. Harman retains the importance of relations but insists that objects are not fully reducible to their relations. For example, a tree is not just the sum of its interactions with sunlight, soil, and observers; it has a hidden, non-relational essence that withdraws from any encounter. This idea is a key departure from postmodern relational ontologies. 5. Focus on Speculative Realism Harman is one of the key figures in speculative realism, a movement that emerged in response to perceived limitations in postmodern and phenomenological philosophy. Speculative realism reclaims metaphysics and ontology, exploring realities beyond human access or discourse. OOO is Harman’s contribution to this movement, and it builds on postmodernism by addressing its blind spot: the reality of the non-human world. 6. Influence of Heidegger and Latour While not strictly postmodern, thinkers like Martin Heidegger and Bruno Latour influenced both postmodernism and Harman’s OOO. Harman adopts Heidegger’s concept of “tool-being,” which posits that objects have a hidden reality beyond their usefulness to humans. Similarly, Harman draws from Latour’s actor-network theory (ANT), which decentralises humans and focuses on the agency of objects within networks. OOO takes these insights further, asserting that objects are independent of networks and human use. Summary of How OOO Builds on Postmodernism • It retains postmodernism’s critique of universalism and essentialism but moves beyond by advocating for a metaphysical realism. • It expands the idea of hiddenness or withdrawal from language and human-centric terms to objects themselves. • It critiques anthropocentrism in postmodern philosophy, focusing instead on the autonomy and agency of all entities. • It acknowledges relationality while asserting that objects have an irreducible core beyond their relations. In short, while Harman’s OOO owes much to postmodernism’s critiques of modernity and metaphysics, it reclaims and reimagines metaphysics in a way that grants objects independence and agency, making it a significant evolution beyond postmodern thought. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`