Difficulties and Paradoxes of Second-Order Observation. Reflections on the Calculus of Form

Authors

  • Fernando Robles Salgado Universidad de Concepción

Abstract

This paper focuses on the particularities of the second-order observation from the point of view of the calculus of form devised by George Spencer-Brown. In a first step, it highlights the potential opening up for the social sciences with the use of the form as observation strategy. In a second step, it provides eleven theses on the practical use of the second-order observation. Specifically, it redefines the theory of second-order observation from systems theory of Niklas Luhmann.

Keywords:

Social Systems Theory, Second Order Observation, Calculus of Form, Paradoxes of the Observation, Social Systems

Author Biography

Fernando Robles Salgado, Universidad de Concepción

Fernando Robles es actualmente Profesor Asociado del Departamento de Sociología y Antropología de la Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Doctor en sociología por la Universidad Ludwig-Maximilian de Munich, Alemania. Entre sus áreas de especialización se encuentran: riesgo social, sociología política, teoría de sistemas sociales, desigualdad y exclusión social, etnometodología y análisis conversacional.