In this work, Latour returns to self-criticism, elaborating on various aspects of his philosophy, revisiting some points, especially those concerning ontology and metaphysics, especially in their relationship to social actions and motivations. That is admittedly a little dense, so let's talk about each of these concepts and their role in Latour's theory.
Ontology is the philosophical practice of describing what exists. For Latour, the answer for ontological questions should not be "What is there?" but rather, "What do other people claim is real to them?" This process is relative, because it depends on the subjective belief systems of each member of a society. While at first, this problem seems unsolvable, but Latour notices a certain framework for motivation, especially these: God, nature, government, libido, and desire, although there are literally endless possible answers for what causes someone to speak or behave in a certain way.
In other words, Latour is asking the reader to consider a relativistic perspective that actually respects and honors the religious and social beliefs of a person, at least for the purposes of understanding their behavior.
This process of analyzing members and groups is known as sociology, a philosophy of people. By including the question of metaphysics, or what kinds of things could exist in abstract ways instead of concrete ways, Latour finds a middle ground where no one is being asked to compromise their intellectual honesty, and people are not preferred for believing in specific religious concepts or civic virtues.
