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This study is an introduction to the systems theory developed by the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) and its significance for literaty studies. It departs from a historical point of view which understands the period around 1800 as the climax of the transformation from a stratified European society into a modern society with a social order structured by differentiated systems such as education, economy, law or literature, each with its specific function and characterized by its typical form of communication. In Germany, the literary system reflects this process in the poetology of Romantic writers. Literary communication is defined as a second order observation that oscillates between the real and potential and makes the ordered forms clearer. The autonomous and differentiated literary system becomes a field that is being observed by its environment. The history of literature in the 19th century instrumentalizes it for political goals, while the new copyright laws and the idea of the book as a profitable merchandise imbued the system of literature with accelerated dynamics.
This article analyses the influence of Kant on conceptions and definitions of modern literature and art in publications by Lyotard, Kothe, Weber and Luhmann. It is argued that central issues in these publications, such as artistic autonomy, the sublime and the concept of L’art pour l’art, are adopted directly from Kant’s philosophical work and still serve as paradigms in the discussion of origin and status of modern social structure and its art production.