Neither individualism nor anti‐individualism
The coevolution of social systems and psychic systems
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8975378 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jean‐Sébastien Guy (0000-0002-3772-1667, Dalhousie University Halifax Nova Scotia Canada, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 52-64 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8308 • E-ISSN: 1468-5914 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jtsb.12395 |
| OpenAlex | W4387844566 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
Major paradigms in sociology and social sciences usually embrace either individualism or anti‐individualism as fundamental worldview. This paper explores a third way between individualism and anti‐individualism developed by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann in his systems theory. Luhmann treats actors or individuals as psychic systems and he distinguishes them from social systems. In a nutshell, social systems produce communication, whereas psychic systems produce consciousness. In line with anti‐individualism, Luhmann therefore argues that social systems are irreducible to psychic systems and their actions. On the other hand, Luhmann joins ranks with individualism to assert that psychic systems are not rigorously constrained by social systems. Ultimately, Luhmann explains that social systems and psychic systems are part of each other's environment and that each type of systems provides the ecological conditions that the other type depends on to emerge and grow. To discuss this third way between individualism and anti‐individualism, the paper examines more specifically two central points in Luhmann's theory: (1) how social systems and psychic systems are separated from each other, and (2) how social systems and psychic systems are coevolving
Epistemology · Individualism · Methodological individualism · Political science · Psychic · Social science · Social system · Sociology · Systems theory · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Critical Realism in Sociology · Emile Durkheim and Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
Ökologische Kommunikation
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The Structure of Social Theory
Social Theory
Theories of Distinction
Twenty Lectures Sociological Theory Since World War II
Realist Social Theory
The Differentiation of Society
Rethinking Social Theory
The Rules of Sociological Method
How Not to Structure a Social Theory
Why I am not an Individualist
Understanding social theory
Globalization or World society
The Division of Labour in Society
Against Structure
The Social Organization of Scientific Knowledge
Parsons, Luhmann and the Theorem of Double Contingency
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |