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Journal ArticleDOI

‘Niklas Luhmann before Relational Sociology: The Cybernetics Roots of Systems Theory’: Niklas Luhmann before relational sociology

01 Nov 2018-Systems Research and Behavioral Science (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd)-Vol. 35, Iss: 6, pp 856-868
TL;DR: In this paper, the re-emergence of Niklas Luhmann's systems theory has been discussed in a special context: in recent years, we have observed the rise of relational sociology and within this paradigm, we can witness the re•emergiveness of Luhman's system theory.
Abstract: This article is meant as an intervention in a special context currently taking shape: in recent years, we have observed the rise of relational sociology and within this paradigm, we can witness the re‐emergence of Niklas Luhmann's systems theory. This is worth mentioning since the latter has been largely neglected by other sociologists until now. This article supports this re‐emergence and, in an effort to make it easier, it explains how Luhmann developed his systems theory by borrowing key elements from the cybernetics movement. These elements revolve around the concept of self‐reference. The article discusses the meaning of self‐reference in light of four figures: self‐regulation, self‐organization, self‐observation and self‐production. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Digital culture is analysed as a nonmetric form specifically and criticized for leaving aside other social forms, most notably metric forms such as the flows of information connected with the operations of algorithms for instance.

38 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the social conditions that determine whether the communication of river rights finds success in society are investigated, in the context of hydropower development in the Mekong Basin.
Abstract: This article aims to work out the social conditions that determine whether the communication of river rights finds success in society. Employing the context of hydropower development in the Mekong ...

11 citations


Cites background from "‘Niklas Luhmann before Relational S..."

  • ...…to the skilfulness of the lawyer that announces the claim); rather, the claim must endure a negotiation process akin to a ‘conductor-less jazz orchestra’ (of improvisers following each other’s lead), which includes the problem of information and understanding (Winkin, 2001, cited in Guy, 2018)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Nov 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, a high-level overview of systems theory is presented, together with illustrations as to how a systemic coaching philosophy might manifest differently when grounded in different ways of thinking about systems.
Abstract: The term ‘systemic coaching’ is now widely used, usually to articulate the value for the coach of looking beyond the immediacy of the one-to-one coaching relationship. It is also being used to describe some specific, and quite different, ways of thinking about systems. If coaches are to make sense of this evolving narrative, and to clarify their own individual perspectives, then the industry as a whole must further familiarise itself with relevant thinking from the worlds of management science and organisational development. A necessarily high-level overview of systems theory is presented in this paper, together with illustrations as to how a systemic coaching philosophy might manifest differently when grounded in different ways of thinking about systems. First and second-order systems theories, complexity theories, and theories of complex responsive processes are outlined, ultimately with the objective of enabling coaches to make their own sense of self-as-systemic-coach.

8 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...Some first-order systems, for example first-order cybernetics, also modelled closed systems (Bateson, 1967; Guy, 2018; Lepskiy, 2018; Schwaniger, 2015; Scott, 2016; Stacey & Mowles, 2016)....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors present a new problematization of the multiple facets of this phenomenon and the subsequent communication requirements, drawn on the Luhmann's system theory, and propose a new system, fully dedicated to sustainability, would be more appropriate to handle this concept and propose to consider corporate climate performance as an indicator reflecting how far a firm is from a targeted trajectory for keeping global warming below a threshold.
Abstract: To address climate change, regulators have required companies to provide more information about their environmental impact such as their greenhouse gas emissions. However, reporting choices lacking comprehensiveness, corporate report users cannot assess how much companies contribute to limiting global warming. This research presents a new problematization of the multiple facets of this phenomenon and the subsequent communication requirements, drawn on the Luhmann's system theory. We position the issue successively in the scientific, political, and economic systems. Our analysis suggests that the economic system is unable to properly capture the messages from its environment and that it favors the outside-in perspective over the inside-out one, meaning that it focuses on the impact of its environment on itself and not the opposite. Therefore, any definition of corporate climate performance by the economic system will be limited because this system, like any other, is forced to understand its environment from its own perspective. We suggest that a new system, fully dedicated to sustainability, would be more appropriate to handle this concept and propose to consider corporate climate performance as an indicator reflecting how far a firm is from a targeted trajectory for keeping global warming below a threshold.

6 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Jørn Bjerre1
TL;DR: Gregory Bateson developed his transdisciplinary thinking in the shadow of sociology, but his ideas are not generally viewed as part of the field of classical sociology as mentioned in this paper, and this article will explain why.
Abstract: Gregory Bateson developed his transdisciplinary thinking in the shadow of sociology, but his ideas are not generally viewed as part of the field of classical sociology. This article will explain th...

2 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sociologists today are faced with a fundamental dilemma: whether to conceive of the social world as consisting primarily in substances or processes, in static "things" or in dynamic, unfolding rela...
Abstract: Sociologists today are faced with a fundamental dilemma: whether to conceive of the social world as consisting primarily in substances or processes, in static "things" or in dynamic, unfolding rela...

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TL;DR: Today, as a step towards the control of complex dynamic systems, models are being used ubiquitously, being modelled, for instance, are the air traffic flows around New York, the endocrine balances of the pregnant sheep, and the flows of money among the banking centres.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors show the relationship between the two theorems, and indicate their implications for regulation, in the cybernetic sense, when the system to be regulated is extremely complex.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a meeting entitled "Management and Self-Organization in Social Systems" was held, where the participants were asked to participate in a workshop on self-organization in social systems.
Abstract: I have to confess that when I first received the kind invitation from Dr. Probst to participate in a meeting entitled “Management and Self-Organization in Social Systems” I was not quite clear about my role in such a meeting. I am not a stranger to the notion of Self-Organization; but when I considered it in the context of management and, moreover, in the environment of a Hochschule fur Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, I felt lost. I understand so little about management that already in grade school my teachers complained that this boy is unmanageable. In fact, I had to look “management” up in my dictionary (1). Here I found that it is derived from... “constraining the movement of hands”, having the same root as “to manacle”, that is, putting someone into handcuffs: I was prepared to decline this invitation.

246 citations

Trending Questions (1)
What is the main concept of Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems?

The main concept of Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems is self-reference, which is developed by borrowing key elements from the cybernetics movement.