A blog inspired by the work of Niklas Luhmann
morality
Positive & Negative Societal Integration
In A Systems Theory of Religion, Luhmann argues that inclusion rules are now delegated to function systems. For instance, the individual person is included in the economy and the legal system by having access to money and legal protections. Without money, the person cannot participate in the economy; so for the sake of survival, people […]
MoreTheodicy and Morality
In A Systems Theory of Religion, Luhmann addresses the question of why God has created or permitted the difference between good and bad, and why he does not use the possibilities available to him to help the good triumph instead of the bad. Only in the modern era do people speak of “theodicy,” but it […]
MoreMorality and Ethics
I am still thinking about the place of morality in social systems theory. I am interested in how the concept of morality changes as society moves from centralization and stratification to functional differentiation. For instance, in the economy, morality doesn’t register at all. Prices have information value, but not morality. In the health (or medical) […]
MoreCo-evolution of social classes in Renaissance Florence
I am interested in looking more closely at what Luhmann says about society organized by stratification. We can take Florence as a case study. In A History of Florence, John M. Najemy writes From at least the early thirteenth century Florence’s history was dominated by a competition, more intense and longer-lasting than similar confrontations elsewhere in […]
MoreThe Antifascist Movement from a systems theory perspective
This post is related to a previous post of Charlottesville and morality. There is an interesting article in The Atlantic by Peter Bienart titled “The Rise of the Violent Left.” The article poses the following question: Antifa’s activists say they’re battling burgeoning authoritarianism on the American right. Are they fueling it instead? Beinhart offers a […]
More