Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist in the second half of the 20th century. Over 30 years, he developed a comprehensive theory of society, based on the premise that society can be viewed as a complex combination of social systems, formed and characterized by communication. This theory has a surprising overlap with concepts and methods used in Domain Driven Design, which may be useful to deepen our understanding of the origin and lifecycle of domains in general.

1. TobiasGoeschel
@weltraumpirat@mastodon.social
DomainsandSocialSystems
MakingaDifference
ByMakingSense

2. What,exactly,isadomain?
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3. Wheredodomainscomefrom?
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4. Howandwhendodomainschange?
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5. Whyandwhendodomainsbecomeobsolete?
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7. NiklasLuhmann(1927-1998)

8. Sociologist
NiklasLuhmann
• WasdraftedintoWWIIasa“luftwaffenhelfer”atage16,USPOWuntil1946
• StudiedtheLaw
• Becameanadministrativeofficial(Beamter)
• Extremelywell-organised
• WaspromotedtoMinistryforEducationinLower-Saxony
• intellectuallydissatisfied,didnotshowtheconformistbehaviortobeconsideredforpromotion(“WhywouldIgo
andgetdrunkwithpeople?IreadHölderlin!”)
• IncidentallybecameawareofascholarshipprogramforHarvardthroughhisworkattheministry,applied,andwon.

9. TalcottParsons(1902-1979)

10. TalcottParsons
SocialActionTheory
• LeadingSociologistinthe1950s/1960s
• Soughtatheorytoexplainsocietyasasystembyapplyingcybernetics
• mainwork:socialactiontheory(starting1937)
• Societyisacomplexsystemofinterrelatedpartsthatworktogethertomaintainstabilityandorder
(SocialEquilibrium).
• Eachpartofsocietyhasaspecificfunction.Thesefunctionsarenecessaryfortheoverallstabilityand
survivalofthesystem.
• Coreoperationofthesystemisaction.

11. • AGILparadigm(1956):
• Adaptive
Capacityofsocietytointeractwiththeenvironment
• Goalattainment
Capabilitytosetgoalsforthefutureandmakedecisionsaccordingly.
• Integration
Harmonizationoftheentiresociety;ademandthatthevaluesandnormsofsocietyaresolidand
sufficientlyconvergent.
• Latency
Necessitytodevelopmemoryfunctionstopreservetheelementsofintegration

12. Luhmann’scriticismofTalcottParsons
SocialActionTheory
• SharedParsons’fascinationwithcybernetics
• Theoryfallsshortasamethodofexplainingsocietyasasystem
• Actionsactuallyperformedbyindividuals
• Focusonactionsignoresalotofothersocialoperations,suchastherefusaltoperformanaction
• AGILparadigmfalselyassumesthatvaluesandnormsarepre-existing,stable,anduniversal
• Majorconcern:Theoryofsocietyispartofsociety,thereforecannotactasimpartialobserver
• Rootedinclassicsociology,socialactiontheoryisunabletoresolvetheseblindspots

13. LuhmannafterHardward
• leftadministrationandbecameascholarattheGermanUniversityofAdministrativeSciencesSpeyer
• Duringhis6yearsthere,heinventedhisuniqueZettelkastensystem
• indexedcardfiletoorganisebibliographicalnotesandpersonalinsights
• interconnectedbyamultidimensionalreferencingmechanism
• usedittowrite2books:FormandFunctionofOrganisations,LawandAutomationinPublicAdministration
• subsequentlyenrolledforonesemesterofsociologyatUniversityofMünster
• previouslypublishedbookswereacceptedasdoctoralthesis,andhabilitationthesis
• becamethefirstprofessoratthenewlyfoundeddepartmentofsociologyattheUniversityofBielefeldin1969
• Researchproject:“Acomprehensivetheoryofmodernsocietyanditsfunctionalsubsystems.Duration:30years.Cost:none”

14. Luhmann’sZettelkasten(Cardfile)

15. Premise:Societyisasystem.

16. System

17. System
Environment

18. System
Environment
Distinction:
Theoperationofselectively
pointingoutone(thing),butnot
everythingelsethatcouldbe
selected.
Anydistinctionalwayscarriestwo
sides:Themarkedspace(selected)
andunmarkedspace(notselected)

19. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Observer
included
Excluded

20. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Observer
included
Excluded

21. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Observer
included
Excluded
Paradox:Anobserver(sociologist)
observingsocietyasasystemcan
neverbeneutral-theyarepartof
thesystemtheyareobserving,and
theactofobservationalsochanges
thesystem.
Solution:Weneedanobserver
observingtheobserver.

22. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Observer
included
Excluded
2ndObserver

23. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Self
Other
Observer
included
Excluded
2ndObserver

24. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Self
Other
Observer
included
Excluded
2ndObserver
Whatdoesthesystemconsistof?
Needstolenditselftoobservation.
Humansaretoocomplex-theyare
notevenawareoftheirfullself.

25. HumbertoMaturana(1928-2021)

26. HumbertoMaturana
Autopoiesis
• Autonomy
• Autopoieticsystemspresentthemselvesatadistancetotheirenvironment.
E.g.biologicalcellsdevelopamembranethatseparatestheinsidefromtheoutside.
• Emergence
•Atsomepoint,anew,higher,orderconstitutes(suddenly)inthesystem,thatcannotbederivedfromitsparts.
•Itspropertiescanonlybeidentified,onceitalreadyexists.

27. • Operationalclosure
•Theonlythingthatexistswithinanautopoieticsystem,isitsownoperations.
•Toproducestability,itwillexecutetheseoperationsrecursively(self-referential).
•Thiswillallowittodevelopstructures,andperformautopoiesisitself.
•E.g.atomsformingmolecules,formingcrystalsandsolutions,formingpolymers,formingcells,forming
organisms.

28. •Autonomousconstructionofstructures
• Anychangeinstructurecanneverbeimportedfromtheoutside.
• Ithastobeinitiatedwithinthesystem,andasaresultofitsownoperations.
• Thesystemmayreacttostimuli,butthesearealsocreated(represented)withinthesystem.
• E.g.thenervoussystemhasasensoryapparatusthatcreatesstimulibysendingnerveimpulses.
• Autopoieticreproduction
•Thesystem’sownoperationsproducethenecessaryconditionsitneedstoreproduceitself.
•E.g.acell’sinneroperationsproducetheverymoleculesitneedstostayalive,andinhigherorganisms,toinitiatemitosis.

29. System
Environment
Inside
Outside
Self
Other
Observer
included
Excluded
2ndObserver
Theoperationofsocialsystemsis
communication.

30. Asynthesisofthreeselections
Communication
Alter Ego
SelectsMessage/formtosend Selectswhat/iftounderstand
observer
Selectivedistinction:Information

31. Asynthesisofthreeselections
Communication
Alter Ego
SelectsMessage/formtosend Selectswhat/iftounderstand
observer
Selectivedistinction:Information
Theunityofthesesimultaneous
selectionsiscommunication,its
mediumandformarebothcalled
Meaning(sinn).

32. Asynthesisofthreeselections
Communication
Alter Ego
SelectsMessage/formtosend Selectswhat/iftounderstand
observer
Selectivedistinction:Information
Information(GregoryBateson):
“Adifferencethatmakesa
difference.”

33. Asynthesisofthreeselections
Communication
Alter Ego
SelectsMessage/formtosend Selectswhat/iftounderstand
Formisdefinedasonedistinct
instanceofanoperation.
Mediumisthesumofallpossible
forms.
observer
Selectivedistinction:Information

34. I
At
KanDDDinsky
am
Happy
Like
Luhmann
it
we
Enjoy
DDD is Great
are
hearing
a
Talk
about
time
for Beer
almost

35. I
At
KanDDDinsky
am
Happy
Like
Luhmann
it
we
Enjoy
DDD is Great
are
hearing
a
Talk
about
time
for Beer
almost

36. I
At
KanDDDinsky
am
Happy
Like
Luhmann
it
we
Enjoy
DDD is Great
are
hearing
a
Talk
about
time
for Beer
almost

37. I
At
KanDDDinsky
am
Happy
Like
Luhmann
it
we
Enjoy
DDD is Great
are
hearing
a
Talk
about
time
for Beer
almost

38. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Communicationisephemeral.Fora
systemtoemerge,thereneedstobe
additionalcommunication.

39. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x

40. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x

41. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Communicationisreproducedby
connectingnewcommunicationto
previouscommunication.Systemsare
morelikelytoemerge,if
communicationis“connectable”.

42. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Communicationcanberefused,and
meaningnegated.Butbothcanonly
happenasconnectedcommunication,
andarethusalsopartofthesystem.

43. Repeatedtrialanderrorleadstostructure
Emergence

44. Repeatedtrialanderrorleadstostructure
Emergence

45. Repeatedtrialanderrorleadstostructure
Emergence

46. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Contingency:
Something(tobeexperienced,
expected,thought,fantasized)that
isNeithernecessary,nor
impossible;whichcanbeasitis
(was,willbe),butcouldalsobe
different.

47. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
becausetheworldiscontingent,
therecanalwaysbemore
communication.
repeatedreproductionofthesame
(orsimilar)formsleadsto
emergingstructure.

48. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Butwhocommunicates,ifnot
humans?
Autopoiesisrequiresoperational
closure.Thatmeans,
communicationmustbereproduced
bycommunication.Luhmann:
“Humanscannotcommunicate,only
communicationcan.”

49. Asingleactofcommunicationdoesnotasystemmake
OperationalClosure
x x
Butsocialsystemscan’texistwithout
humans!
Ofcoursenot.Norcantheyexist
withoutphysicalspace,orair.
Systemsneedenvironment.
Excludinghumansdoesnotmean
theyaren’tthere.Theyaresimplynot
includedinthisparticularsystem.

50. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem

51. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Socialsystemsarenottheonly
systemsthatprocessmeaning.
Psychologicalsystemsalsodo.Their
operationiscalled“thought”.
Likesocialsystems,theyare
operationallyclosed.Sothoughts
don’tcrossoverintocommuni-
cation,orotherpeople’sthoughts.

52. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Stimulus
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem

53. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Stimulus
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
SocialSystem
PsychologicalSystem

54. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Stimulus
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
SocialSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem

55. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Stimulus
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
SocialSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem

56. SocialSystem
Environment
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
PsychologicalSystem
Stimulus
PsychologicalSystem
Interactionwiththeenvironment
ispossible,becausepsychological
systemsarestructurallycoupledto
socialsystems.
Thisstructuralcouplingmanifests
intheformoflanguage.

57. SocialSystem
Environment
Socialsystemsarenotphysical.
Theirborder(membrane)isthe
outsideoftheoperationof
communication,i.e.that,whichis
notincluded.
Theemergenceofstructureleadsto
thedifferentiationoffunctional
subsystems.

58. SocialSystem
Environment

59. SocialSystem
Environment
Subsystem Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem

60. SocialSystem
Environment
Subsystem Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Differentiationisarecursive
process.Subsystemswilldevelop
morespecializedsubsystems,etc.
Thisleadstohierarchical
structures.eventually,moreand
moreformalizedstructuresleadto
thecreationoforganizations,
departments,teams.

61. NiklasLuhmannpublishedatotal
of70books,includingfull
treatisesofthetheoryofsocial
systems,analysesofmultiple
functionalsubsystems(suchasthe
arts,religion,thelaw,politics),
andmorethan400articles.

62. His1200pageopusmagnum
(Literally,“Thesocietyofsociety”)
wasreleasedin1997,oneyearprior
tohisdeath.

63. What,exactly,isadomain?
Adomainisthestructuralimprintofoperationswithinasocialsystem(oftenan
organizationordepartment).
Wecandiscoverthesystem’soperations(behavior)byobservinglanguage,because
theyaredeterminedbystructuralcoupling.
Thetechnicalsystemswecreatealsointeractwithpsychologicalandsocialsystems-
throughstructuralcoupling.
AsweconvergeonaUbiquitouslanguage,wecreatenewandmodifyexisting
structuralcouplings,whichnecessarilyalsomodifiesthesocialsystem.

64. Wheredodomainscomefrom?
differentiationleadstomoreandmorecomplex,formalizedstructureswithin
social(sub-)systems.
Formalizationhappensthroughthecontinuedreproductionofsystemoperations.
Thisprocessisevolutionaryandemergent.
Domainsoriginatefromthestructuralcoupling(language)thatformsinthis
process,butthroughaligningonubiquitouslanguage,theymaygrowbeyond.

65. Howandwhendodomainschange?
Domainschangewhenthestructuralcouplingsbetweentheirunderlyingsocial
systemanditsadjacentpsychologicalandtechnicalsystemschange.
Thiscanhavemanyreasons.
Oneverylikelyreasonforunexpectedchangeisfurtherdifferentiationofthesocial
system.

66. Whyandwhendodomainsbecomeobsolete?
Adomainbecomesobsoletewhenitsunderlyingsocialsystemceasestoexist.
AdjacentpsychologicalsystemsandTechnicalsystemscanbereplacedwithothers,
withoutendangeringthesurvivalofthesocialsystem.Itwilldisappearonlywhen
itsoperationsarenolongerreproduced.
Sowhilewemayretireanimplementationofthedomain,andlossorreplacement
ofanadjacentsystemmayalsoresultinachangetothedomain,ititselfwill
continuetoberelevant,aslongasthesocialsystemsurvives.

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