This first volume of Niklas Luhmann's two-part final work was
initially published in German in 1997. The culmination of his
thirty-year theoretical project to reconceptualize sociology, it
offers a comprehensive description of modern society on a scale not
attempted since Talcott Parsons. Beginning with an account of the
fluidity of meaning and the accordingly high improbability of
successful communication, Luhmann analyzes a range of communicative
media, including language, writing, the printing press, and
electronic media as well as "success media," such as money, power,
truth, and love, all of which structure this fluidity and make
communication possible. An investigation into the ways in which
social systems produce and reproduce themselves, the book asks what
gives rise to functionally differentiated social systems, how they
evolve, and how social movements, organizations, and patterns of
interaction emerge. The advent of the computer and its networks,
which trigger potentially far-reaching processes of restructuring,
receive particular attention. A concluding chapter on the semantics
of modern society's self-description bids farewell to the outdated
theoretical approaches of "old Europe," that is, to ontological,
holistic, ethical, and critical interpretations of society, and
argues that concepts such as "the nation," "the subject," and
"postmodernity" are vastly overrated. In their stead,
"society"--long considered a suspicious term by sociologists, one
open to all kinds of reification--is defined in purely operational
terms. It is the always uncertain answer to the question of what
comes next in all areas of communication.
General
| Imprint: |
Stanford University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Series: |
Cultural Memory in the Present |
| Release date: |
October 2012 |
| First published: |
October 2012 |
| Authors: |
Niklas Luhmann
|
| Translators: |
Rhodes Barrett
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 30mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth
|
| Pages: |
488 |
| Edition: |
New |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-8047-3949-8 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
General
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-8047-3949-8 |
| Barcode: |
9780804739498 |
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!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
