Social systems
From Geography
Social system is seen by Niklas Luhmann as 'self-referential systems based on meaningful communication. They used communication to constitute and interconnect the events (actions) which build up the system'(Luhmann, 1981, p. 131). Niklas Luhmann distinguishes four kinds of systems in society: machines, organisms, social systems and psychic systems. Social systems and psychic systems share the feature of the usage of meaning. Social systems cannot exist without material systems. Social systems are as earlier mentioned constituted by self reference. They refer to themselves in every operation (Gren & Zierhofer, 2002, p. 8).
Luhmann sees three different levels of analysis. By doing this, he can position social systems in relation to other systems. The first level of analysis is on the level of the system. This level exist of general principles that are not specific to particular kinds of systems.
On the second level the different kinds of systems mentioned above are distinguished. These systems share some characteristics, but also have important differences. Here the social systems are positioned in relation to the other systems. The third level consists of three kinds of social systems: interactions, organizations and societies. According to Luhmann, society is the totality of all social systems. Interactions are social systems based on face-to-face contact, this contact provides copresence for psychic systems. Organisations are autopoietic social systems that consist of defined networks of communication and society is the only social system that includes all communications which refer to each other.
According to Luhmann social systems are constructed as "self-referential objects. We can observe and describe these as systems only if we accept that they refer to themselves in every operation" (Luhmann, 1995, page 437). This leads to the question if social systems are real or just human made constructions. Luhmann says that this depends on empirism, if some sort of action (conversations, payments ,etc.) is real, than the system is real (Gren & Zierhofer, 2002).
References
Gren, M. & Zierhofer. W. (2002). The unity of difference. A critical appraisal of Niklas Luhmann´s theory of social systems in the context of corporeality and spatiality. Nijmegen: University of Nijmegen.
Luhnman, N. (1981). The world society as a social system. Gordon and Brieche science publishers inc.: Great Britain.
Luhmann N, 1995 Social Systems (Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA)
Contributors
Created by User:BoudewijnIdema, 17 October 2011, 20:26 (UTC) Edited by Fenki Evers & Anton de Hoogh
Links added by Aafke Brus --AafkeBrus 17:07, 31 October 2011 (CET)
Edited by Malou van Woerkum
Edited by Lotte den Boogert, 17 october 2012
- Links edited by Jesper Remmen--JesperRemmen 22:07, 21 October 2012 (CEST)
