Introduction and Context
Graham Harman (born 1968) is an American philosopher who has developed a distinctive metaphysical system known as “Object-Oriented Ontology” (OOO). Emerging in the early 2000s with his book Tool-Being: Heidegger and the Metaphysics of Objects (2002), Harman’s philosophy represents a significant contribution to the “speculative realist” movement in contemporary philosophy. Rejecting both anthropocentrism and correlationism (the view that we can only meaningfully talk about the correlation between thinking and being, not things as they exist independently of human thought), Harman places objects at the center of his ontology. His work has influenced fields ranging from philosophy and art criticism to architecture and ecology.
Fundamental Concepts
Object-Oriented Ontology
At its core, Harman’s philosophy argues that objects—from physical entities to fictional characters, from atoms to societies—exist independently of human perception and relations. Objects are primary and irreducible to either their components (undermining) or their effects and relations (overmining). For Harman, reality consists entirely of objects, existing at different scales and with varying degrees of complexity but with the same ontological status.
The Fourfold Structure of Objects
Harman proposes that all objects possess a complex fourfold structure partly inspired by Heidegger’s tool analysis:
- Real Object – The autonomous, withdrawn object that never directly contacts other objects
- Sensual Object – The object as it appears to or is encountered by another object
- Real Qualities – The genuine features of an object that exist regardless of relations
- Sensual Qualities – The apparent features of an object as experienced by another object
This structure creates a permanent tension within objects themselves, which Harman explores through concepts like time, space, essence, and eidos as tensions between these four poles.
Withdrawal
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Harman’s philosophy is his insistence on the “withdrawal” of objects. Objects are never fully present or accessible, even to each other. The real object always exceeds any relation, perception, or causal effect it might have. This applies universally—not just to how humans access objects, but to how objects access each other. A fire burns cotton, for example, but only encounters certain aspects of the cotton, never exhausting its reality.
Vicarious Causation
Given that objects withdraw from direct contact, Harman faces the challenge of explaining how causal interaction is possible. His solution is “vicarious causation,” wherein objects interact only indirectly through the mediation of sensual objects and qualities. Real objects never touch directly but influence each other through translations and distortions that occur in what Harman calls the “sensual realm.”
Flat Ontology
Harman advocates a “flat ontology” where no type of object has privileged ontological status. Human beings, quarks, fictional characters, corporations, and ecosystems are all equally objects with the same basic fourfold structure. This represents a radical departure from both anthropocentric philosophies and scientific materialisms that would reduce some objects to being more “real” than others.
Critique of Other Philosophical Positions
Against Correlationism
Harman strongly criticizes “correlationism,” a term coined by fellow speculative realist Quentin Meillassoux, which describes the post-Kantian philosophical position that we can only meaningfully discuss the correlation between thinking and being, never either pole in isolation. For Harman, this reduces objects to their relation to human thought and fails to account for the autonomous existence of the world.
Against Undermining and Overmining
Harman identifies two common philosophical strategies that he rejects:
- Undermining – Reducing objects to more fundamental components (atoms, particles, processes)
- Overmining – Reducing objects upward to their effects, relations, or appearances
He argues that both approaches fail to capture the reality of objects, which cannot be reduced either to their smaller components or to their wider relations and effects. A third approach he criticizes is “duomining,” which combines both undermining and overmining strategies.
Aesthetics and Metaphor
Harman accords a privileged position to aesthetics in his philosophy. Since objects withdraw from direct access, he argues that aesthetic experience—particularly metaphor—provides a way to allude to the withdrawn reality of things. Metaphor creates a tension between the literal and figurative that parallels the tension between real and sensual objects. This leads Harman to propose that aesthetics is not a regional discipline but is fundamental to ontology itself.
Allure
“Allure” is Harman’s term for the experience where the gulf between a sensual object and its withdrawn real qualities becomes momentarily apparent. This occurs in aesthetic experiences, humor, and certain other contexts where we glimpse the tension between what appears and what withdraws. Allure does not give direct access to withdrawn objects but hints at their existence beyond relations.
Applications and Influence
Art and Aesthetics
Harman’s philosophy has been especially influential in contemporary art theory and criticism. By rejecting both formalism (focusing on the qualities of artworks) and contextualism (reducing art to its social/historical context), OOO offers an approach to art that respects its autonomous reality while acknowledging the irreducibility of aesthetic experience.
Architecture
In architecture, Harman’s ideas have influenced thinking about building design, challenging both functionalist approaches and purely humanistic conceptions. Architecture becomes a matter of object-object relations rather than just human-centered design.
Ecology and Environmental Philosophy
OOO has contributed to ecological thought through its decentering of human experience and its insistence on the irreducible reality of all entities. This provides a philosophical foundation for considering nonhuman beings and systems as having intrinsic reality rather than merely instrumental value for humans.
Critical Reception and Debates
Strengths Recognized by Supporters
- Offers a bold metaphysical system in an era often skeptical of such projects
- Provides an alternative to both scientific reductionism and postmodern anti-realism
- Creates conceptual space for nonhuman entities without reducing them to human terms
- Develops a novel approach to causation and relation
Common Criticisms
- Concerns about the concept of “withdrawal” making knowledge claims problematic
- Questions about the political implications of a philosophy that equalizes all objects
- Challenges to whether the fourfold structure is necessary or justified
- Debates about whether OOO can adequately account for process and change
- Criticism from process philosophers who argue that Harman’s emphasis on stable objects fails to capture the dynamic, flowing nature of reality
Relation to Other Philosophical Movements
OOO emerged alongside other “speculative realist” approaches (including the work of Quentin Meillassoux, Ray Brassier, and Iain Hamilton Grant) that share a rejection of correlationism but differ in their positive accounts of reality. Harman’s work also relates to:
- New Materialism (Jane Bennett, Karen Barad)
- Actor-Network Theory (Bruno Latour)
- Posthumanism (though Harman is critical of many posthumanist approaches)
- Phenomenology (drawing from but radically transforming Husserl and Heidegger)
Conclusion
Graham Harman’s Object-Oriented Ontology represents one of the most distinctive and influential philosophical systems to emerge in the 21st century. By placing objects at the center of his ontology and insisting on their withdrawal from relations, Harman challenges both the anthropocentrism of modern philosophy and the reductionism common in scientific naturalism. His work offers conceptual resources for thinking about art, technology, ecology, and social systems in ways that respect their autonomous reality while acknowledging the limits of human access to that reality. Whether embraced or criticized, OOO has stimulated significant philosophical debate and continues to influence thinking across multiple disciplines.