Our current society has been called a 'network society'. But what lies behind this name? Has society changed, or has our observation of society? There can hardly be any doubt that the conditions for describing the world have changed. Since the turn of the 20th century, at least, we have known that there is no point for observing the world that lies outside the world. This book reflects the consequences of these conditions for observing society. What significance does the 'loss' of metaphysical guarantees have for the description and understanding of the society in which we live and for the epistemological tools at our disposal? The book is a sociological, philosophical and aesthetical study of what 'lies behind' the idea of calling present-day society a 'network society'.