Law as a Social System (Paperback)

Modern systems theory provides a new method for the analysis of society through an examination of the structures of its communications. In this volume, Niklas Luhmann, the theory's leading exponent, explores its implications for our understanding of law.
Luhmann argues that current thinking about how law operates within a modern society is seriously deficient. He lays out the theoretical and methodological tools that, he argues, can advance our understanding of contemporary society and in particular of the identity, performance, and function of the legal system within that society. In systems theory, society is its communications: they are its empirical reality; the items that can be observed and studied. Systems theory identifies how communications operate within a physical world and how different sub-systems of communication operate alongside each other.
In this volume, Luhmann uses systems theory to address a question central to legal theory: what differentiates law from other social practices? However, unlike conventional legal theory this volume seeks to provide an answer in terms of a general social theory: a methodology that answers the question in a manner applicable not only to law, but also to all the other complex and highly differentiated systems within modern society, such as politics, the economy, religion, the media, and education. This sociological approach offers profound insights into the relationships between law and other social systems.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	Oxford Socio-Legal Studies
Release date:	June 2008
First published:	September 2008
Authors:	Niklas Luhmann
Translators:	Klaus Ziegert
Editors:	Fatima Kastner • Richard Nobles
Dimensions:	233 x 156 x 28mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	512
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-954612-1
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social theory Books > Law > Jurisprudence & general issues > Law & society Books > Humanities > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy Books > Philosophy > Topics in philosophy > Social & political philosophy
LSN:	0-19-954612-6
Barcode:	9780199546121

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!