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ABSTRACT
In this recursively reflexive comment, I reflect on the seven commentaries that critically elaborate upon my proposals about the radically decentering ontological implications of Russ Belk’s conceptualization of the extended self. These wide-ranging commentaries address a nexus of thought provoking and intriguing topics that significantly expand and enrich this discussion about the future of consumer research (as we can best envision it from the limits of our contemporary standpoints). I am thrilled to have provided an impetus for these reflections and, as a secondary benefit, they have helped me to better crystallize my initial reflections via the reflexive trope of the consumer as an elusive epistemic object, endlessly pursued by marketing researchers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Y’all astute readers got me! I did not reference the epistemic object once in my original commentary. This rationale was implicit to my argument. I shied away from using this term in an explicit fashion because ‘epistemic objects’ are an arrangement of ontological assumptions and representational strategies. Concerned that the juxtaposition of ‘epistemic object’ and ‘ontology’ might be confusing (and unwieldy), I opted for a more streamlined narrative, though that choice perhaps set the stage for subtle miscommunications. This opportunity to respond to these responses affords a valued means to redeem that communicative shortcoming and, perhaps more importantly, to crystallise my original argument. After reading these responses, I think I now know what I wanted to say that I didn’t know to say when originally writing about the epistemic limits on what we can know (and say).
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Notes on contributors
Craig J. Thompson
Craig J. Thompson is the Churchill Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research investigates the socio-cultural shaping of consumer identities, with an emphasis on the intersection of social class and gender, and the politics of consumption. [email: [email protected]].