Modern societies and organizations are characterized by multiple kinds of observations, systems, or rationalities, rather than singular identities and clear hierarchies. This holds true for healthcare where we find a range of different perspectives from medicine to education, from science to law, from religion to politics brought together in different types of arrangements. This innovative volume explores how this polycontexturality plays out in the healthcare arena.

Drawing on systems theory, and Luhmann s theory of social systems as communicative systems in particular, the...