Social system

About: Social system is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2974 publications have been published within this topic receiving 92395 citations.

Systems in Context: On the Outcome of the Habermas/Luhmann debate

Abstract: Usually regarded as a 1970s phenomenon, this article demon‐ strates that the debate between Jurgen Habermas and Niklas Luh‐ mann continued until Luhmann’s death in 1998, and that the development of the two theorists’ positions during the 1980s and 1990s was characterised by convergence rather than by diver‐ gence. In the realm of legal theory, the article suggests, conver‐ gence advanced to the extent that Habermas’ discourse theory may be characterised as a normative superstructure to Luh‐ mann’s descriptive theory of society. It is further shown that the debate’s result was an almost complete absorption of Habermas’ theory by Luhmann’s systems theoretical complex – an outcome facilitated by Luhmann’s deliberate translation of central Haber‐ masian concepts into systems theoretical concepts. The article ar‐ gues that both the debate and Habermas’ conversion were made possible because not only Habermas’ but also Luhmann’s work can be considered a further development of the German idealist tradition. What Luhmann did not acknowledge was that this ma‐ noeuvre permitted the achievement of Habermas’ normative ob‐ jectives; nor did he notice that it could eradicate a central flaw in the system theoretical construction, by allowing the context with‐ in which distinctions are drawn to be mapped – an issue of pivotal importance for grasping relationships between different social systems, and coordinating them, via the deployment of legal in‐

The Theory and Scholarship of Talcott Parsons to 1951: A Critical Commentary

Abstract: Preface Part I. Unravelling Talcott Parsons' theoretical development: 1. Introduction Part II. Talcott Parsons: the roots of his thought: 2. Talcott Parsons in relation to the thought of his time 3. The Amherst papers Part III. The Development of Theory: 4. Maz Weber and the vision of a unified social science 5. The position and prospects of sociology at Harvard in the 1930s 6. Convergence and its construction Part IV. The Theory: 7. Conceptualising The Social System 8. Developing The Social System 9. Formulating The Social System 10. The Social System Part V. Parsons' Theory as it Stood at 1951: 11. Conclusion Appendix List of references Indexes.

Complexity Theory and the Development of the Social Innovation

Abstract: The term of “innovation” has become increasingly frequent as people begin to recognize both the need for fundamental change in human beings’ relationships with each other and their environment. This paper wants to bring up also the complexity theory matter in order for us to be able to build a connection between innovation and complex adaptive social systems. The critical question is whether and how social networks can help facilitate innovations to bridge the seemingly insurmountable chasms that separate local solutions from broad system transformation; that is, how they help innovations to “cross scales”. Using a complexity lens to understand the meta challenges confronting the world, and applying a social innovation framework to illuminate how local novelty spreads so as to have broad system impacts, this paper proposes that institutional entrepreneurship enhances the understanding of agency that is active within networks. The Public sector adopts strategies for dealing with complexity, therefore, focuses on outcomes (rather than inputs and outputs) that are demonstrable and measurable (even if only qualitatively), collaboration and co-ordination (across sectors, fields, organizational boundaries etc.), decentralization and self organization (by increasing decision making powers of local communities), building adaptive capacity (in order to support decentralization and self-organization and build resilience).