The secret transcendence of autopoietic systems. The problem of temporality in Luhmann's systems theory

One of the central intentions of Luhmann's autopoietic systems theory (APST ) is the definitive break with philosophical traditions of argumentation wh ich refer to the category of subjectivity. This stands in clear contrast to the fact that self-referential immanence is one of the main formal princip les of the classical philosophic theories of subjectivity as well as APST. Tn addition, the radical temporalization of the systems concept, although a n essential characteristics of APST, undermines this principle of immanence at the same time. Luhmann's theory of time implies a moment of an irreduca ble transcendence and Weltverhaftetheit of psychic, organic, and social sys tems. This leads to an internal contradiction which cannot be resolved by t he categorical means of a constructivistic paradigm. The problem shows stri king analogies to the dilemma of the classical theory of the transcendental subject, analyzed in the context of phenomenological, theories of time (Hu sserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty).