Niklas Luhmann before Relational Sociology: The Cybernetics Roots of Systems Theory

Jean‐Sébastien Guy

Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2018, vol. 35, issue 6, 856-868

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.

Date: 2018
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