Niklas Luhmann

b 1927 in Lüneburg (D)—died 1998 in Oerlinghausen near Bielefeld (D). Luhmann studied jurisprudence in Freiburg (D) and trained as an articled clerk (1946 to 1949). In 1952/1953 he began constructing his famous boxes full of notes. From 1955 to 1962, he was a consultant for the state parliament at the Ministry of Culture in Lower Saxony. His first book was published in 1964: «The Functions and Effects of Formal Organization». He completed his thesis in 1996 and obtained his postdoctoral lecturing qualification at the University of Münster (D). In 1968 Luhmann was a professor of sociology at the Reform University of Bielefeld (D). In 1997 his principal work was published after three years of extensive research: «The Society of Society». As sociologist, Luhmann was one of the best-known German representatives of the system theory, which he applied to all social spheres (from economy, law, politics and science to art, religion and love). He expanded his theory of autopoietic, and closed systems by Humberto Maturana, to include logically constructed relationships, which radicalized communication and environmental terminology. In the sociological field as it did in others, the Luhmann System Theory often unleashed heated debates.