Reflexivity

A much-used research word amongst creative practitioners and cultural theorists. 'Reflexivity' is found in statements that bend back on themselves, such as 'I am honest', to affect that claim. In the case of 'I am honest', the truth-value of the claim is affirmed. In the case of 'I lie', the truth-value is undermined, generating a paradox (the conundrum of the 'Cretian Liar').

M C Escher Drawing Hands 1948

'Reflexivity' is not to be confused with 'recursion' - much as both may be curses, at times.

'Recursion' - which may deserve its own entry - designates 'the repeated application of a procedure or rule to successive results of the process' such as the instruction 'double whatever you have'.

I'd hazard that creative practitioners are keen on the concept because they're attuned to the many signifying levels of their discourse.

For a fascinating and useful discussion of this term including, for exampmle how one may 'resolve' the Cretan Liar paradox, see:

Hilary Lawson Reflexivity: The Post-modern Predicament (London: Hutchinson, 1985)

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PhD thesis:
The artist as a multifarious agent: an artist's theory of the origin of meaning

journal papers, book articles, edited books, editorial roles, and conference papers

see also 'What is an artist's writing?(In research)'