The systems theory of Wilhelm Dilthey

The article suggests a reading of Dilthey, that rehabilitates him as a soci ologist and declares him a prominent precursor of the theory of social syst ems developed by Niklas Luhmann. Parallels are obvious: For both, "Verstehe n" (understanding) and "Sinn" (meaning) are necessarily related to each oth er, "Sinn" is a operating mode for conciousness and society, the problem of the hermeneutic circle and the recursive operating of selfreferential syst ems are translatable, the social is dealt with on the level of social and c ultural subsystems and interaction, etc. The three theoretical complexes: " Verstehenstheorie", the theory of differentiation of cultural and organizat ional systems and autobiographic associations are systematically related to one another. It can thus be shown that the operative linkage of meanings - the central assumption in "Verstehenstheorie'' - lays the foundation of a new tradition in differentiation theory. For Dilthey as well as for Luhmann differentiation is oriented not towards the division of labour but towards the linkage of temporised "Sinn"-events.