Should society be considered a self-organizing (''autopoietic'') syste
m? If so, what are the implications of this approach for sociological
theory? The concept of paradigms has provided the sociology of science
with a mental model for understanding self-organization as an agency
at the supra-individual level. In the sociology of scientific knowledg
e this ''anomaly'' in sociological theorizing has been elaborated by u
sing the distinction between reflexive and substantive discourses. Thi
s essay specifies the conditions necessary for a social system to beco
me self-organizing in terms of communications. ''Interpenetration'' by
action can then be analyzed in terms of structural and operational co
uplings of the social communication system.