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Spencer-Brown, Luhmann and Klein on Symmetry

  • Jean-Sébastien Guy

    Jean-Sébastien Guy, who sadly passed away in November 2022, was Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He had written on systems theory, relational sociology, globalization and the metric/nonmetric distinction. He had published in Cybernetics and Human Knowing, European Journal of Social Theory, Systems Research and Behavioral Science and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. His latest book was Theory Beyond Structure and Agency: Introducing the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction (with Palgrave Macmillan).

Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 9. Juni 2023
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Abstract

This article discusses the concept of symmetry as Felix Klein developed it in his works on geometry as a measure of invariance. The objective is to generalize from Klein’s model and principles to be able to apply the concept of symmetry to the study of social structures or social formations in sociology. To achieve this goal, the article goes on to consider how the concept of symmetry bears on the Laws of Form of George Spencer-Brown and on Niklas Luhmann’s theory of functional differentiation. Both of them are reinterpreted in terms of symmetry breaking.

About the author

Jean-Sébastien Guy († 2022)

Jean-Sébastien Guy, who sadly passed away in November 2022, was Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. He had written on systems theory, relational sociology, globalization and the metric/nonmetric distinction. He had published in Cybernetics and Human Knowing, European Journal of Social Theory, Systems Research and Behavioral Science and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. His latest book was Theory Beyond Structure and Agency: Introducing the Metric/Nonmetric Distinction (with Palgrave Macmillan).

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Published Online: 2023-06-09
Published in Print: 2023-06-25

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Heruntergeladen am 23.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/sosys-2023-0004/html?lang=de
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