Details
| Translated title of the contribution | On Niklas Luhmann’s Concept of Social Emergence |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Pages (from-to) | 190-207 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Zeitschrift fur Soziologie |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2011 |
Abstract
The article discusses Niklas Luhmann's concept of communication as an emergent phenomenon. The first goal of this paper is to show that despite recent objections it is possible to reconstruct Luhmann as a social emergentist theorist. Secondly, the intention is to shed some light on general problems and presuppositions of an emergentist social theory. For this purpose I first sketch the opposing camps of reductionism and emergentism within sociology, and I demonstrate to what extent Luhmann's theory is actually emergentist. This is followed by a characterization of the way in which emergent communication is seen as an autonomous social phenomenon and how it allegedly is related to an individual basis. Subsequently, I introduce some conditions of adequacy from the philosophy of science thus criticizing Luhmann's concept of emergence and clarifying the preconditions for a plausible emergentist theory within sociology. Finally, I consider a (more) promising concept of social emergence.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
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In: Zeitschrift fur Soziologie, Vol. 40, No. 3, 06.2011, p. 190-207.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Zur Emergenz des Sozialen bei Niklas Luhmann
AU - Lohse, Simon
PY - 2011/6
Y1 - 2011/6
N2 - The article discusses Niklas Luhmann's concept of communication as an emergent phenomenon. The first goal of this paper is to show that despite recent objections it is possible to reconstruct Luhmann as a social emergentist theorist. Secondly, the intention is to shed some light on general problems and presuppositions of an emergentist social theory. For this purpose I first sketch the opposing camps of reductionism and emergentism within sociology, and I demonstrate to what extent Luhmann's theory is actually emergentist. This is followed by a characterization of the way in which emergent communication is seen as an autonomous social phenomenon and how it allegedly is related to an individual basis. Subsequently, I introduce some conditions of adequacy from the philosophy of science thus criticizing Luhmann's concept of emergence and clarifying the preconditions for a plausible emergentist theory within sociology. Finally, I consider a (more) promising concept of social emergence.
AB - The article discusses Niklas Luhmann's concept of communication as an emergent phenomenon. The first goal of this paper is to show that despite recent objections it is possible to reconstruct Luhmann as a social emergentist theorist. Secondly, the intention is to shed some light on general problems and presuppositions of an emergentist social theory. For this purpose I first sketch the opposing camps of reductionism and emergentism within sociology, and I demonstrate to what extent Luhmann's theory is actually emergentist. This is followed by a characterization of the way in which emergent communication is seen as an autonomous social phenomenon and how it allegedly is related to an individual basis. Subsequently, I introduce some conditions of adequacy from the philosophy of science thus criticizing Luhmann's concept of emergence and clarifying the preconditions for a plausible emergentist theory within sociology. Finally, I consider a (more) promising concept of social emergence.
KW - Communication
KW - Emergence
KW - Methodological individualism
KW - Reduction
KW - Systems theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84858987153&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/zfsoz-2011-0302
DO - 10.1515/zfsoz-2011-0302
M3 - Artikel
AN - SCOPUS:84858987153
VL - 40
SP - 190
EP - 207
JO - Zeitschrift fur Soziologie
JF - Zeitschrift fur Soziologie
SN - 0340-1804
IS - 3
ER -