304:
327:
315:
40:
249:, the basic units of digital memory, which convert potentially paradoxical logical self-relations into memory by expanding their terms over time. Thinking in terms of self-reference is a pervasive part of programmer culture, with many programs and acronyms named self-referentially as a form of humor, such as
718:, which specifies that "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law" is an example of a self-referencing adage. Hofstadter also suggested the concept of a 'Reviews of this book', a book containing only reviews of itself, which has since been implemented using
634:
There is a special case of meta-sentence in which the content of the sentence in the metalanguage and the content of the sentence in the object language are the same. Such a sentence is referring to itself. However some meta-sentences of this type can lead to paradoxes. "This is a sentence." can be
668:
are a list of rules of good grammar and writing, demonstrated through sentences that violate those very rules, such as "Avoid cliches like the plague" and "Don't use no double negatives". The term was coined in a published list of such rules by
151:, 'All Cretans are liars' when uttered by an ancient Greek Cretan was one of the first recorded versions. Contemporary philosophy sometimes employs the same technique to demonstrate that a supposed concept is meaningless or ill-defined.
205:, where a program can read or modify its own instructions like any other data. Numerous programming languages support reflection to some extent with varying degrees of expressiveness. Additionally, self-reference is seen in
178:
equivalent, in computation theory, shows that there is always some task that a computer cannot perform, namely reasoning about itself. These proofs relate to a long tradition of mathematical paradoxes such as
1121:
476:
includes a scene wherein the evil characters are viewing a VHS copy of their own story, which shows them watching themselves "watching themselves", ad infinitum. Perhaps the earliest example is in
217:, where a code structure refers back to itself during computation. 'Taming' self-reference from potentially paradoxical concepts into well-behaved recursions has been one of the great successes of
96:
In philosophy, self-reference also refers to the ability of a subject to speak of or refer to itself, that is, to have the kind of thought expressed by the first person nominative singular pronoun
515:
consists entirely of the protagonist listening to and making recordings of himself, mostly about other recordings. During the 1990s and 2000s filmic self-reference was a popular part of the
303:
679:
is a type of self-reference in which the definition of a term or concept includes the term or concept itself, either explicitly or implicitly. Circular definitions are considered
466:, Delany has a protagonist simply named The Kid (or Kidd, in some sections), whose life and work are mirror images of themselves and of the novel itself. In the sci-fi spoof film
310:, with drawboy above to control the harnesses, woven as a repeating pattern in an early-1800s piece of Japanese silk. The silk illustrates the means by which it was produced.
949:
635:
considered to be a self-referential meta-sentence which is obviously true. However "This sentence is false" is a meta-sentence which leads to a self-referential
31:
639:. Such sentences can lead to problems, for example, in law, where statements bringing laws into existence can contradict one another or themselves.
516:
1276:
1184:
770:
714:, play with many self-referential concepts and were highly influential in bringing them into mainstream intellectual culture during the 1980s.
658:
reporting on job cuts at the BBC. Notable encyclopedias may be required to feature articles about themselves, such as
Knowledge's article on
462:
ends mid-sentence, thus lending credence to the curse and the realization that the novelist is the author of the story; likewise, throughout
458:. In the former, Katin (a space-faring novelist) is wary of a long-standing curse wherein a novelist dies before completing any given work.
1224:
174:
system of mathematics can ever contain all possible mathematical truths, because it cannot prove some truths about its own structure.
194:, undefined behaviors can occur where two players must model each other's mental states and behaviors, leading to infinite regress.
89:
refers to itself. The reference may be expressed either directly—through some intermediate sentence or formula—or by means of some
753:
803:
1313:
1242:
1146:
1074:
992:
690:
The adverb "hereby" is used in a self-referential way, for example in the statement "I hereby declare you husband and wife."
418:
384:
167:
394:
264:
1113:
769:
Several constitutions contain self-referential clauses defining how the constitution itself may be amended. An example is
956:
245:, but is generally discouraged in real-world programming. Computing hardware makes fundamental use of self-reference in
147:
of asking if it was possible for a being to exist so powerful that it could create a stone that it could not lift. The
54:
is a concept that involves referring to oneself or one's own attributes, characteristics, or actions. It can occur in
1299:
1193:
1017:
17:
905:
1348:
535:, the latter pushing the concept arguably to its breaking point as it attempts to portray its own creation, in a
1338:
202:
334:. The painter drawn on a wall erases his own graffiti, and may be erased himself by the next facade cleaner.
536:
362:
867:
242:
644:
612:(i.e. "sesquipedalian" is a sesquipedalian word), but can also apply to other parts of speech, such as
837:
621:
230:
226:
586:(in English, "this") refers to the pipe depicted—or to the painting or the word or sentence itself.
582:, includes the words "this is not a pipe", the truth of which depends entirely on whether the word
288:
108:
1234:
1328:
873:
683:
because they only define a term in terms of itself. This type of self-reference may be useful in
578:
346:
when an author refers to his or her own work in the context of the work itself. Examples include
246:
1308:, Proceedings of the Mathematical Association of Victoria (MAV) Annual Conference, 53, 98–106,
757:
551:
214:
116:
82:
982:
710:
1064:
490:
laments: "for generations still unborn/we will live in song" (appearing in the song itself).
882:
870: – In programming languages, the object or class the currently running code belongs to
525:
511:
404:
198:
180:
159:
104:
8:
715:
676:
550:
invoke self-reference to solve the problem of what created the creator. For example, the
347:
254:
234:
210:
175:
144:
86:
834: – Technique of placing a copy of an image within itself, or a story within a story
609:
1271:
1179:
906:"Ouroboros avatars: A mathematical exploration of Self-reference and Metabolic Closure"
783:
735:
704:
699:
184:
148:
90:
904:
Soto-Andrade, Jorge; Jaramillo, Sebastian; Gutierrez, Claudio; Letelier, Juan-Carlos.
590:'s art also contains many self-referential concepts such as hands drawing themselves.
1309:
1295:
1238:
1189:
1142:
1070:
1013:
988:
855:
849:
531:
502:
438:
238:
1333:
1287:
1230:
930:
600:
443:
423:
413:
276:
218:
74:
1091:
864: – Cyclic structure that goes through several levels in a hierarchical system
573:
1306:
The Lost Logic of
Elementary Mathematics and the Haberdasher who Kidnapped Kaizen
1136:
745:
651:
520:
163:
78:
627:
A sentence which inventories its own letters and punctuation marks is called an
1343:
1109:
812:
670:
547:
506:
498:
326:
752:
is now so extensive that it has fostered a fan-maintained bibliography at the
291:
and have inspired engineering systems such as the self-replicating 3D printer
1322:
1281:
1205:
831:
789:
731:
684:
540:
487:
399:
389:
379:
374:
640:
861:
723:
636:
617:
448:
433:
103:
Self-reference is studied and has applications in mathematics, philosophy,
800: – Concept in performing arts separating performers from the audience
797:
749:
727:
665:
587:
494:
368:
357:
352:
191:
171:
155:
112:
97:
63:
786: – Series of references where the last object references the first
569:
473:
468:
409:
339:
237:
is possible to write (programs which operate on themselves), both with
136:
67:
1138:
Begging the
Question: Circular Reasoning as a Tactic of Argumentation
843:
822:
742:
659:
555:
267:
is a mathematical curiosity which plots an image of its own formula.
222:
206:
140:
124:
44:
47:, a dragon that continually consumes itself, denotes self-reference.
1035:
The Qur'ân's Self-Image. Writing and
Authority in Islam's Scripture
628:
454:
331:
319:
307:
258:
55:
903:
819:– A dream during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming
613:
680:
120:
1266:
287:
replication mechanisms. Models of self-replication are found in
806: – List of statements that appear to contradict themselves
292:
562:
505:
play with self-reference and related paradoxes in many ways.
482:
477:
166:) is the key concept in proving limitations of many systems.
59:
950:"A Tutorial on Behavioral Reflection and its Implementation"
493:
Self-reference in art is closely related to the concepts of
428:
39:
1012:. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. p. 207.
719:
654:
when it is required to write about itself, for example the
501:, which often involve self-reference. The short stories of
343:
261:
is named for a pair of mutually self-referential acronyms.
1223:
Hart, H. L. A. (24 November 1983). "Self-referring Laws".
554:
has a god swallowing his own semen to create himself. The
314:
30:
For the use of self-references in
Knowledge articles, see
876: – Difference between using a word and mentioning it
852: – Acronym whose expansion includes a copy of itself
655:
284:
280:
250:
846: – Process of repeating items in a self-similar way
687:, but can result in a lack of clarity in communication.
878:
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
827:
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
817:
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
808:
Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
576:
is famous for his self-referential works. His painting
187:, and ultimately to classical philosophical paradoxes.
987:. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 110.
937:. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2020.
143:
were created by self-referential concepts such as the
130:
815: – Dream where one is aware that one is dreaming
608:). This generally applies to adjectives, for example
221:, and is now used routinely in, for example, writing
1162:
565:
includes numerous instances of self-referentiality.
734:onto self-reference, but is a minority position in
32:Knowledge:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid
984:Perspectives on the History of Mathematical Logic
229:. Using a compiler to compile itself is known as
1320:
27:Sentence, idea or formula that refers to itself
1056:
771:Article Five of the United States Constitution
1229:. Oxford University Press. pp. 170–178.
885: – Philosophical argument by Benj Hellie
760:, some about science fiction and its authors.
1277:Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid
1263:Reflexivity: A Source-book in Self-reference
1185:Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
643:claimed to have found such a paradox in the
119:. Self-referential statements are sometimes
1062:
947:
840: – Redundancy in linguistic expression
974:
650:Self-reference occasionally occurs in the
598:A word that describes itself is called an
1235:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198253884.003.0008
1114:"On Language; The Fumblerules of Grammar"
558:is a mythical dragon which eats itself.
325:
313:
302:
38:
1210:New England Science Fiction Association
1089:
980:
754:New England Science Fiction Association
14:
1321:
1226:Essays in Jurisprudence and Philosophy
1188:. 20th-anniversary ed., 1999, p. 152.
1134:
1108:
1063:Nöth, Winfried; Bishara, Nina (2007).
1047:
722:and other technologies. Hofstadter's '
241:and with functional languages such as
1124:from the original on 5 February 2023.
1007:
693:
419:Six Characters in Search of an Author
1222:
825: – Humor that alludes to itself
279:is self-referential, as embodied by
1261:Bartlett, Steven J. (Ed.) (1992).
1032:
131:In logic, mathematics and computing
24:
1292:Diagonalization and Self-Reference
981:Drucker, Thomas (4 January 2008).
838:Bilingual tautological expressions
804:List of self–referential paradoxes
385:Jacques le fataliste et son maître
25:
1360:
1069:. Walter de Gruyter. p. 75.
395:If on a winter's night a traveler
322:apologizing for its own existence
265:Tupper's self-referential formula
1267:(PDF). RePub, Erasmus University
858: – Self-replicating program
756:'s website; some of it is about
446:makes use of this in his novels
162:, self-reference (also known as
1294:, Oxford Science Publications,
1216:
1198:
1173:
1155:
1128:
1102:
1090:Richoux, Donna (18 June 2002).
792: – Recursive visual effect
170:uses it to show that no formal
81:, self-reference occurs when a
1304:Crabtree, Jonathan J. (2016),
1083:
1041:
1026:
1001:
941:
923:
897:
593:
13:
1:
890:
647:at his citizenship ceremony.
442:. Speculative fiction writer
270:
209:(related to the mathematical
123:, and can also be considered
1265:. Amsterdam, North-Holland.
1092:"Humorous Rules for Writing"
948:Malenfant, J.; Demers, F-N.
7:
1206:"Recursive Science Fiction"
1135:Walton, Douglas N. (1991).
1066:Self-reference in the Media
868:this (computer programming)
776:
318:A self-referencing work of
201:, self-reference occurs in
10:
1365:
1255:
645:United States Constitution
225:using the 'meta-language'
29:
1048:Boisliveau, Anne-Sylvie.
764:
622:three-letter abbreviation
363:A Midsummer Night's Dream
338:Self-reference occurs in
298:
257:('Pine is not Elm'). The
495:breaking the fourth wall
109:second-order cybernetics
874:Use-mention distinction
579:The Treachery of Images
253:('GNU's not Unix') and
1349:Philosophy of language
955:. PARC. Archived from
758:science-fiction fandom
552:Egyptian creation myth
335:
323:
311:
215:functional programming
48:
1339:Theory of computation
1050:Le Coran par lui-mĂŞme
702:'s books, especially
519:movement, notably in
329:
317:
306:
289:Conway's Game of Life
42:
883:Vertiginous question
616:, as a three-letter
526:Being John Malkovich
405:Lost in the Funhouse
199:computer programming
160:computability theory
105:computer programming
70:, and other fields.
1180:Hofstadter, Douglas
1141:. Greenwood Press.
1112:(4 November 1979).
711:Gödel, Escher, Bach
677:Circular definition
348:Miguel de Cervantes
235:Self-modifying code
211:recurrence relation
176:The halting problem
145:omnipotence paradox
43:The ancient symbol
1118:The New York Times
784:Circular reference
736:philosophy of mind
705:Metamagical Themas
700:Douglas Hofstadter
694:In popular culture
537:dramatized version
398:, many stories by
336:
324:
312:
149:Epimenides paradox
49:
1314:978-1-876949-60-0
1288:Smullyan, Raymond
1272:Hofstadter, D. R.
1244:978-0-19-825388-4
1148:978-0-313-27596-8
1096:alt.usage.english
1076:978-3-11-019464-7
994:978-0-8176-4768-1
962:on 21 August 2017
856:Quine (computing)
850:Recursive acronym
741:The subgenre of "
512:Krapp's Last Tape
503:Jorge Luis Borges
439:The L-Shaped Room
330:Self-referential
181:Russell's paradox
16:(Redirected from
1356:
1249:
1248:
1220:
1214:
1213:
1212:. 3 August 2008.
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1039:
1038:
1033:Madigan, David.
1030:
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1005:
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998:
978:
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969:
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921:
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910:
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828:
818:
809:
730:attempts to map
716:Hofstadter's law
601:autological word
444:Samuel R. Delany
424:Federico Fellini
414:Luigi Pirandello
277:self-replication
219:computer science
79:formal languages
21:
18:Self-referential
1364:
1363:
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1169:. 19 June 2023.
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1120:. p. SM4.
1110:Safire, William
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746:science fiction
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596:
521:Charlie Kaufman
301:
275:The biology of
273:
185:Berry's paradox
168:Gödel's theorem
164:impredicativity
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23:
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15:
12:
11:
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813:Lucid dreaming
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787:
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766:
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739:
695:
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671:William Safire
610:sesquipedalian
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548:creation myths
517:rubber reality
507:Samuel Beckett
499:meta-reference
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272:
269:
132:
129:
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1282:Vintage Books
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832:Mise en abyme
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795:
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790:Droste effect
788:
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774:
772:
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747:
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732:consciousness
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721:
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706:
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685:argumentation
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574:René Magritte
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541:Droste effect
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488:Helen of Troy
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400:Nikolai Gogol
397:
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390:Italo Calvino
387:
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380:Denis Diderot
377:
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375:Twelfth Night
371:
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135:In classical
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115:, as well as
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964:. Retrieved
957:the original
943:
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933:Liar Paradox
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925:
913:. Retrieved
899:
862:Strange loop
768:
724:strange loop
709:
703:
689:
675:
664:
649:
633:
626:
618:abbreviation
605:
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597:
583:
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567:
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434:Bryan Forbes
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274:
263:
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153:
134:
102:
100:in English.
95:
72:
51:
50:
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911:. MIT Press
798:Fourth wall
750:metafiction
728:metaphysics
666:Fumblerules
594:In language
588:M.C. Escher
472:, Director
369:The Tempest
358:Shakespeare
353:Don Quixote
192:game theory
156:mathematics
121:paradoxical
113:linguistics
64:mathematics
1323:Categories
891:References
681:fallacious
641:Kurt Gödel
570:surrealist
532:Adaptation
474:Mel Brooks
469:Spaceballs
410:John Barth
340:literature
271:In biology
247:flip-flops
203:reflection
172:consistent
137:philosophy
85:, idea or
68:philosophy
844:Recursion
823:Meta-joke
743:recursive
660:Knowledge
556:Ouroboros
523:'s films
239:assembler
223:compilers
207:recursion
141:paradoxes
125:recursive
45:Ouroboros
1290:(1994),
1274:(1980).
1122:Archived
777:See also
629:autogram
572:painter
546:Various
486:, where
464:Dhalgren
455:Dhalgren
332:graffiti
320:graffiti
308:Drawloom
259:GNU Hurd
117:in humor
91:encoding
83:sentence
56:language
1334:Grammar
1256:Sources
637:paradox
606:autonym
539:of the
87:formula
75:natural
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1165:hereby
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966:17 May
915:16 May
765:In law
299:In art
293:RepRap
111:, and
1344:Logic
1010:Iliad
960:(PDF)
953:(PDF)
909:(PDF)
748:" or
720:wikis
652:media
620:for "
563:Quran
483:Iliad
478:Homer
213:) in
60:logic
1310:ISBN
1296:ISBN
1239:ISBN
1190:ISBN
1143:ISBN
1071:ISBN
1014:ISBN
989:ISBN
968:2015
917:2015
708:and
604:(or
584:ceci
568:The
561:The
529:and
497:and
460:Nova
452:and
449:Nova
432:and
372:and
344:film
342:and
283:and
255:PINE
243:Lisp
183:and
158:and
1231:doi
656:BBC
624:".
614:TLA
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408:by
392:'s
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281:DNA
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