结构耦合:一种法律关系论的新视角

Structural Coupling:A New Interpretation of the Relationship between Law and Society

德国著名社会理论家卢曼认为,法律作为自创生系统是社会系统的一个子系统,其在运作上封闭、在认知上开放,与同样作为社会子系统的经济、政治系统,以及与心理系统之间保持着结构耦合的关系,这使法律系统面向外部环境高度敏感,从而实现共同演化。结构耦合具有五个核心特征:它描述系统与环境之间的关系,是一种基于涵括与排除的双面形式,造成各系统间的“共时性”,功能在于对系统引发激扰,是一项演化成就。法律系统与经济系统通过所有权、契约及损害责任的豁免建立结构耦合,通过立法特别是宪法,与政治系统建立结构耦合;通过主观权利与心理系统建立结构耦合,形成了去中心化的社会图景。卢曼从系统论视角处理法律与社会的关系这一经典问题,对我国民主法治建设颇具启发意义。

According to the famous German social theorist Niklas Luhmann,law is a social sub-system that operates in a normatively closed and cognitively open way,maintaining a structural coupling with the economic and political systems,as well as with the psychological system,which makes the legal system highly sensitive to the external environment,thus realizing the co-evolution of society.Structural coupling has five core features:it describes the relationship between the system and the environment,is a two-sided form based on inclusion and exclusion,creates a“co-temporality”between systems,functions as a radical perturbation of the system,and is an evolutionary achievement.Law is structurally coupled to the economy through ownership,contract and immunity from liability for damages in competition,to politics through legislation,especially the constitution,and to the psychological system through subjective rights,thus creating a decentered social picture.Luhmann’s interpretation of classical problem of the relationship between law and society from a systemic perspective is quite inspiring for the construction of democracy and rule of law in China.