尼克拉斯·卢曼（Niklas Luhmann，1927—1998），与哈贝马斯齐名的当代德国社会学家，比勒费尔德大学社会学教授。作为系统论的代表，他将社会及其不同分支领域视为纯粹由交流构成的诸社会系统，主张一种激进建构主义的理论思考方式，对哲学、社会学、经济学、法学、政治学等众多学科领域产生了深远影响。代表作包括《社会系统》《社会的社会》《社会的经济》《社会的科学》等，《作为激情的爱情》是他最受大众欢迎的一部著作。

"I believe that Luhmann is the only true genius in the social sciences alive today. By this, I mean that not only is he smart, extremely productive, and amazingly erudite, though all this is true enough, but also that he has, in the course of an improbable career, elaborated a theory of the social that completely reinvents sociology and destroys its most cherished dogmas." So wrote Stephen Fuchs in his "Contemporary Sociology" review of Luhmann's major theoretical work, "Social Systems" (Stanford, 1995). In this volume, Luhmann analyzes the evolution of love in Western Europe from the seventeenth century to the present. "Reviews" "Luhmann's unique, monumental, theory-building effort is best described as a consistent attempt to deploy the tools and the inspirations of three strategies: modern information theory, structuralism, and evolutionary theory. . . . Perhaps nothing conveys more poignantly Luhmann's unusual blend of scientific precision with artistic sensibility than his replacement of Parson's 'reciprocity of perspective' with his own 'interpersonal interpenetration.' The first is cool, calculating, cognitive, and dispassionate; the second connotes a richness of relationship that leaves no human faculty unmoved. . . . Luhmann's work is important because, arguably, it comes closer than all other sociological strategies to restoring the lost link between academically reputable social theorizing and the subjective experience of life." "--American Journal of Sociology" "There is a dearth of analytical writing about the emotions and sentiments that seem to motivate most human action, at least in everyday discussion, although some researchers are making some efforts to remedy this situation. Luhmann's "Love as Passion" is an outstanding contribution to this emerging trend . . . full of novel information and fascinating ideas." "--Contemporary Sociology"