The Social Reduction of Contingency. Outline of a Social Theory

In this paper I will present the outline of a general sociological theory called: The theory of the social reduction of contingency. This theory is a new solution to one of the oldest conceptual problems known by sociology: the problem of social order. By recovering Parson’s reference problem of the double contingency inherent in social interaction, I compare three important contemporary theories to show that, contrary to what is believed, they are not incommensurable; and that if they are coherently combined, they can be the cornerstone of a complementary theoretical approach. The analyzed theories are: Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory and Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory. In the theory of the social reduction of contingency the social is no longer conceived as a realm of reality made up of particular entities, but as a problem that can be solved through diverse ontological instances such as communication, practical dispositions and materiality.