Eneseviite

Eneseviite is a Finnish term used to describe self-reference or self-citation. It denotes the act or situation in which a unit—such as a sentence, a text, a citation, a data item, or a program—refers to itself or to its own production process.

In language and literature, eneseviite encompasses referential devices that draw attention to the text, author, or fabrication of meaning, as in metafiction or self-aware narration.

In scholarly publishing, eneseviite corresponds to self-citation, where an author cites their own earlier works. It serves to situate new work in a line of research, but ethical discussions focus on avoiding excessive self-citation and ensuring relevance.

In logic, mathematics, and computer science, self-reference occurs when a statement or structure refers to itself. This underpins fixed-point constructions and recursive definitions, and it can give rise to paradoxes such as the Liar Paradox if not properly constrained.

In information systems and data structures, self-reference appears in recursive data structures and in metadata that points back to its own record. It can support compact representations but also requires safeguards to prevent infinite loops.

The term is most common in Finnish-language discourse, with parallel terms in other languages such as self-reference or self-citation. See also self-reference, recursive definitions, metafiction, and related concepts.