Sociology observing itself remains just another self-referential system or milieu.

Evidence

However, Luhmann would not have been Luhmann had he not added an ironic twist to the notion of circularity or self-reference, whereby within each system events are explained in terms of pre-existing assumptions of what constitutes truth and reality. ‘Of course, sociology’, he writes, ‘is nothing but a milieu of its own.’ So, as a result of this new sociological enlightenment, the uniquely sociological way of observing society necessarily and inevitably becomes yet another ‘milieu’, another system which observes society observing society itself. But at least this time the starting point is exclusively sociological, rather than based on moral beliefs or, as Luhmann puts it, ethical concerns, and at least this time the language, concepts and methods that it deploys are rigorous and sociological. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 16

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies Luhmann’s self-reference/circularity: even sociology’s own observation is just another system observing society, not an external privileged vantage.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s thesis framing: Luhmann’s critique of moral/ideological sociology parallels the difference between system trust (neutral, functional) and ethical commitment the reader wants to dramatize via Stevens.