Radical Constructivism and Radical Constructedness: Luhmann’s Sociology and the Non-linear Dynamics of Expectations

Leydesdorff, Loet Radical Constructivism and Radical Constructedness: Luhmann’s Sociology and the Non-linear Dynamics of Expectations., 2012 [Preprint]

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English abstract

The communication (and reflexive translation) of denotations between semantic domains can generate “horizons of meaning” as reflexive orders that remain structurally coupled to individual minds. Luhmann noted that this elusive order contains a trade-off between “organization” at interfaces integrating (differently coded) expectations at each moment of time, and the potential of further differentiation among symbolically generalized codes of communication in a “self-organization” over time. One can model the coding in the communication of meaning as eigenvectors which evolve as an implication of the interacting intentions and expectations. The interacting horizons of meaning generate new options (redundancy) against the arrow of time, since meaning is provided to events from the perspective of hindsight. Using the theory and computation of anticipatory systems, “self-organization” and “interaction” can be considered as hyper-incursive routines that use (expectations of) future states for their reconstruction, whereas “organization” operates in terms of instantiations (of expectations). Mathematical metaphors can guide us in further exploring the nonlinear dynamics of a social order of intentions and expectations without reification.

Item type: Preprint
Keywords: anticipation, constructivism, sociology, Luhmann, supra-individual
Subjects: B. Information use and sociology of information
Depositing user: Loet Leydesdorff
Date deposited: 15 Feb 2012
Last modified: 02 Oct 2014 12:21
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10760/16576

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