Niklas Luhmann

Sociologist

• Born: December 8, 1927
• Birthplace: Lüneburg, Germany
• Died: November 11, 1998
• Place of death: Oerlinghausen, Germany

Education: University of Freiburg

Significance: Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist who made important contributions to the field in the second half of the twentieth century. Luhmann is best known for his theories about society, which differed from many social theories of the time.

Background

Niklas Luhmann was born in Lüneburg, Germany, in 1927. His father was a brewer. The Nazis rose to power during Luhmann's young adulthood, and World War II soon followed. After graduating from high school, Luhmann was conscripted into serving in the German military. He was soon captured by American forces and became a prisoner of war (POW). Luhmann's experience as a POW and his experiences in postwar Germany led to his desire to study law. He became a lawyer and worked in Germany for ten years. During his free time, Luhmann continued to study philosophy, including the work of philosophers such as Descartes, Husserl, and Kant. His focus on the law and philosophy led to his interest in sociology.

In 1960 Luhmann had the opportunity to study at Harvard University for a year with notable sociology professor Talcott Parsons, who also made many important contributions to the field. The experience helped shape Luhmann's career as an academic and cemented his interest in sociology and the study of social theory. From 1962 to 1965 Luhmann was a research fellow at the School of Administrative Sciences in Speyer, Germany. These experiences spurred him to write his first two books, Funktionen und folgen formaler organisation (Functions and Consequences of Formal Organization) and Grundrechte als institution (Basic Rights as an Institution), which he published in 1964 and 1965, respectively.

Life's Work

Luhmann became a sociology professor at the University of Bielefeld in the early 1970s. From early in his career, Luhmann theorized about society and its structure. The structure and origins of society were his main focus. However, the nature of society meant that his work touched on many subjects—such as religion, politics, love, and economics—because they are all part of society and social structure. Luhmann believed that understanding the nature of society was fundamental to the study of sociology.

When Luhmann first began theorizing about society, he had to make a fundamental theory about what makes a society. Before Luhmann's work, most sociologists claimed that societies were made either of people or of actions. Luhmann's ideas about society were different. He developed three main beliefs about society. First, unlike some other sociologists, Luhmann did not believe humans made up society. Instead, he believed they were part of societies. The second important belief was that society should be considered world society.

Luhmann's third core belief was that society was an autopoietic system made up of communication and only communication. Autopoietic systems are systems that require no outside resources to maintain themselves. So, an autopoietic system is a system that reproduces itself within itself. The term autopoietic systems was first used to explain theories in biology. However, Luhmann used the term in his discipline to help explain structures in society. Luhmann's understanding of communication included three elements: information, utterances, and understanding. Luhmann believed that understanding was particularly important because he believed the intended message was not as important as the understood message. Luhmann also believed that communicating was not an action because understanding is not something one chooses to do. Luhmann believed that the communication that makes up society is autopoietic. Luhmann published many books about his social theories, but his book Die gesellschaft der gesellschaft (1997), which translates literally to "The Society of Society," was his best known. It was later published in English as the two-volume work The Theory of Society.

Other sociologists critiqued Luhmann's theories about society. Some critics said that Luhmann never proved that society is a closed a system, thus calling into question his idea that society was an autopoietic system. Others criticized his autopoietic systems theory because they said the theory was meant for biology and did not exactly fit into the field of sociology. A further criticism of Luhmann's work was that Luhmann was incorrect in his thinking that society is made up of only communication. Other sociologists believed that society had different elements. For example, some argued that rules were inherent in systems, such as societies, so rules also had to be part of society.

Despite some criticism, Luhmann generated several powerful theories and a great deal of work during his career. Luhmann was a prolific writer, and he published more than forty books and 250 articles. His ideas about society and sociology left an important impact on the field that is still developing. Luhmann died in Oerlinghausen, Germany, on November 11, 1998.

Impact

Many people in the field of sociology see Luhmann as one of the most important sociologists of the twentieth century. His theories about society helped develop the field and challenged some traditional ideas. Although sociology is not merely a study of society, fundamental ideas about society help shape much of the work that sociologists do. Luhmann's work had an important impact on that part of the field. Although Luhmann was a prolific writer, his work is still not widely read by English-speaking sociologists. This is in part because Luhmann's ideas are abstract and can be difficult to translate. Nevertheless, some of his works have been translated into English, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and other languages. Luhmann's work has been especially significant for sociologists in Germany, but it also influenced many people in Italy, Russia, and Japan.

Personal Life

Luhmann married Ursula von Walter in 1960, and von Walter died in 1971. The couple had one daughter and two sons.

Principal Works

Funktionen und folgen formaler organization (Functions and Consequences of Formal Organization), 1964

Grundrechte als institution (Basic Rights as an Institution), 1965

Funktion der religion (The Function of Religion), 1977

Trust and Power, 1979

Politische theorie im wohlfahrtsstaat (Political Theory in the Welfare State), 1981

Soziale systeme (Social Systems), 1984

Die realität der massenmedien (The Reality of the Mass Media), 1996

Die gesellschaft der gesellschaft (The Theory of Society), 1997

Die religion der gesellschaft (The Religion of Society), 1998

Die politik der gesellschaft (The Politics of Society), 1998

Bibliography

Adams, Bert N., and Rosalind Ann Sydie. Contemporary Sociological Theory. Pine Forge Press, 2002.

Albert, Mathias. "Luhmann and Systems Theory." Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Aug. 2016, politics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-7. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Arnoldi, Jakob. "Niklas Luhmann." Profiles in Contemporary Social Theory, edited by Anthony Elliott and Bryan S. Turner. SAGE Publications, 2001.

Bechmann, Gotthard, and Nico Stehr. "The Legacy of Niklas Luhmann." Society, vol. 39, no. 2, 2002, pp. 67–75.

Borch, Christian. Niklas Luhmann. Routledge, 2011.

Childs, David. "Obituary: Professor Niklas Luhmann." Independent, 28 Nov. 1998, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-professor-niklas-luhmann-1187758.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Ramage, Magnus, and Karen Shipp. Systems Thinkers. Springer, 2009, pp. 209–16.

Seidl, David. "Luhmann's Theory of Autopoietic Social Systems." Munich School of Management, 2004, www.zfog.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/files/mitarbeiter/paper2004‗2.pdf. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Vandenberghe, Frédéric. "Niklas Luhmann, 1927–1998." Radical Philosophy, vol. 94, 1999, pp. 54–6.