Findings validated by a community hold only for that community, not as universal truth.

Evidence

As we have mentioned, Luhmann does not subscribe to the view that sociological observers are in the business of capturing truth or reality. They rely, like all other observers of their environment, on a version of external reality that has been made possible through reduced complexity. Their observations will inevitably depend upon the presuppositions they bring with them about the nature of the phenomenon being observed. This will influence what they select to research and how they interpret their findings. The fact that other empirical sociologists accept these findings as valid does not mean that they correspond to some universal truth, just that they are true for those empirical sociologists. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 29

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies Luhmann’s anti-foundationalist stance on empirical certainty, a necessary anchor for understanding his theory of trust.