The social, cosmopolitanism and beyond

First, this article will outline the metaphysics of ‘the social’ that implicitly and explicitly connects the work of lassical and contemporary cosmopolitan sociologists as different as Durkheim, Weber, Beck and Luhmann. In a second step, I will show that the cosmopolitan outlook of classical sociology is driven by exclusive differences. In understanding human affairs, both classical sociology and contemporary cosmopolitan sociology reflect a very modernist outlook of epistemological, conceptual, methodological and disciplinary rigour that separates the cultural sphere from the natural objects of concern. I will suggest that classical sociology – in order to be cosmopolitan – is forced (1) to exclude non-social and non-human objects as part of its conceptual and methodological rigour, and (2) consequently and methodologically to rule out the non-social and the non-human. Cosmopolitan sociology imagines ‘the social’ as a global, universal explanatory device to conceive and describe the non-social and non-human. In a third and final step the article draws upon the work of the French sociologist Gabriel Tarde and offers a possible alternative to the modernist social and cultural other-logics of social sciences. It argues for a inclusive conception of ‘the social’ that gives the non-social and non-human a cosmopolitan voice as well

Groups, organizations, families and movements: The sociology of social systems between interaction and society

Kühl S. Groups, organizations, families and movements: The sociology of social systems between interaction and society. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. 2020;37(3):496-515.In enhancing a proposal by Luhmann, this contribution shows that it is possible to locate different types of systems between ‘face‐to‐face‐interaction’ and ‘society’: groups, organizations, families and protest movements. The common ground of these is that they use membership to attribute persons to the system or not. However, they differ fundamentally in regard to how they understand membership. In contrast to Luhmann's differentiation between interaction, organization and society, it is not only possible to imagine different types of interlocking systems but also coequal combinations of and transitions between the different types of social systems

Fusion and Evaluation of 3D Data and Excavation Documents for Comparison of Original and Digital Copy in the Case of a Megalithic Tomb

This contribution shows the preliminary results of the multidisciplinary cooperation of archaeological, technical and heritage issues using the example of the megalithic tomb Kleinenkneten II. The tomb was excavated in the 1930s, but big parts of the documentation have unfortunately been destroyed. Furthermore, some ancient interpretations need to be objectively reviewed. More than 500 historical image data visually document the historical excavation situation. In addition, the current situation was recorded in 3D using modern methods. Geodetic products, such as orthophotos, can be derived from modern data and compared with old plans. Also, a point cloud was calculated from historical images, which can be compared with the current situation. The combination of modern and historical data enables new archaeological interpretations. From a museum perspective, strategies for the construction of authentic value of the 3D model is considered, as well as its communication to the public

On the problem of the justification of river rights

This article aims to work out the social conditions that determine whether the communication of river rights finds success in society. Employing the context of hydropower development in the Mekong region, the article finds that an essentialist strategy which claims that river rights have unlimited ‘moral’ validity regardless of any of the decision consequences is unlikely to succeed. Instead, it is proposed that moral conflicts over river rights may ultimately only be resolvable ‘unmorally’, that is, by procedural legitimacy – and this is best captured by employing a methodological framework composed of thematic, social and temporal dimension

Informed consent in research ethics: An analysis from the perspective of Luhmann’s social systems theory

We explore the origins and dynamics of ethical communication with reference to the requirements for informed consent provision in research ethics. We adopt the analytical framework developed in Luhmann’s social systems theory to illustrate how ethical communication about informed consent has developed in the medical, legal and scientific systems. We would like to suggest that the development of ethical communication is the result of the developing semantics of individuality and personhood. Our analysis adds specific observations about how communication about research ethics, and informed consent specifically, reduces complexity in an increasingly functionally differentiated society