PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The chapter asks what kind of biography in writing about Niklas Luhmann as a person is compatible with Luhmann’s own theory. In contrast to most other canonical authors in social science, with whom Luhmann was well acquainted, his biographical writings are characterised by an ‘ambitious modesty’ (to use Michael King’s and Anton Schütz’ label and reveal a sceptical distance to information on the non-scholarly person. By adopting a Luhmannian perspective and using his theoretical distinctions the chapter introduces Luhmann as a divided person. A central concern of the chapter resumes in an effort to reconstruct a Luhmannian perspective on biography and to use his view on methodology and empirical research. In the last part, the chapter debunks allegations of Luhmann’s involvement in Nazi Germany and demonstrates instead the usefulness of Luhmann’s theories for studies of Nazi violence.