"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"

尼可拉斯．魯曼（Niklas Luhmann, 1927-1998） 二次世界大戰後德國最重要的社會學家，與哈伯瑪斯間激烈的論戰影響了德國社會學的發展方向，自1969年獲得畢勒佛大學社會學教席後，他嘗試發展一套新的社會理論。1984年所出版的《社會系統論》一書奠定了他在社會學界不可撼動的地位，在其中他以「自我再製」此一革命性的概念來重構社會學的系統理論。接著他開始透過描述各個不同功能系統，來為全社會理論的提出做準備，完成了《社會中的經濟》、《社會中的宗教》、《社會中的藝術》等著作，並在生命終了前完成了他的承諾《社會的社會》一書。整體的著作繁多，至少有59本專著以及兩百多篇文章。 譯者簡介 張錦惠 德國Tubingen大學現代英國文學暨語言學系博士候選人。研究領域：文學理論、角色與情感理論、英國與德國文學從浪漫主義至現代、美學等。譯作有魯曼《社會中的藝術》。王柏偉，德國Witten/Herdecke大學文化系社會學博士候選人。研究領域：藝術社會學、文化社會學、STS、當代藝術史。