The paradox of the theory: interpreting Niklas Luhmann

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of the paradox in Niklas Luhmann's social theory from an "autological" hermeneutic perspective: An attempt at an "orthodox" interpretation of Luhmann's theory, including his theory of the paradox, will discover that the theory does not lend itself to an orthodox interpretation. Thus, while the paradox of Luhmann's theory can only be understood through an orthodox interpretation, the very foundations of such an orthodox hermeneutic approach are deconstructed by its own results. On the basis of an insight into this hermeneutic paradox, the foundational role of the paradox in Luhmann's theory can be appreciated. For Luhmann, the self-construction of society as a complex system of communication functions on the basis of Paradoxieentfaltung, or the unfolding of paradoxes, which, in turn is grounded on "the foundational paradox of observation" (die Grundparadoxie des Beobachtens). Thus, social construction operates not by eliminating paradoxes, but rather by making use of them.