PARIS, Oct 9 – Novosti. French sociologist and philosopher, author of “Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory” and “The Politics of Nature. How to Instill Democracy in the Sciences” Bruno Latour died on Sunday at the age of 75, the newspaper Monde reported .
“The sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Bruno Latour died on the night of October 9 at the age of 75,” the publication writes, citing the philosopher’s relatives.
“He was one of the most outstanding French thinkers of his generation, who left after a long struggle with a serious illness,” the newspaper notes.
Bruno Latour is one of the most famous French philosophers and sociologists of science. In his works, he touched on almost all areas of knowledge – ecology, law, religion, science and technology. The author of more than 40 scientific papers and publications, in 2013 Latour received the prestigious award in the field of humanities – the Holberg Prize, and in 2021 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize for his work. The philosopher was also an honorary professor at the Institute of Political Studies of France (Sciences Po).
Latour was especially interested in the organization of scientific research. In the essay “Give Me a Laboratory, and I’ll Change the World,” the philosopher rethinks the work of laboratories, talks about the penetration of research into many areas of life due to the improvement of technology and scientific progress.
Together with the French and British sociologists Michel Callon and John Lo Latour, he is the founder of the actor-network theory. In Reassembling the Social, an introduction to this theory, he questions what society has traditionally labeled as the social sciences.
In The Politics of Nature, the philosopher reflects on a new concept of political ecology that would allow scientific practices to be combined with democratic decision-making.
