Cognitive Materialism: A Theory of Knowledge and Capitalism

This chapter presents an original theoretical-methodological framework developed in Latin America: cognitive materialism. Cognitive materialism is a social theory that starts from studying knowledge on the basis of the material bearers in which such knowledge exists, assuming that different bearers confer different ontological, economic and legal properties to such knowledge. On this basis cognitive materialism develops a systematic framework that addresses some of the fundamental questions raised by the social sciences: the stages of capitalism, the theory of value, social classes, among others. This chapter does not address this array of issues, but rather presents a summary of the fundamental notions of cognitive materialism and systematizes the literature that has made use of them in the last decade. The text is organized in five sections. First, the emergence of cognitive materialism is presented in relation to various theoretical traditions. Second, the main analytical tools of cognitive materialism are outlined. Third, studies on the relationship between knowledge production and appropriation, in particular around intellectual property, are summarized. Fourth, theoretical and empirical works that deal with digital technologies and the Internet, through the differential perspective of cognitive materialism are analyzed. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future use by readers.

Zukerfeld, M.; Liaudat, S. (2025). Cognitive Materialism: A Theory of Knowledge and Capitalism. In: N. Invernizzi and L. Rodriguez Medina (eds.), Latin American Breakthroughs in STSTheory, Transnationalizing Theory in Science and Technology Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-5419-2_13303

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Last modified: 12 de noviembre de 2025