International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2017 ﻿ Copyright﻿©﻿2017,﻿IGI﻿Global.﻿Copying﻿or﻿distributing﻿in﻿print﻿or﻿electronic﻿forms﻿without﻿written﻿permission﻿of﻿IGI﻿Global﻿is﻿prohibited. ﻿ 63 The Rise of Realism Reviewed by Steven Umbrello, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, Woodbridge, Canada The Rise of Realism Manuel DeLanda and Graham Harman © 2017 by Polity Press 240 pp. $77.95 ISBN 978-1-5095-1902-6 Manuel﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿Graham﻿Harman﻿are﻿two﻿influential﻿realist﻿theorists﻿who﻿are﻿credited﻿with﻿ reinvigorating﻿the﻿Continental﻿tradition﻿of﻿philosophy﻿by﻿taking﻿the﻿issue﻿of﻿realism﻿seriously.﻿Their﻿ new﻿book,﻿The Rise of Realism,﻿is﻿a﻿provocative﻿study﻿of﻿realism,﻿both﻿as﻿a﻿historical﻿idea﻿as﻿well﻿as﻿ their﻿respective﻿realist﻿positions.﻿The﻿book﻿is﻿unique,﻿written﻿as﻿a﻿dialogue﻿between﻿both﻿DeLanda﻿ and﻿Harman,﻿which﻿ultimately﻿gives﻿the﻿text﻿an﻿original﻿vocative﻿flow﻿that﻿makes﻿it﻿easy﻿to﻿follow﻿ and﻿digest.﻿The﻿volume﻿is﻿divided﻿ into﻿five﻿parts.﻿The﻿first﻿part﻿of﻿ the﻿ text﻿ is﻿a﻿discussion﻿about﻿ the﻿history﻿of﻿realism,﻿mainly﻿its﻿place﻿in﻿the﻿continental﻿tradition﻿as﻿well﻿as﻿its﻿relationship﻿with﻿ materialism.﻿DeLanda﻿argues﻿that,﻿although﻿not﻿implicit﻿in﻿most﻿of﻿his﻿prior﻿works,﻿that﻿any﻿"... coherent﻿materialisms﻿must﻿be﻿forms﻿of﻿realism..."﻿(p.﻿3).﻿This﻿is﻿a﻿radical﻿claim﻿to﻿levy﻿towards﻿ the﻿continental﻿ tradition﻿that﻿has﻿and﻿currently﻿is,﻿steeped﻿in﻿materialist﻿conceptions﻿while﻿either﻿ ignoring﻿realism﻿as﻿a﻿pseudo-problem﻿or﻿bracketing﻿it﻿off﻿entirely.﻿Harman,﻿who﻿although﻿sees﻿the﻿ reasoning﻿behind﻿DeLanda's﻿flavour﻿of﻿realism,﻿ultimately﻿rejects﻿materialism﻿because﻿of﻿its﻿duomining﻿ tendencies﻿to﻿either﻿reduce﻿objects﻿to﻿their﻿constitutions﻿or﻿reduce﻿them﻿upwardly﻿to﻿their﻿effects﻿–﻿ something﻿that﻿he﻿argues﻿relational﻿theories﻿of﻿objects﻿like﻿ANT﻿and﻿theories﻿in﻿New﻿Materialism﻿ tend﻿to﻿do﻿(Harman,﻿2016). One﻿of﻿the﻿main﻿issues﻿is﻿the﻿multitude﻿of﻿appropriations﻿of﻿the﻿terms﻿realism﻿and﻿materialism.﻿ Meaning﻿something﻿specific﻿to﻿both﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿Harman's﻿respective﻿philosophical﻿positions,﻿their﻿ confusion﻿both﻿in﻿and﻿out﻿of﻿scholarship﻿is﻿the﻿result﻿of﻿an﻿association﻿of﻿many﻿meanings.﻿Part﻿one﻿ seeks﻿to﻿give﻿a﻿recent﻿genealogical﻿account﻿of﻿such﻿appropriations﻿as﻿well﻿as﻿clarify,﻿if﻿not﻿specify,﻿ what﻿they﻿mean﻿by﻿different﻿thinkers﻿who﻿employ﻿them.﻿In﻿doing﻿so,﻿they﻿deftly﻿situate﻿their﻿position﻿ –without﻿yet﻿explicitly﻿formulating﻿it﻿–﻿concerning﻿their﻿rivals. The Rise of Realism﻿aims﻿to﻿introduce﻿and﻿clarify﻿both﻿students﻿of﻿philosophy﻿–﻿the﻿analytic﻿and﻿ continental﻿traditions﻿–﻿as﻿well﻿as﻿current﻿scholars﻿in﻿the﻿field﻿to﻿the﻿recent﻿developments﻿in﻿object﻿ theories﻿and﻿the﻿intersection﻿of﻿philosophy,﻿critical﻿theory,﻿and﻿science﻿studies.﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿Harman﻿ deliver﻿on﻿this﻿promise﻿by﻿providing﻿the﻿reader﻿with﻿a﻿lucid﻿and﻿entertaining﻿guide﻿to﻿some﻿of﻿the﻿ most﻿misinterpreted﻿debates﻿in﻿the﻿field.﻿Not﻿only﻿do﻿the﻿authors﻿clarify﻿some﻿of﻿these﻿notions,﻿but﻿ Book Review International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2017 64 they﻿are﻿able﻿to﻿weave﻿their﻿respective﻿positions﻿within﻿the﻿broader﻿philosophical﻿narrative﻿and﻿explain﻿ how﻿such﻿impacts﻿the﻿discussion.﻿Given﻿the﻿authors'﻿objective﻿of﻿providing﻿a﻿comprehensive﻿guide﻿to﻿ understanding﻿realism﻿in﻿modern﻿philosophy﻿and﻿critical﻿theory,﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿Harman's﻿sharp,﻿yet﻿ rich﻿dialogue﻿accomplishes﻿this﻿with﻿ease.﻿The﻿text﻿gives﻿the﻿sense﻿that﻿the﻿authors﻿transcribed﻿their﻿ conversation﻿over﻿coffee,﻿drawing﻿the﻿reader﻿into﻿the﻿otherwise﻿dense﻿debates﻿by﻿creating﻿a﻿friendly,﻿ non-judgmental﻿space.﻿In﻿these﻿respects,﻿this﻿book﻿is﻿not﻿only﻿relevant﻿but﻿tasteful. Its﻿ strength﻿ lies﻿ in﻿ the﻿ second﻿ part﻿ of﻿ the﻿ text﻿ Realism and Anti-Realism,﻿ which,﻿ as﻿ its﻿ title﻿ suggests,﻿aims﻿to﻿explore﻿the﻿difference﻿between﻿the﻿two﻿concepts﻿as﻿they﻿are﻿portrayed﻿by﻿various﻿ thinkers﻿such﻿as﻿Hegel,﻿Nietzsche,﻿and﻿Heidegger.﻿This﻿section﻿best﻿levies﻿the﻿dialectical﻿style﻿that﻿ the﻿book﻿employs.﻿The﻿dialogue﻿between﻿the﻿two﻿authors﻿makes﻿for﻿both﻿a﻿linear﻿and﻿comprehensible﻿ exploration﻿of﻿these﻿concepts.﻿Its﻿prowess﻿lies﻿in﻿its﻿ability﻿to﻿merge﻿historical﻿and﻿contemporary﻿ thought﻿while﻿simultaneously﻿laying﻿the﻿groundwork﻿of﻿their﻿positions﻿and﻿specialties﻿among﻿more﻿ familiar﻿ ontological﻿ and﻿ epistemological﻿ theories.﻿ In﻿ doing﻿ so,﻿ DeLanda﻿ and﻿ Harman﻿ provide﻿ a﻿ holistic﻿scholarly﻿tour de force﻿that﻿one﻿would﻿be﻿hard-pressed﻿to﻿find﻿any﻿other﻿volume﻿on﻿the﻿topic. Unfortunately,﻿one﻿of﻿The Rise of Realism's﻿greatest﻿ strengths﻿occasionally﻿weakens﻿ it.﻿The﻿ dialogue﻿between﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿Harman﻿is﻿functional﻿in﻿more﻿than﻿one﻿way.﻿As﻿mentioned,﻿the﻿flow﻿ of﻿the﻿text﻿in﻿comparison﻿to﻿a﻿standard﻿linear﻿prose﻿often﻿results﻿in﻿an﻿easy﻿read,﻿as﻿if﻿you﻿were﻿sitting﻿ in﻿on﻿a﻿casual﻿conversation.﻿However,﻿as﻿is﻿often﻿the﻿case﻿with﻿casual﻿conversation,﻿it﻿can﻿sometimes﻿ detract﻿from﻿the﻿main﻿subject.﻿The Rise of Realism﻿is﻿no﻿different﻿in﻿this﻿respect.﻿Although﻿all﻿of﻿the﻿ dialogue﻿in﻿a﻿particular﻿section﻿is﻿related,﻿the﻿conversation﻿often﻿diverges﻿from﻿where﻿it﻿began,﻿and﻿only﻿ loosely,﻿if﻿at﻿all﻿coming﻿to﻿any﻿consensus﻿or﻿application﻿to﻿the﻿original﻿point.﻿This﻿has﻿one﻿benefit,﻿the﻿ exposure﻿to﻿numerous﻿related﻿ideas﻿that﻿are﻿important﻿with﻿the﻿historical﻿and﻿contemporary﻿thought﻿ regarding﻿realism,﻿however,﻿ the﻿execution﻿can﻿sometimes﻿obscure﻿ the﻿aim﻿of﻿clarification.﻿To﻿be﻿ fair,﻿these﻿detractions﻿are﻿few﻿and﻿far﻿between;﻿however,﻿these﻿do﻿strengthen﻿the﻿conviction﻿that﻿this﻿ volume﻿was﻿composed﻿of﻿a﻿series﻿of﻿emails﻿or﻿messages﻿that﻿were﻿later﻿organized﻿into﻿a﻿coherent﻿text. Naturally,﻿any﻿work﻿of﻿non-fiction﻿that﻿is﻿composed﻿in﻿this﻿manner,﻿if﻿such﻿was﻿the﻿case,﻿will﻿ contain﻿some﻿departures﻿from﻿the﻿topic.﻿Although﻿the﻿anomaly﻿above﻿stood﻿out﻿to﻿me,﻿the﻿impact﻿ of﻿The Rise of Realism﻿is﻿not﻿hindered﻿by﻿it.﻿The﻿ultimate﻿success﻿of﻿this﻿work﻿that﻿is﻿has﻿and﻿will﻿ receive﻿undoubtedly﻿lies﻿in﻿its﻿grounded﻿prose﻿style.﻿The﻿sentences﻿are﻿clear,﻿brief﻿and﻿sufficiently﻿ explanatory﻿without﻿any﻿central﻿points﻿burdened﻿by﻿qualification.﻿Additionally,﻿the﻿fetishized﻿passive﻿ voice﻿of﻿academia﻿with﻿its﻿aim﻿to﻿attain﻿the﻿effect﻿of﻿authority﻿and﻿impartiality﻿is﻿free﻿from﻿DeLanda﻿ and﻿Harman's﻿book.﻿Most﻿often﻿than﻿naught,﻿The Rise of Realism's﻿sentences﻿read﻿like﻿this: Now that you put it that way, I think I understand your question better. Heidegger's clearest statement on the a priori comes in his discussion of Husserl in the first hundred or so pages of the 925 Marburg Lecture Course, translated into English as History of the Concept of Time. The course begins with a really profound discussion of Husserl, and Heidegger's agreements and disagreements with him; it's absolutely the best text for examining their intellectual relationship. Heidegger tells us here that the three most important contributions of phenomenology were intentionality, the original sense of a priori, and categorical intuition. But he missed the most important of all: intentional objects, which Heidegger simply ignores in his own work even though they are the very foundation of Husserl's Logical Investigations. (1970) (authors' emphasis, pp. 54-55) Unlike﻿many﻿other﻿volumes﻿the﻿explore﻿the﻿topics﻿of﻿realism,﻿materialism,﻿and﻿related﻿theories,﻿ which﻿may﻿ultimately﻿become﻿oppressive﻿because﻿of﻿the﻿dense﻿qualifying﻿materials,﻿DeLanda﻿and﻿ Harman﻿concisely﻿situate﻿their﻿claims﻿within﻿the﻿historical﻿narrative﻿and﻿contemporary﻿thought﻿viz.﻿ light-footed﻿conversational﻿prose.﻿However,﻿the﻿authors﻿do﻿provide﻿consistently,﻿but﻿tastefully﻿placed﻿ references﻿for﻿further﻿reading.﻿As﻿such,﻿the﻿often﻿lackluster﻿and﻿challenging﻿style﻿employed﻿in﻿academia﻿ is﻿superseded﻿by﻿a﻿rich﻿and﻿fluid﻿prose.﻿This﻿in﻿itself﻿is﻿a﻿reason﻿to﻿pay﻿closer﻿attention,﻿where﻿other﻿ International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2017 65 topical﻿works﻿make﻿accessibility﻿difficult,﻿particularly﻿in﻿a﻿newly﻿developing﻿sub-field,﻿this﻿volume﻿ abandons﻿that﻿conviction,﻿making﻿it﻿both﻿intellectually﻿valuable﻿and﻿accessible. In﻿sum,﻿The Rise of Realism﻿is﻿of﻿course﻿entirely﻿timely﻿and﻿presents﻿two﻿novel﻿flavors﻿of﻿realism﻿ situated﻿within﻿a﻿philosophical﻿tradition﻿that﻿has﻿and﻿currently﻿does﻿eschew﻿such﻿realist﻿sentiments.﻿ This﻿book﻿not﻿only﻿serves﻿as﻿a﻿well-researched﻿introduction﻿to﻿realism﻿but﻿as﻿a﻿useful﻿resource﻿that﻿ should﻿be﻿continually﻿referred﻿to﻿given﻿its﻿consolidation﻿of﻿all﻿the﻿pertinent﻿information﻿regarding﻿the﻿ historical﻿and﻿contemporary﻿explorations﻿of﻿realisms﻿and﻿materialisms﻿and﻿its﻿investigations﻿that﻿extend﻿ beyond﻿the﻿customarily﻿discussed﻿scope﻿of﻿the﻿field,﻿in﻿particular,﻿social﻿theory.﻿As﻿such,﻿students﻿of﻿ ANT﻿and﻿the﻿schools﻿of﻿New﻿Materialism﻿will﻿find﻿this﻿volume﻿particularly﻿useful.﻿Its﻿dialectical﻿prose﻿ is﻿engaging,﻿inclusive,﻿and﻿active﻿making﻿it﻿accessible﻿to﻿anyone﻿interested﻿in﻿realism﻿in﻿contemporary﻿ continental﻿philosophy,﻿critical﻿theory﻿and﻿the﻿study﻿of﻿science,﻿technology,﻿and﻿society. NOTE All﻿page﻿references﻿are﻿to﻿DeLanda,﻿M.,﻿&﻿Harman,﻿G.﻿(2017).﻿The﻿Rise﻿of﻿Realism.﻿Polity﻿Press. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The﻿views﻿in﻿this﻿paper﻿are﻿the﻿author's﻿alone﻿and﻿not﻿necessarily﻿those﻿of﻿the﻿Institute﻿for﻿Ethics﻿ and﻿Emerging﻿Technologies. International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation Volume 9 • Issue 2 • April-June 2017 66 Steven Umbrello is the Managing Director at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Steven also currently serves as a junior research associate at the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute. His primary research interests involve the societal impacts and risk reduction strategies for emerging technologies. He studied philosophy of science at the University of Toronto, ethics at the University of Edinburgh and science and technology studies at York University. REFERENCES Harman,﻿G.﻿(2016).﻿Immaterialism: Objects and Social Theory.﻿Cambridge,﻿UK:﻿Polity.﻿Retrieved﻿from﻿http:// ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1509500960.html