Sociocultural Evolution and Social Differentiation: The Study of the History of Society and the two Sociologies of Change and Transformation
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Rudolf Stichweh
Rudolf Stichweh, born 1951. Dissertation (1983) and Habilitation (1991) at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld. Career: Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne (1985–1989), Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris (1987), Max-Planck-Institute for the History of European Law, Frankfurt a.M. (1989–1994). Professor for Sociological Theory, University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Sociology (1994–2003); Professor for Sociological Theory, University of Lucerne (CH), Faculty for Cultural and Social Sciences (2003–2012); Professor for the Theory of Modern Society, University of Bonn, Forum International Science (2012–2020). Visiting Professorships in Wien, Paris, Princeton and Chicago. Present Positions: Senior Professor for Sociology at University of Bonn, Forum International Science and Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies; Permanent Visiting Professor, University of Lucerne; Group Member, Lise Meitner Research Group, China in the Global System of Science, Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science. Research fields: Systems theory and world society; comparative study of democracies and autocracies; genesis and structures of modern science since 1750; university as a world organization; slavery and other institutions of strong asymmetrical dependency.
Abstract
Sociology has two interesting and useful theories of social change: differentiation theory and the theory of sociocultural evolution. Both have their origins in biological theory (embryology and general biology); both have been completely sociologized over more than a hundred years. Evolution is a theory about the interplay of structures and events in communication systems; differentiation is a theory about sorting processes that are the starting point of the formation of new systems with new system/environment distinctions. If one understands and analyzes these two theories in this way – and that is what the present paper does – the complementarity of evolution and differentiation becomes clearly visible. Most sociologists are not aware of this complementarity. The goal of this paper is to correct this deficiency.
Article Note
Virginia Stichweh contributed significantly to the English version of this paper.
About the author
Rudolf Stichweh, born 1951. Dissertation (1983) and Habilitation (1991) at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld. Career: Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne (1985–1989), Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris (1987), Max-Planck-Institute for the History of European Law, Frankfurt a.M. (1989–1994). Professor for Sociological Theory, University of Bielefeld, Faculty of Sociology (1994–2003); Professor for Sociological Theory, University of Lucerne (CH), Faculty for Cultural and Social Sciences (2003–2012); Professor for the Theory of Modern Society, University of Bonn, Forum International Science (2012–2020). Visiting Professorships in Wien, Paris, Princeton and Chicago. Present Positions: Senior Professor for Sociology at University of Bonn, Forum International Science and Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies; Permanent Visiting Professor, University of Lucerne; Group Member, Lise Meitner Research Group, China in the Global System of Science, Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science. Research fields: Systems theory and world society; comparative study of democracies and autocracies; genesis and structures of modern science since 1750; university as a world organization; slavery and other institutions of strong asymmetrical dependency.
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© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Titelseiten
- Beiträge
- Editorial
- Close to the Edge: From Crisis To Critical Transitions in Social Systems Theory
- Culture of Society: The Concept of Culture in the Age of the World Society
- Philanthropische Inklusionen: Gemeinnützige Stiftungen in der Gesellschaft
- Gambling on Claim Frequency: Loss Expectation and the Spread of Risks in the Making of Modern Insurance
- Atmosozialität: Ökologien des Atmens nach COVID-19
- Die Bipolarität von Demokratie und Autoritarismus und ihre gesellschaftlichen Ursprünge
- Familie und Schule: Zur Innen- und Ausdifferenzierung des Erziehungssystems
- Organisationale Re-Kombination und sozialer Wandel: Eine Forschungsagenda
- Lose Kopplung
- Form und Medium der Digitalisierung
- Dokumentieren als kommunikative Form im Medium der Darstellung
- Sociocultural Evolution and Social Differentiation: The Study of the History of Society and the two Sociologies of Change and Transformation
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Titelseiten
- Beiträge
- Editorial
- Close to the Edge: From Crisis To Critical Transitions in Social Systems Theory
- Culture of Society: The Concept of Culture in the Age of the World Society
- Philanthropische Inklusionen: Gemeinnützige Stiftungen in der Gesellschaft
- Gambling on Claim Frequency: Loss Expectation and the Spread of Risks in the Making of Modern Insurance
- Atmosozialität: Ökologien des Atmens nach COVID-19
- Die Bipolarität von Demokratie und Autoritarismus und ihre gesellschaftlichen Ursprünge
- Familie und Schule: Zur Innen- und Ausdifferenzierung des Erziehungssystems
- Organisationale Re-Kombination und sozialer Wandel: Eine Forschungsagenda
- Lose Kopplung
- Form und Medium der Digitalisierung
- Dokumentieren als kommunikative Form im Medium der Darstellung
- Sociocultural Evolution and Social Differentiation: The Study of the History of Society and the two Sociologies of Change and Transformation
