Alternatively, one could make use of a sociological technique (of proven value ever since Durkheim) of framing questions so as to reveal the basic premises of the institutions of the lifeworld, their existing interpretations and understandings. The questions might be the following: If power has to be a causal process, what non-causal foundations of causality are there? If power is to be reckoned with as exchange, what non-exchangeable foundations are there for exchange? If power is a game played between opponents, what are the non-game-playing foundations of the game? This question-framing technique refers back to society as a condition of the possibility of power, and seeks a theory of power indirectly, by way of a theory of society.

DEFINE: Describes the Durkheim-derived sociological technique of revealing basic premises by questioning foundations.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 582