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(2013) Luhmann observed, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.
The goal of this chapter is to examine Luhmann's theory of the social as representing reality by engaging in a dialogue with two rival theories, that of complexity theory and Actor-Network theory (ANT), which appear incommensurable with an autopoietic perspective. The purpose of this juxtaposition is to challenge Luhmann's autopoietic self-constructed perception of reality. The assertion of this chapter is that each approach offers a different and equally legitimate understanding of society and that the notion of society can accommodate multiple realities. In other words, society can be represented as a multiverse and not a single unique universe.
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Full citation:
Mauthe, B. , Webb, T.E. (2013)., In the multiverse what is real?: Luhmann, complexity and ant, in A. La Cour & A. Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos (eds.), Luhmann observed, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 243-262.
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