Communication (System Theory)

Explanation

In sociological system theory, particularly in Niklas Luhmann’s work, communication is not just the transfer of messages but a self-referential social operation composed of three selections: information, utterance, and understanding. Communication occurs when these selections are meaningfully connected, allowing new communications to follow (connectivity). Unlike traditional action theories that focus on individual intentions, system theory treats communication as the basic element of social systems. Systems reproduce themselves by creating networks of communicative events that are operationally closed (they produce their own elements) yet structurally coupled to their environment, including people, organizations, and other systems. This approach enables a highly abstract yet powerful analysis of society’s complexity and differentiation.