University of Leicester.
Can Rev Sociol. 2018 May;55(2):232-256. doi: 10.1111/cars.12191. Epub 2018 Apr 10.
This paper addresses an apparent gap in the work of Niklas Luhmann. While the issue of trust continues to receive widespread attention in the social sciences, Luhmann's interest in this topic declined following the development of his systems theory. It is argued that this decline does not reflect any diminished relevance of trust for systems theory, but rather that the architectural remodeling of theory cannot easily be applied to the issue of trust. Here, the issue of trust is reconceptualized as a connection medium. This entails a reconstruction of Luhmann's early theory of trust, especially with regard to function and social positioning. In this context, trust can in turn be linked to the concept of medium in Luhmann's late work. As a connection medium, trust mediates between the different levels of sociality-interaction, organization, and society. These theoretical considerations are employed to develop a more applied framework for empirical research, with a brief case study from southern Italy. From this perspective, the idea of trust as society's glue is seen to be overly simplistic. The common ethical understanding that more trust leads to a better society is also questioned on the grounds that social cooperation can also lead to social sclerosis. Finally, risk and trust are shown to accommodate the formation of different cultures of trust. The paper shows how Luhmann's updated version of trust can inspire current research and enhance our understanding of how trust operates in contemporary society.
本文探讨了 Niklas Luhmann 作品中一个明显的空白。尽管信任问题在社会科学领域仍然受到广泛关注，但随着他的系统理论的发展，Luhmann 对这一主题的兴趣却有所下降。本文认为，这种下降并不反映信任对系统理论的相关性降低，而是理论的架构重塑难以轻易应用于信任问题。在这里，信任问题被重新概念化为一种连接媒介。这需要对 Luhmann 早期的信任理论进行重构，尤其是在功能和社会定位方面。在这种情况下，信任又可以与 Luhmann 晚期作品中的媒介概念联系起来。作为一种连接媒介，信任在不同的社会层面——互动、组织和社会之间进行调解。这些理论考虑被用来为实证研究开发一个更具应用意义的框架，并以意大利南部的一个简要案例研究为例。从这个角度来看，信任作为社会“黏合剂”的观点过于简单化。基于社会合作也可能导致社会僵化的事实，人们普遍认为更多的信任会导致一个更好的社会的这种伦理理解也受到了质疑。最后，风险和信任被证明可以容纳不同信任文化的形成。本文展示了 Luhmann 更新后的信任版本如何激发当前的研究，并增强我们对信任在当代社会中运作方式的理解。
