Abstract
Niklas Luhmann’s work has been gaining popularity in the Anglophone world. The reader who is unfamiliar with the overall development of Luhmann’s version of system theory is introduced in this review essay to the central theoretical changes in Luhmann’s version by way of the author’s elaborations on love. The first part of this review introduces Luhmann’s reduction of the complexity paradigm, and discusses the importance of one’s particular decisions regarding communication and love. The second part highlights Luhmann’s concept of the self-referential system and the semantics of love. The final section of this review introduces the concept of observation in Luhmann’s work, and focuses on the paradoxical nature of the observational mode of love. This review demonstrates how Luhmann’s thinking provides abundant concepts and terms for describing the social phenomenon of love in our everyday lives. One might not become a better lover by reading this review, but it is hoped that people might be able to broaden their understanding of love from the perspective of system theory.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.