NIKLAS LUHMANN.

NIKLAS LUHMANN: Introduction to Systems Theory.

Fecha: 19 abril, 2017
Autor/a: henryavery92

Niklas Luhmann (8 de diciembre de 1927 en Luneburgo, Baja Sajonia – †6 de noviembre, 1998 en Oerlinghausen, Renania del Norte-Westfalia) fue un sociólogo alemán reconocido por su formulación de la teoría general de los sistemas sociales.

Luhmann se crió en una familia sin tradición universitaria: su padre estaba encargado de un negocio familiar de cerveza y su madre venía de una familia dedicada a la hostelería en Suiza. A pesar de que la familia de Luhmann se oponía al nacionalsocialismo, él fue enrolado en el ejército nazi a los 17 años. 

Formó parte de la Luftwaffe y fue detenido por los aliados hacia el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Recobrada su libertad, comenzó a estudiar licenciatura en derecho en la Universidad de Friburgo entre 1946 y 1953. Dado que entonces no tenía ninguna intención de hacer carrera universitaria, ejerció como funcionario público desde 1954 haciendo tareas relacionadas a la reparación de los daños provocados por el régimen nazi .

En 1960 aceptó una beca de estudios de sociología por un año en la Universidad de Harvard. Ahí fue alumno de Talcott Parsons, quien por entonces era la figura más influyente del pensamiento sociológico en Occidente. De hecho, para el mismo Luhmann, Parsons significó una influencia intelectual importante. Luego de su estancia en Harvard, Luhmann se incorporó en 1962 al instituto de investigación de la Escuela Superior de Ciencias de la Administración de Spira, en la Alemania Federal, permaneciendo en un puesto administrativo hasta 1965. 

Dentro de ese período publica la primera obra dedicada a analizar problemas sociológicos a partir del uso de la teoría de sistemas: “Funktionen und Folgen formaler Organisation” (Duncker & Humblot, Berlín, 1964

Fue por invitación de Helmut Schelsky que Luhmann inició su carrera universitaria. En 1965 ingresó a la Universidad de Münster, donde terminó de estudiar sociología política en 1967. En 1968 se estableció en Bielefeld, ciudad donde ejerció un puesto de catedrático en la Universidad de Bielefeld durante el resto de su carrera hasta 1993, momento en el que es nombrado profesor emérito. En 1997 recibió el Premio europeo Amalfi de sociología y ciencias sociales por Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft.

En ocasión del XVI Congreso Alemán de Sociología, en el año 1968, inició un intenso debate teórico con Jürgen Habermas, la primera parte del cual fue recopilado en: “Theorie der Gesellschaft oder Sozialtechnologie”. Was leistet die Systemforschung, Surkamp (Fráncfort, 2 volúmenes, 1971-1973). El intercambio entre ambos continuó hasta la muerte de Luhmann en 1998 y es posible encontrar mutuas referencias y críticas en las obras de ambos autores. 

En el año 1986 publicó “Ökologische Kommunikation. Kann die moderne Gesellschaft sich auf ökologische Gefährdungen einstellen?” (Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen). Formó parte de la revista Zeitschrift für Soziologie (Stuttgart), como editor, obteniendo el premio Hegel en 1988.

Luhmann escribió prolíficamente, con más de tres docenas de libros publicados sobre una variedad de temas, incluyendo leyes, economía, política, arte, religión, ecología, medios de comunicación y amor.

Luhmann es muy conocido en América del Norte por la mencionada disputa con Jürgen Habermas sobre el potencial que tiene la teoría de sistemas sociales. Tal como su antiguo mentor, Talcott Parsons, Luhmann aboga por “la gran teoría”, apuntado a dirigir cualquier aspecto de vida social dentro de un marco universal teórico, del cual la diversidad de temas que él escribió es una indicación. La teoría de Luhmann es considerada sumamente abstracta. Este hecho, junto con el supuesto conservadurismo político que radica en su teoría, ha hecho de Luhmann un polémico en la sociología.

Los últimos treinta años de su vida los dedicó al desarrollo de una teoría de la sociedad.

https://bancodelecturas.wordpress.com/2017/04/19/niklas-luhmann/

Introduction to Systems Theory

Niklas Luhmann, Peter Gilgen (Translated by)

ISBN: 978-0-745-64571-1 December 2012 Polity 300 Pages

DESCRIPTION

Niklas Luhmann ranks as one of the most important sociologists and social theorists of the twentieth century. Through his many books, he developed a highly original form of systems theory that has been hugely influential in a wide variety of disciplines.

An Introduction to Systems Theory, Luhmann explains the key ideas of general and sociological systems theory and supplies a wealth of examples to illustrate his approach. The book offers a wide range of concepts and theorems that can be applied to politics and the economy, religion and science, art and education, organization and the family. Moreover, Luhmann’s ideas address important contemporary issues in such diverse fields as cognitive science, ecology, and the study of social movements.

This book provides all the necessary resources for readers to work through the foundations of systems theory – no other work by Luhmann is as clear and accessible as this. There is also much here that will be of great interest to more advanced scholars and practitioners in sociology and the social sciences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Niklas Luhmann was a professor of sociology at the University of Bielefeld.

REVIEWS

'These lectures, published here in English for the first time, show Luhmann at the height of his powers. They offer a unique insight into the engine room of arguably the world's most famous systems theorist. It is indeed a brilliant mind that is at work here; very few other social scientists would be able to perform at such a level. Particularly for students and readers who are not familiar with Luhmann's style of thought, this is an ideal introduction to systems theory by the man himself.'

Andreas Hess, University College Dublin

'Niklas Luhmann is the closest the social sciences have come, in a long time, to an actual thinker. This book is an indispensable introduction to Luhmann’s unique version of systems theory and required reading to all concerned about theoretical sociology. It offers a rare glimpse into the experimental workings of an extraordinary sociological mind at work.'

Stephan Fuchs, University of Virginia

FEATURES

Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) ranks as one of the most important sociologists and social theorists of the 20th century.

In recent years, Luhmann's systems theory has gained resonance in a wide variety of disciplines.

This book offers precise conceptual analyses and a wealth of examples to clarify the theoretical foundations of general and sociological systems theory.

It offers a wide range of concepts and theorems that pertain equally to politics and the economy, religion and science, art and education, the family and personal life.

https://www.wiley.com/en-pe/Introduction+to+Systems+Theory-p-9780745645711

Niklas Luhmann 

Foundations of Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of Social Systems
Alex ViskovatoffFirst Published December 1, 1999, Research Article
https://doi.org/10.1177/004839319902900402

Of all contemporary social theorists, Luhmann has best understood the centrality of the concept of meaning to social theory and has most extensively worked out the notion’s implications. However, despite the power of his theory, the theory suffers from difficulties impeding its reception. This article attempts to remedy this situation with some critical arguments and proposals for revision. 

First, the theory Luhmann adapted from biology as the basis of his own theory was a poor choice since that theory has no explanatory power, being purely descriptive; furthermore, that theory is fundamentally flawed since it implies that viruses are impossible. Second, Luhmann’s theory of meaning cannot coherently make the social domain autonomous as he desires since Luhmann does not take into account the distinction between syntax and semantics. By introducing this distinction, making clear that social systems consist of rules, not just communications, and raising the rule concept to the same prominence in social theory as those of actor and system, autonomy can be maintained while avoiding the counterintuitive aspects of Luhmann’s theory.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/004839319902900402

Sociology / Theory and Methods: Philosophy / Social Theory

A major challenge confronting contemporary theory is to overcome its fixation on written narratives and the culture of print. In this presentation of a general theory of systems, Germany's most prominent and controversial social thinker sets out a contribution to sociology that reworks our understanding of meaning and communication.

Luhmann concedes that there is no longer a binding representation of society within a society, but refuses to describe this situation as a loss of legitimation or a crisis of representation. Instead, he proposes that we search for new ways of coping with the enforced selectivity that marks any self-description under the conditions of functionally differentiated modern society. For Luhmann, the end of metanarratives does not mean the end of theory, but a challenge to theory, an invitation to open itself to theoretical developments in a number of disciplines that, for quite some time, have been successfully working with cybernetic models that no longer require the fiction of the external observer.

Social Systems provides the foundation for a theory of modern society that would be congruent with this new understanding of the world. One of the most important contributions to the social theory of recent decades, it has implications for many disciplines beyond sociology.

About the author

Niklas Luhman is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld. Several of his books have appeared in English, most recently Essays in Self-

Reference

https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=2225

“Why Systems?” asked the German sociologist Dirk Baecker in an article about Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems.

To answer the question, it is necessary and important to pose the more fundamental question: why could a theory of society be useful in journalism research? Empirical studies typically do not engage the theory of society or use only implicit societal assumptions, although the role of journalism for and within society cannot be analyzed without such a theory. Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems has proved controversial in discussions of German journalism research and consequently, we believe it is important to introduce this sociologist and his sociological approach.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240533103_Niklas_Luhmann'S_theory_of_social_systems_and_journalism_research

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Luhmann, N. 1981. Gesellschaftsstruktur und Semantik: Studien zur Wissenssoziologie der modernen Gesellschaft. Vol. 2. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

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Luhmann, N. 1982. The differentiation of society. New York: Columbia University Press.

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Luhmann, N. 1984. Soziale Systeme: Grundrißeiner allgemeinen Theorie. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

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Luhmann, N. 1986. The theory of social systems and its epistemology: Reply to Danilo Zolo’s critical comments. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 16: 129-134.

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Luhmann, N. 1987a. Archimedes und wir. Berlin: Merve Verlag.

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Luhmann, N. 1987b. Die Richtigkeit soziologischer Theorie. Merkur 41: 36-49.

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Luhmann, N. 1990a. Die Wissenschaft der Gesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

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