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The fractal geometry of Luhmann's sociological theory or debugging systems theory

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  • Blanco Rivero, José Javier

Abstract

Social theory faces new challenges as society changes. The question is not only if social theory can keep up with –and account for– social transformations, but also if it can avail of social changes (in this case, the current dominance of digital media) in order to reinvent itself. The most attracting features of modern digital resources, such as Big Data, lies on their tools of analysis. But it just might be that the most promising contribution to social theory resides in the epistemological foundations backing these developments and the conceptual tools they can offer to rephrase epistemological issues. In this sense, the function debuggers play with regard to their target programs could shed new light not only on the process of knowledge formation, but also on the process of theory-improvement/ updating. The present contribution intends to show how theory-debugging might work, by taking the sociology of Niklas Luhmann as a target program to be debugged by fractal geometry with the goal of delivering an enhanced version of system theory. It concludes by arguing for the plausibility of describing communication as a natural fractal susceptible of being modelled by some kind of fractal set, and for how communication media are responsible for the fractal structure of communication along sociocultural evolution.

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  • Blanco Rivero, José Javier, 2019. "The fractal geometry of Luhmann's sociological theory or debugging systems theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 31-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:146:y:2019:i:c:p:31-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.05.020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lenartowicz, Marta, 2017. "Creatures of the semiosphere: A problematic third party in the ‘humans plus technology’ cognitive architecture of the future global superintelligence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 35-42.
    2. Loet Leydesdorff & Inga A. Ivanova, 2014. "Mutual redundancies in interhuman communication systems: Steps toward a calculus of processing meaning," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 65(2), pages 386-399, February.
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    1. Roth, Steffen & Dahms, Harry F. & Welz, Frank & Cattacin, Sandro, 2019. "Print theories of computer societies. Introduction to the digital transformation of social theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    2. Steffen Roth, 2020. "Of wolves and dogs and other false distinctions: A rejoinder to Wallis," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(1), pages 182-183, January.

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