The Systems Theory and Functionally Differentiated Society

Abstract

The theory of the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann represents a particular approach to the issue of social evolution, social development, and its ongoing processes. The author avoids the issue of human actors by not considering human individuals as parts of social systems, but as their environment. The processes which he focuses on from his systemic perspective, are the processes of reproduction and the evolutionary change of social systems. Since in later chapters we will encounter Luhmann’s idea of the consequences of modernisation processes, we will now devote some attention to this author.