"I believe that Luhmann is the only true genius in the social sciences
alive today. By this, I mean that not only is he smart, extremely
productive, and amazingly erudite, though all this is true enough, but
also that he has, in the course of an improbable career, elaborated a
theory of the social that completely reinvents sociology and destroys
its most cherished dogmas." So wrote Stephen Fuchs in his Contemporary
Sociology review of Luhmann's major theoretical work, Social Systems
(Stanford, 1995). In this volume, Luhmann analyzes the evolution of love
in Western Europe from the seventeenth century to the present.
Reviews
"Luhmann's unique, monumental, theory-building effort is best described
as a consistent attempt to deploy the tools and the inspirations of
three strategies: modern information theory, structuralism, and
evolutionary theory. . . . Perhaps nothing conveys more poignantly
Luhmann's unusual blend of scientific precision with artistic
sensibility than his replacement of Parson's 'reciprocity of
perspective' with his own 'interpersonal interpenetration.' The first is
cool, calculating, cognitive, and dispassionate; the second connotes a
richness of relationship that leaves no human faculty unmoved. . . .
Luhmann's work is important because, arguably, it comes closer than all
other sociological strategies to restoring the lost link between
academically reputable social theorizing and the subjective experience
of life." --American Journal of Sociology
"There is a dearth of analytical writing about the emotions and
sentiments that seem to motivate most human action, at least in everyday
discussion, although some researchers are making some efforts to remedy
this situation. Luhmann's Love as Passion is an outstanding
contribution to this emerging trend . . . full of novel information and
fascinating ideas." --Contemporary Sociology
