mddm (2): double contingency

[lorentzen-nicklaus]

 third chapter's sentence "the two are staring, one at the other, each with a 
 greatly mistaken impression,--- likewise in some uncertainty as to how the 
 power may come to be sorted out betwixt 'em" (16) seems to be relevant here, 
 too.  

 contingency = that which is neither impossible nor necessary 

lorentzen-nicklaus schrieb:
> chapter 2 contains only d&m's first letter exchange. so this is about what 
> sociologists call "double contingency"; the term was first coined by talcott 
> parsons and then - check out chapter 3 of "soziale systeme" [1984]! - further 
> developed by niklas luhmann. since the social world is always already
>  understood 
> in a basic way, you'll never find, empirically, pure double contingency. 
> however, here the phenomenon is obvious. both communicators are not only
>  aware 
> of their own options but also of the fact that the other has different
>  options, 
> too. so the consciousness of things-being-possible-also-in-another-way (and
>  this 
> is what aristoteles called "contingency") is given on both sides. according
>  to 
> luhmann, the problem of double contingency solves itself evolutionary in the 
> time-dimension. a n y t h i n g - a look, a letter, a bombing - is building
>  up 
> structures (of expectations or, more precisely, expectations of
>  expectations). 
> once this specific social system is established, "when it's no longer
>  necessary 
> to pretend as much as they expected they'd have to" (12), the double
>  contingency 
> of the beginning can be reflected, deconstructed and integrated.
>
> kfl 
>     
>