Professor Andrew Pickering
Andrew Pickering, Ph.D. (physics), Ph.D. (science studies) is a luminary in Science and Technology Studies (STS), whose interdisciplinary scholarship has profoundly shaped our understanding of science, technology, and their societal implications. As Professor Emeritus at the University of Exeter, Andy’s work bridges physics, sociology, philosophy, and history, offering innovative frameworks for analyzing scientific practice and cultural evolution.
Andy’s seminal books, including Constructing Quarks (1984), The Mangle of Practice (1995), and The Cybernetic Brain (2010) have become foundational texts in STS, while his recent explorations of cybernetics, art, agency, and environmental challenges continue to inspire scholars and thinkers worldwide. These explorations are elucidated further in his recently published book Acting with the World: Agency in the Anthropocene (2025) which delves deeper into these themes and their implications for our ecological future.
He has held fellowships at numerous prestigious institutions such as at The Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1993), The Guggenheim Foundation (1997), MIT (1998), The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford (2006), and later the Institutes for Advanced Study at the Universities of Durham (2010), Konstanz (2011), and Bauhaus University (2012). These roles underscore his reputation as a preeminent scholar and influential authority in Science and Technology Studies.
Andy's research has significantly shaped the development of Science and Technology Studies over the past four decades. His first major work, Constructing Quarks: A Sociological History of Particle Physics, is a classic in the sociology of science. By meticulously tracing the social and historical factors that shaped the development of particle physics, Andy challenged the notion of scientific discovery as a purely objective endeavor, revealing instead a complex interplay of human and institutional dynamics. This book established him as a leading voice in the field and continues to be a touchstone for scholars studying the social construction of scientific knowledge.
A decade later, in 1995, Andy introduced his groundbreaking “Mangle of Practice” theory in The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science. This work proposed a performative conception of scientific practice, emphasizing the dynamic, emergent interactions between human and nonhuman actors — scientists, instruments, and materials. The “mangle” metaphor captures the messy, iterative process through which scientific knowledge and practices evolve, a concept that has become foundational in STS and beyond. The Mangle of Practice solidified Andy’s reputation as a theorist capable of reshaping how we understand the materiality and temporality of science.
In 2010, Andy turned his attention to the history and philosophy of cybernetics with The Cybernetic Brain: Sketches of Another Future. This book explores British cybernetics as a distinctive cultural formation, spanning brain science, psychiatry, robotics, management, politics, the arts, and spirituality.
Examining this topic through figures like Grey Walter, Ross Ashby, Stafford Beer, and Gordon Pask, Andy argued that cybernetics offers a nonmodern alternative to dominant cultural paradigms, emphasizing adaptability and emergence over control and prediction. This work not only enriched the historical understanding of cybernetics but also positioned it as a lens for reimagining human-nonhuman relationships in an era of ecological and technological complexity.
In his most recent book Acting with the World: Agency in the Anthropocene, released in March 2025, Andy proposes a shift from "acting on" nature through dominion to "acting with" nature by fostering adaptive, collaborative practices. He draws on case studies such as the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Program — an initiative that restores Colorado River ecosystems via controlled floods — and Masanobu Fukuoka’s natural farming methods, which align agricultural practices with natural cycles. This work offers a hopeful framework for sustainable human–nature relationships by advocating a post-humanist perspective that respects and integrates nonhuman agency.
Andy’s academic journey is distinguished by a rare dual expertise in the natural and social sciences. He earned his first Ph.D. in Physics from the University of London in 1973, where he developed a deep understanding of scientific methodologies and theoretical frameworks. This technical foundation proved invaluable in his later work, providing a lens through which to analyze the practices of science.
In 1984, he pursued a second Ph.D. in Science Studies at the University of Edinburgh, marking a shift toward the sociology and philosophy of science. This interdisciplinary training enabled Andy to approach scientific practice from both technical and social perspectives, a hallmark of his scholarship that continues to inform his work.
Andy’s recent work builds on these foundations, focusing on art, agency, and environmental challenges in the context of the Anthropocene. His current research explores nonmodern ontologies — ways of understanding the world that prioritize emergence and becoming over control and prediction. Read What Is Agency? A View from Science Studies and Cybernetics.
Andy's latest scholarship also critically examines how adaptive, cybernetic responses can redefine our interaction with nature amid escalating ecological crises. In his presentation Cybernetics in the Anthropocene, he emphasizes the importance of cybernetic feedback loops as mechanisms that enable nature to respond dynamically to environmental challenges, arguing that such loops can inspire human practices that align with ecological rhythms rather than disrupt them.
His exploration of agency and insights drawn from Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris further illuminate the complex, performative interactions inherent in nonhuman intelligence. In Reading Solaris: Cybernetics and Alien Minds, he analyzes the novel’s portrayal of an alien planet as a dynamic, responsive entity, revealing how nonhuman intelligence emerges through unpredictable, reciprocal engagements with humans, challenging traditional notions of control and understanding.
Andy’s remarkable career has transformed how we see the dance between science, technology, and society. Through trailblazing books like Constructing Quarks, The Mangle of Practice, and The Cybernetic Brain, he shows that science isn’t just a collection of facts — it’s a living, breathing process shaped by people, machines, and the world we live in. His latest work, Acting with the World: Agency in the Anthropocene, takes this further, delivering a bold wake-up call: to tackle today’s ecological crises, we are encouraged to rethink our relationship with nature and collaborate rather than control. Andy’s ideas push us to question, adapt, and act, lighting the way toward a smarter, more sustainable future.
Watch Sketches of Another Future an Interview with Andrew Pickering, Andrew Pickering: Being in an Environment, Prof. Andrew Pickering on the Early Life and Future Potential of Cybernetics, Acting with The World: The Choreography of Agency.
Listen to the New Ontologies Workshop.
Read Constructing Quarks, The Mangle of Practice, The Cybernetic Brain, Acting with the World: Agency in the Anthropocene, Cybernetics in the Anthropocene, What Is Agency? A View from Science Studies and Cybernetics, and Reading Solaris: Cybernetics and Alien Minds.
Keep up with Andy’s exciting work by following his ResearchGate and University of Exeter Faculty pages!