Sociomateriality as Radical Ontology: Insights for ICTs from the Phenomenology of Sport

The concept of “sociomateriality” challenges assumed distinctions between the human and social, on the one hand, and the material and technological, on the other. Arguments have been made for adopting a radical relational ontology that sees the social and material as dynamically emergent within the context of practice. However, it remains unclear what is truly superior about the sociomaterial approach, in contrast to rich analyses of complex interactions between human actors and artifacts, conventionally conceived. This essay suggests a modest step forward that brings cognition more clearly into the picture. Although those championing the sociomaterial position have good reason to tread carefully around cognition, a conceptualization that embraces the materiality of cognition, itself, can actually provide a more complete grounding for the desired ontological shift, and help point the way toward an improved understanding of such central concerns as competence and resistance.