Observations on Modernity (Writing Science)
Luhmann, Niklas / Translated by William Whobrey
Language: English
Published by Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 1998
- First Edition
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Theoria Books, Andover, MA, U.S.A.Theoria Books
AbeBooks seller since June 12, 2016
Condition: Used - As new
£ 23.16
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147 pp., x. Stated: "Original printing 1998" with number line signifying either 1998 or 2007 as the "last printing": presumed First printing. Following the Preface, Contents divided into 5 Essays: (1) "Modernity in Contemporary Society"; (2) "European Rationality"; (3) "Contingency as Modern Society's Defining Attribute"; (4) "Describing the Future"; (5) "The Ecology of Ignorance"; Notes, pp. 115-135; Works cited, pp. 136-147.Glossy wrappers with dark teal front cover with small black square and scribbling chaos illustration at center front cover ; Series title in white letters over dark mauve band across top front cover; Author name lettering in white across bottom front cover. NO previous owner names; NO remainder marks: FLAWLESS, UNREAD COPY. Gift-Giving Condition.
Seller Inventory # 003185
- Title
- Observations on Modernity (Writing Science)
- Author
- Luhmann, Niklas / Translated by William Whobrey
- Publisher
- Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA
- Publication year
- 1998
- Condition
- As New
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0804732353
- ISBN 13
- 9780804732352
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Printing
- 1st Printing
- Dimensions
- 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall
This collection of five essays by Germany’s most prominent and influential social thinker both links Luhmann’s social theory to the question “What is modern about modernity?” and shows the origins and context of his theory.
In the introductory essay, “Modernity in Contemporary Society,” Luhmann develops the thesis that the modern epistemological situation can be seen as the consequence of a radical change in social macrostructures that he calls “social differentiation,” thereby designating the juxtaposition of and interaction between a growing number of social subsystems without any hierarchical structure. “European Rationality” defines rationality as the capacity to see the difference between systems and their environment as a unity. Luhmann argues that, in a world characterized by contingency, rationality tends to become coextensive with imagination, a view that challenges their classical binary opposition and opens up the possibility of seeing modern rationality as a paradox.
In the third essay, “Contingency as Modern Society’s Defining Attribute,” Luhmann develops a further and probably even more important paradox: that the generalization of contingency or cognitive uncertainty is precisely what provides stability within modern societies. In the process, he argues that medieval and early modern theology can be seen as a “preadaptive advance” through which Western thinking prepared itself for the modern epistemological situation. In “Describing the Future,” Luhmann claims that neither the traditional hope of learning from history nor the complementary hope of cognitively anticipating the future can be maintained, and that the classical concept of the future should be replaced by the notion of risk, defined as juxtaposing the expectation of realizing certain projects and the awareness that such projects might fail. The book concludes with “The Ecology of Ignorance,” in which Luhmann outlines prospective research areas “for sponsors who have yet to be identified.”
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Theoria Books
Andover, MA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since June 12, 2016
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