The Cultural Memory of Society: A Systems Theoretical Approach

Abstract

The concept of originated historically in Niklas Luhmann's systems theoretical analysis in the 18th century. With the exception of symbols or values, distinctions and comparisons play a vital role in the core of the modern concept of culture. From this perspective, the interest of comparison arises, therefore everything is perceived as culture with compared observation. Knowledge and education are offensive described, they are visualized as culture. Thus, the concept of culture in Luhmann's sense is an invention of communication that he calls semantics. Luhmann defines culture or semantics as a stock of subjects, whose social systems can help them. To Luhmann, society means communication and communication produces culture. In the context of culture, Luhmann refers to the memory of society. Culture is perceived as the memory of modern society and social systems, which acts as a filter of obsolescence or memory. Memory distinguishes the function in the present, past or future and does not act as an archive or knowledge store. The aim of this paper is to analyze Luhmann's cultural theory in depth and to outline how the concept of system memory, individual memory and political memory differ.