SCIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE WITHIN NIKLAS LUHMANN'S SOCIAL SYSTEMS THEORY

This paper seeks to present, in a synthetic and critical way, a characterization of the notions of "science" and "knowledge" within Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietic social systems. In order to do so, we begin by proposing a synthesis of the general framework of his work and the main concepts involved in the conceptualization of social systems: system operation, observation and communication. Second, we characterizes science as a social system functionally differentiated modern society, and how communication can operate as an observation, and what this implies for the notions of truth, cognition and knowledge. Third, we characterize Luhmann's sociology of science, focusing on the close relation between theories of society - constructivist theory of knowledge.