Our paper analyzes violence from the peculiar perspective of a “social immunology”, defined as the area of social systems theory concerned primarily, even though not exclusively, with those processes by which social systems as communication systems deal with tensions, termed ecological tensions, that involve the intersection between social systems and their human environment and that endanger the maintenance of social autopoiesis. Individuals’ violent behaviors are manifestations of such tensions. However empirically ubiquitous it may be, violence constitutes a crucial problem for social systems, due to risks detrimental to the human substrate of communicative processes. We theorize about conflicts, social movements and the legal system as the main components of an immune apparatus of social systems by focusing on individuals’ reactions to social costs and related social conflicts. Modern law, in particular, tends to promote individuals’ inclusion and to restrain their resorting to violence by relying on a system of rights, procedures, and judicial institutions conducive to attracting and regulating such conflicts. Legal immunization remains nonetheless exposed to several limitations, including abnormal forms that concur to the arbitrary use of violence.

Violence from the perspective of social immunology: a contribution to social systems theory / Tosini, Domenico. - In: SOZIALE SYSTEME. - ISSN 0948-423X. - STAMPA. - 27:1-2(2022), pp. 233-260. [10.1515/sosys-2022-0010]

Violence from the perspective of social immunology: a contribution to social systems theory

Tosini, Domenico
2022-01-01

Abstract

Our paper analyzes violence from the peculiar perspective of a “social immunology”, defined as the area of social systems theory concerned primarily, even though not exclusively, with those processes by which social systems as communication systems deal with tensions, termed ecological tensions, that involve the intersection between social systems and their human environment and that endanger the maintenance of social autopoiesis. Individuals’ violent behaviors are manifestations of such tensions. However empirically ubiquitous it may be, violence constitutes a crucial problem for social systems, due to risks detrimental to the human substrate of communicative processes. We theorize about conflicts, social movements and the legal system as the main components of an immune apparatus of social systems by focusing on individuals’ reactions to social costs and related social conflicts. Modern law, in particular, tends to promote individuals’ inclusion and to restrain their resorting to violence by relying on a system of rights, procedures, and judicial institutions conducive to attracting and regulating such conflicts. Legal immunization remains nonetheless exposed to several limitations, including abnormal forms that concur to the arbitrary use of violence.
2022
1-2
Tosini, Domenico
Violence from the perspective of social immunology: a contribution to social systems theory / Tosini, Domenico. - In: SOZIALE SYSTEME. - ISSN 0948-423X. - STAMPA. - 27:1-2(2022), pp. 233-260. [10.1515/sosys-2022-0010]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Tosini-PostPrint-SozialeSysteme-07-2022.pdf

Open Access dal 01/01/2024

Tipologia: Post-print referato (Refereed author’s manuscript)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 466.91 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
466.91 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri
10.1515_sosys-2022-0010.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (Publisher’s layout)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati (All rights reserved)
Dimensione 330.12 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
330.12 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/350982
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact