Unfoldment of self-reference in logic and in computer science

The paradoxes induced by unrestricted self-reference have been of interest since antiquity. In this paper the author approaches the interpretation of self-reference in natural languages from the perspective of linguist - using as insight the treatments of self-reference by Russel, Tarski, Kleene and Scott. The subject of self-reference is approached historically. The works of Russell are first discussed and then compared with the more general concepts introduced by Tarski. These are then discussed within the framework of Kleene's recursion (fixed point) theorem. Finally, the pioneering work of Scott is discussed and comparisons made with earlier work. A final section extends the notions discussed earlier into a linguistic/philosophical framework