Functional analysis must move beyond analogy to relate force to the power-code

Evidence

These points of comparison with other symbiotic mechanisms form the structure of a theory of physical force. Nevertheless we must not stop at merely forming an analogy, for then functional analysis would degenerate into a merely classificatory exercise. Its distinctive concern with the equivalence of different forms demands that we go further than this and relate the characteristics of physical force to the characteristics of the power-code and to its function for a specified interaction situation. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 708

Categorization

• XREF: This methodological warning — analogy alone degenerates into classification — also cautions against treating Ishiguro’s novel as merely illustrating Luhmann rather than testing his theory’s conditions.