Self-Managed Grammar

This glossary entry used to be called "Lýsingarháttur nútíðar" (a grammatical term in Icelandic)

Some religions depict the world as having an ultimate purpose (e.g. the Christian idea of a 'Day of Judgement').
However, evolutionary biologists generally tend to refute the idea that Nature is teleological.

Whereas Aristotle's ancient definition of design is strongly teleological, metadesigning welcomes a grammar/discourse/belief system that is more attentive to the present moment than to the future.

How do living systems sustain themselves?
They manage the relationship between their internal identity and how they are perceived.
They do so by languaging their equilibrium.
In the above sense, as systems, they therefore 'create' themselves.
This is what is meant by the idea of autopoiesis.

The Icelandic word lýsingarháttur loosely means 'participle' in grammatical terms.
So it is usual to distinguish between lýsingarháttur framtíðar (future tense), lýsingarháttur þátíðar (past tense).
The notion of lýsingarháttur nútíðar (present tense) therefore raises questions about how one defines the grammatical structure that pertains to one's immediate present.
Hence, in Icelandic, lýsingarháttur nútíðar may be translated as 'describing one's mood'.
If this is a self-reflexive process, it is also a possible (controversial) way to adapt to one's environment, perhaps for survival purposes.
One example is what we call radical optimism.

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