Publication at Faculty of Humanities |
2015
Abstract
In its early days, systemic sociology created - as can be seen in the theory of Talcott Parsons - a model of society in the form of an integrated whole. But it is different in the theory of Niklas Luhmann.
For Luhmann, modern society is a functionally differentiated society, i.e. it is composed of heterogeneous but equal parts, which are relatively independent and are defined as societal subsystems. Luhmann's analysis presents contemporary society as a whole differentiated into autonomous subsystems which constitute neighbouring worlds for each other.
This paper examines the consequences of Luhmann's perspective for sociological theory, and how these consequences can be overcome.