Kavanagh, DonnchaDonnchaKavanagh2014-08-072014-08-071994 MCB U1994European Journal of Marketinghttp://hdl.handle.net/10197/5796This paper argues that the philosophical debate in marketing, led by Shelby Hunt and Paul Anderson, is no longer providing new insights and is symptomatic of the anthropocentrism of the social sciences. This anthropocentrism has had consequent implications for metatheoretical frameworks that describe the field and has limited the breadth of philosophical discussion in marketing. The paper argues that this discussion should now move beyond the subject-object debate and it identifies writers who have variously tried to transcend the paradigm. It argues that the debate should move from epistemological to ontological and metaphysical issues and that marketing's philosophical discussion should also be broadened to include debate on aesthetics, theology and technology.enThis article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here: http://researchrepository.ucd.ie/ . Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited.MarketingEpistemologyOntologyConsumersPhilosophyMetaphysicsJournal Article283264110.1108/030905694100572722014-08-05https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/