General conceptions in sociological tensions: The dualism of Niklas Luhmann.

This article examines how sociology traditionally frames its debates through opposing pairs—dichotomies, dilemmas, and guiding distinctions—and proposes focusing instead on "tensions" as a more flexible analytical category. Using Niklas Luhmann's Social Systems Theory (SST) as the primary empirical framework, the authors analyze three foundational sociological tensions: individual/society (defining sociology’s object of study), knowledge/reality (the basis of scientific knowledge), and description/critique (the orientation of sociological practice). They argue that SST predominantly adopts a dualist general conception, maintaining the difference between poles rather than synthesizing or prioritizing one, while also contrasting this with monistic and integrative approaches from other theorists. The proposed framework aims to facilitate comparative analysis within and between sociological theories by identifying positions, conceptions, and overarching general conceptions that characterize theoretical programs.