Niklas Luhmann was an author who combined the history of European
sociology with originality. Today it is difficult to determine which aspect
of his paradigm left a deeper mark. His contribution to the conceptualization
of some processes—such as the autopoiesis of the social system and the
notion, now perhaps overused, of self-referentiality—maintains significant
topicality. His collaboration (even if in conflict) with Frankfurt School’s
Habermas on the outcomes of technology in social systems attests to the
ideological neutrality of his systemic approach.
This paper will deal with the sociological context in which Luhmann’s
research has been developed and disseminated. The work focuses on
specific characteristics of Luhmann’s themes: the concept of system; the
behaviorist dynamics of the first and second orders; the structure of
contingency (both single and double); and the fundamental problems of
complexity.
