From systems to actor-networks : a paradigm shift in the social sciences / Andréa Belliger and David Krieger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Belliger, Andréa, author.

Krieger, David, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social systems.

Actor-network theory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (358 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London, England : Ethics International Press Ltd, [2024]

Summary:

This book documents a paradigm shift, not only in the sciences but also in society. Everywhere in society systems are becoming networks. This implies not only a new understanding of social science but also of society and ourselves. The book describes the systems model based on Luhmann's theory of social systems and compares this to Latour's actor-network theory. It argues that present day society cannot be successfully modeled as a system and illustrates the transformation to a global network society by citing many examples from business, education, and healthcare. The authors argue that actor-network theory provides a more comprehensive account of these changes than systems theory. Based on actor-network theory, they propose a theory of the "digital transformation" that is ushering in the global network society. Although people in all areas talk about systems, adaptive behavior, evolution, complexity, and networks, few know where these concepts come from, and what they mean in the theories they belong to. This book is for all who are concerned with clarifying the often taken-for-granted assumptions and concepts that are implicitly or explicitly derived from systems theory and network theory. It offers an introduction to the work of Luhmann and Latour and a critical and constructive development of these important theories for the 21st century.

Contents:

Intro

Introduction

General Systems Theory

Basic Concepts of Systems Theory

1.1 In the Beginning, There Is the Difference

1.2 What is a System?

1.3 System and Environment

1.4 Why Are There Systems? Reduction of Complexity (Negentropy)

1.5 How do we Recognize Systems? Function and Functional Analysis

1.6 What are Systems Made Of? Order, Organization, and Structure

1.7 What Do Systems Do? Operation and Process

1.8 The Mechanistic Model - The System as Machine

1.9 Code and Information

1.10 Cybernetics and Feedback Loops

1.11 Purpose, Teleonomy, and Homeostasis

1.12 Functional Differentiation, Subsystems, and Internal Complexity

1.13 Contingency and Degrees of Freedom

1.14 Indeterminate and Determinate Complexity/Contingency

1.15 Autonomy, Learning, Emergence, Levels of Emergent Order, Evolution, Self-Organization

1.16 Excursus: The Self-Organizing Universe

1.17 The Biological Model - The System as a Living Being. Autopoiesis, Allopoiesis, and Autonomy

1.18 Operational and Informational Closure, Self-Reference

1.19 Structural Coupling, Adaptation, Viability, and Again Evolution

1.20 Excursus: Ecology and Sustainability

1.21 What is learning?

1.22 Meaning Systems, the Semiotic Code, and Cognition

1.23 Organism or Society? On the Problem of Biological Reductionism in Systems Theory

Meaning as a System: Limits and Possibilities of the Systems Approach in the Social Sciences

2.1 Observation

2.2 Self-Reference

2.3 Meaning

2.4 A Critique of Luhmann's Theory of Meaning

2.5 Subsystemic Differentiation or Internal Complexity of the Meaning System

2.6 Psychic Systems and Social Systems

2.7 The Social System

2.8 Communication

2.9 Communication, Subject, and Action

2.10 The Differentiation of Communication: Functional Subsystems.

2.11 Ecological Communication or Can Society be Modelled as a System?

The Network Paradigm

Network Science

3.1 Network Science

3.2 Actor-Network Theory

3.3 Translation and Enrollment

3.4 Information

3.5 Society: System or Network?

3.6 Network Differentiation

From Systems to Networks - A Conclusion and a New Beginning

4.1 Digital Transformation

4.2 Network Norms

4.2.1 Connectivity

4.2.2 Flow

4.2.3 Participation

4.2.4 Transparency

4.2.5 Authenticity

4.2.6 Flexibility

4.3 From Systems to Networks

4.3.1 Networks Do Not Define Fixed Roles and Functions

4.3.2 Networks Have No Constitutive Boundaries

4.3.3 Networks Cannot be Controlled Top-Down

Literature.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Print version: Belliger, Andréa From Systems to Actor-Networks

ISBN:

9781804413371

1804413372

OCLC:

1422229412