POSITION PAPER

Luhmann, Niklas (1999): The Social System, in: Elliot, Anthony (ed.): Contemporary
Social Theory, Malden, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 143-155

Dominika Fröhlichová
Moderns Social Theory; MAIR, Fall 2013
Prof. Dr. Martin Nonhoff
November 11, 2013
 The Concept of Society, the tenth chapter of Niklas Luhmann book “Contemporary
Social Theory”, is divided into seven parts, in which Luhmann gradually introduce his ideas
step by step to finally define the concept of society.
Luhmann starts illustrating the issues with defining the concept of society by raising
the questions about designation of the unity of the object for sociology. Concerning today´s
problems, Luhmann see three most important obstacles- the presumptions blocking the
conceptual development of the Concept of society. The first one is called humanist prejudice.
How we can understand the assumption that society consist of human beings or of relations
between them? The second presumption is a territorial multiplicity of societies. Do the
different states undoubtedly mean different societies? Luhmann´s idea is to don´t look at those
differences as the differences between societies but within society. The last obstacle is the
distinction between subject and object. It was thought that subject and object are separate and
only subjects have the privilege of self- reference. But what about society? According to
Luhmann, society is obviously a self-describing object. This brings us to his main point- the
concept of society has to be formed autologically.
Further, he deals with the concept of system. It is a distinction between system and
environment, equally important and indispensable. The system constitutes the inside of the
form and the environment the outside of the form, so as only these both sides together
constitute the distinction, therefore constitute the form and finally constitute the concept.
Hence it results that everything which is possible to observe and describe with this distinction,
belongs either to the system or to the environment. As the boundary is separating the two
sides, Luhmann see the unity of the form as this boundary. The system can combine internal
and external causes in order to produce its product and therefore this product is the system
itself- the form of the system, the difference between system and environment. (pp.146) It
leads to the concept of the operative closure of the system, no system can operate outside of
its boundaries. In conclusion, the concept of society is an operatively closed autopoietic
system. Thus, operative closure excludes human beings as well as countries from the system
of society to the environment and it includes as an alternative the operations of self-
observation and self-description. (pp.146)
Luhmann starts the third part with the statement that “the most important piece of
work on the concept of society remains to be done.” (pp.146) He continue with the concept of
communication in order to explain the operations of production and reproduction of society
and communication turns into a crucial factor in determining the concept of society. A
communication, necessarily containing the distinction between information, communicative
act and understanding, can be consequently understood as the distinction which makes
distinctions, which keep the system going. As a result, the opening and closing of the system
is made by every communicative event.
Now, we can overcome the main obstacles. Since the human beings are not a part of
the society, but a part of the environment, it does not make sense to understand society as the
relations between human beings. Also, we cannot anymore assume that the concept of
territorial boundaries is still important. Language, writing and telecommunication helped to
decrease the importance of spatial conditions for the evolution of socio-cultural society.
Moreover, we can see that the society is a self-observing and describing system, using its own
methods of operation.
Luhmann come up with the definition of society as “the comprehensive system of all
communications, which reproduce themselves autopietically” through the communications
producing new communications. (pp.149) This reproduction requires the capacity to
discriminate between system and environment.
Luhmann continue with introducing the Maturana´s concept of structural coupling and
argue that the determination of the system is possible only thru its own structures and
operations. Applied to communication, language represents this structural coupling of
communication and consciousness. It keeps them, therefore also society and individual,
separate. (pp.151) Language serves as an isolation of society from almost all environmental
events. As the brain is almost completely isolated from the events in the environment, by the
extremely small physical capacity to capture everything happening in the world.
Moreover, Luhmann argues that since the communication is always an internal
operation of the social system, it is not possible to have communication between individual
and society, thus contribution of the individual in society is excluded. (pp.152) Individuals are
products just of their own activity, so there is no assumption to think about individuals as
integrated part in the society. Socialization of individuals of every society is made on the
other side of its structural couplings and language as the possibility of divergent behavior
leads us to the term of “the separation and connection of systems, of freedom and order”.
The last part of the text is questioning the replacement of the cosmological rationality
of the old world. Also, Luhmann argues that there is the dissolution of a paradox, the paradox
of the use of a distinction which cannot distinguish itself. (pp.153) The system operates by
constant reproduction of the difference between self-reference and external reference, made
by the operative differentiation between system and environment. Here we can see its
autopoiesis. Thus, the system observes itself during the realization of re-entry and these
differences guarantee its own unity. Luhmann close the last part and so the chapter of the
Concept of Society, with the open question about the rationality and system.
The questions coming to my mind while reading Luhmann´s text are following:
 Luhmann claims that “the boundary exists only as an instruction to cross
it- whether from inside to outside or from outside to inside” (pp. 145). But
to which extend is it really possible to cross the boundary from one side to
another? What makes this changing? And how?
 Does the consciousness of the concept of autopoiesis and acceptance of the
concept of society change its functioning? Are there some consequences of
using the concept of society affecting the concept itself? In my opinion, the
consciousness always changes the way how the things operate. This brings me
to the assumption that the acceptance of the concept of society and its
autopoiesis, actually makes the system different than it was understood by this
concept. Thus, it makes it inevitable to redefine the functioning of the system
again and again. Paradoxically defining of the system and its consciousness
cause the effect of vicious circle of redefining of the concept of society.