in this video
We'll be giving a high-level overview
To the concept of emergence and the different aspects to it that we'll be covering in more detail in future modules during the course
the dictionary definition of the term emergence comes from the Latin word meaning
Bringing to light in this sense it means the process of becoming visible or coming into existence
In its most abstract and metaphorical sense emergence describes the universal process of creation
That is both are very fundamental and pervasive feature to our worlds as it plays out in all types of systems
Emergence involves the creation of something new that could not have been expected from a description of the parts prior to its creation
Indeed the 17th century [latin] meaning to the word meant something similar to unforeseen occurrence
This novelty - emergence comes in a spectrum of strengths these strengths account for the different types of emergence
Which are described as being strong or weak at?
the weak end of the spectrum the novel phenomena may only appear different while after its arrival [it] is possible to
understand how it derives from some set of Elementary parts at
The strong end of the spectrum one thing is caused by another, but it is in no way reducible to the elementary parts
Classical examples of emergence can be found in the collective behavior of social insects like ants and bees as they create
swarms and colonies
Many other examples have been identified in human social organizations and human cognition
The solvent properties of water is an often cited example of emergence
But neither hydrogen atoms nor oxygen atoms in isolation possess this property and neither do they possess
scaled-down versions of the property
the solvent action seems to Emerge from a non linear combination of the properties of Hydrogen and oxygen
Because emergent properties are a product of the synergies between the parts that cannot be observed locally in sub-systems
But only as a global structure or integrated network in such a way emergence creates a system with two or more
distinctly irreducible Patterns of organization
Called integrative levels thus new descriptive Categories are necessary for the different levels when referring to
phenomena, that involve emergence as
Emerging Macro level phenomena cannot be described within the vocabulary
applicable to the paths these emergent features require new terms and new concepts to categorize them as
An emergent phenomenon is thought to be irreducible in some sense to an account of its elementary parts a true
Emergent Phenomenon is one for which [the] optimal means of prediction is computer simulation
a primary distinction within the
Philosophical study of emergence is often made between what is called ontological and epistemological
emergence
Epistemology refers to knowledge, and how one knows the world?
Epistemological emergence is the idea that some systems cannot be described as a matter of practice in terms of their component?
Units because of the limits to our knowledge that is our inability to obtain all relevant information and do all the computations
Ontology refers to the nature of being it is concerned with what we consider the objective being of things in the world around
us
With ontological emergence, we're not just making statements about our own knowledge of the world
We're making statements about how the world actually is
when we talk about ontological emergence were making a statement about how the world is irrespective of our understanding of it if
Ontological emergence is identified it means a full understanding of the system in terms of its components is not possible in
Theory not just because of practical constraints
But because new and fundamentally irreducible levels of organization appear at higher levels
Whereas the term emergence is of major interest in Philosophy and arts. It is understood in systems
theory in more scientific terms with reference to non-linearity
Synergies
self-organization [and] pattern formation in this context emergence describes a process whereby
Component parts interact to Form synergies these synergies then add value to the combined
organization which gives rise to the emergence of a new
Macro level of organization that is a product of the synergies between the parts, not simply the properties of the parts themselves
Emergent Properties are
attributed to whole
Structured collections of elements where the emergent property is not an additive function of the properties of the elements of the collection
taken individually
For example the mass of the human body is a simple
Summation of all of its parts taken in isolation and Thus it is not an emergent feature
However human consciousness would appear [to] be an emergent phenomenon as we're not able to provide an account of it as some
summation of Elementary cognitive parts
The behavior of the system results more from the interaction of the components than from the behavior of the components themselves
The added value of the whole that exists above and Beyond that of the parts and their properties is a product of the way they
[interacts]
These specific interactions between the parts that add or subtract value from the whole organization are called Synergies
Emergence is then a product of synergistic interactions between the parts in the system
positive Synergies
Arise when two or more elements both differentiate their states and activities with respect [to] each other and
coordinate them
Differentiation enables the parts to specialize while integration enables them [to] coordinate their different capabilities
Towards an overall outcome in so doing the synergistic interaction adds value to the overall
System and we get some combined organization that is greater than the sum of its parts what we [all] emergence
These synergies are a pervasive phenomenon in our worlds in the interaction of pollinating insects and plants
microbial organisms and their host animals in the interaction between different drugs and in all kinds of social
organization such as businesses families and friendships
because the parts [with] [venice] energy are differentiated and
coordinated with respect to each other this means they [have] a specific type of
Interaction and if we alter that interaction by moving the parts around or recombining them in a different fashion
Then the added value may be lost
For example [if] we had a log and a set of keys with only one of these many keys being able to open the lock
Although in their mass and other physical properties the keys would be almost exactly the same if we took any key
Except the correct one and combined it with the lock this
Combination would have virtually zero value as the log would not open and thus the combination would be non-functional
But when we combine the right key with the right lock we will get an overall functioning system
That is a value this added value was derived from the Synergy between the key and lock
this specific key and lock were designed to be differentiated with respect to each other [and]
Coordinated thus enabling their combined functionality and the added value
Neither lock nor key could achieve the combined function of securing something in isolation
Thus we need both different parts
But [also] they need to be working together in some fashion to get the overall functioning system and the resulting emergent organization
the other keys were differentiated from this lock but they were not coordinated with it and thus no added value or
functionality emerged when we combine them
Synergistic interactions give rise to new levels of organization that have their own internal properties
Features and dynamics these new emergent levels are called integrative levels
Although these new levels are not directly to pendent upon the properties [of] their [paths] the pattern of organization
that is emerged is dependent upon the integrity of the synergies between their constituent parts if
We take the synergies away the integrative levels will disintegrate and disappear
Thus unlike simpler linear systems that can be reduced to a single level of organization
Emergence results in the [developments] of more than one level of organization with these different levels
Representing a different context and set of rules governing the paths
With integrative levels we get a dynamic where the higher level is dependent upon the lower levels for its existence
However, the higher level also creates its own pattern of organization that feeds back to condition the micro level elementary parts
[and] their interactions
All imagine systems are composed of a micro level set of building blocks [that] place an upward set of physical
Constraints on the system, but also the Macro level defines a pattern of organization
That then exerts a downward effect on the paths by creating the context for their operation
For example the electrons moving through a microprocessor are the physical building blocks that make possible
Computation the processor is one of the physical constraints placed on the Macro level software program
That's running on it however the program on the macro level [is] performing some process. That is not associated with the
Organization of the paths such as a person using it to build a website
although the Macro level
Operations of the Software is fully dependent upon the micro level of the physical
Electrons moving around in the processor the structure of that macro level process that the person is performing when they build the website
Has nothing to do with the underlining micro level physical processing going on in the computer?
This software activity could be conducted in the same way on many different types of computers with very different
Underlining patterns in the hardware the upper level of the software is though creating the downward effect
Conditioning how the electrons move around on the micro level?
Due to this development of different levels of organization
within the same single overall system
Emergence gives rise to a complex dynamic between the different levels most notably between the macro and micro levels of the system
systems that engender emergence of some kind have a specific micro Macro Feedback dynamic that becomes important to
understanding their overall behavior
This dynamic where the higher levels affect the lower levels is a key part of emergence
And it is called downward causation
downward causation is the claim [that] in a system exhibiting emergence the higher or macro level as the locus of
Emergent phenomena exerts some kind of causal influence downward on the lower level substrates from which it originally emerged
This interaction can be seen in biological organisms [as] the individual organs and tissues create the whole organism
But then the organism as a whole feeds back to regulate the parts within societies individuals create
Institutions, but then these institutions feed back to constrain the individuals towards the ends of the institution as a whole
likewise economies and financial markets involve a constant interplay between the macro structure such as market prices and the
individual actors on the micro level
in all cases
Emergence Involves new descriptions of a system being used when we go from the micro levels to the macro level and this can be seen
In many areas of science for example economics is divided into Micro and Macro Economics
With different terms used in the different domains
likewise Theoretical Physics remains divided between
descriptions of physical systems on the micro level in terms of quantum mechanics and on the Macro level in terms of General relativity
[in] the study of Society the micro and Macro are divided into two different domains with their own separate [Lexicon]
Psychology for talking about the individual and sociology for talking about Macro level patterns within social systems
this is because phenomena like social movements only emerge out of the synchronized activities of many individuals and
Will not form posit the study of the individual, but will only form part of the study of the whole social group
the question that remains though is whether we form different descriptions on different levels out of
expediency and Lack of knowledge
Or do we do it because on a fundamental level is not possible [to] fully derive an account of the macro level from the micro
Level this difference is captured in the term strong and weak emergence
Weak emergence describes an emergent process that given enough information
Can theoretically be simulated by a computer with the process of weak emergence?
Novel features and properties may Emerge within a system that could not have been predicted a priori
However once they have emerged it is possible at least theoretically
To derive them from the underlining component parts even if in practice this is often not computationally viable
However strongly emergent processes are ones that cannot be derived even in theory from a full understanding
[of] the properties and interactions of the component parts on the lower level
The higher level emergent properties and features must then be understood as a whole in terms of the macro level
dynamics with only limited reference to Micro Level mechanics
as an epistemology
emergence reflects a certain way of looking at the worlds that may [be] contrasted to
Reductionism the idea of emergence can be identified as one of the very few central ideas behind systems theory and the holistic
paradigm both Holism and reductionism lead to very different ways of seeing the world and
fundamentally different approaches to conducting science the central question
Dividing the two paradigms is whether our world is expressed by just a few basic laws which directly governed the most
Fundamental parts of Nature and through them the more complex systems they compose this would be the position held by analytical
reductionist approaches and leads naturally to a focus on studying ever more basic elementary parts
or in contrary weather emergence is a
Fundamental and irreducible part of our universe in which case it would [not] even theoretically be possible to reduce
Everything to an account involving only basic elementary parts and thus we should focus our inquiry in
understanding the abstract principles governing the patterns of
[organization] that Emerge on different levels this would be the position held by the more holistic approaches in the system sciences
The basic reductionist intuition is the worldly events and processes are governed by just a few basic
Properties which are linked through just a few basic physical laws which results in what is called the completeness of physics?
Everything that is is physical and every event phenomena or process is caused by some low-level physical change in the component parts
classical reductionist conception of the structure to the Enterprise of science was provided by open human Putnam in
1958 who made explicit a widespread view of the sciences as a
Hierarchical structure with the domains of sciences higher up being shown to be composites
constructed out of the entities of science lower down this hierarchy can be thought of as a pyramid with
Reductionism as the means for moving up and down its levels at the bottom level we have fundamental physics
Above this we have other areas of physics then upwards
chemistry biology psychology economics and other areas of the social sciences
The results of this is a summer
Alienating view of the worlds with fundamental physical particles at the center and human activity as some form of peripheral activity
Leading to a knowledge, base. That is very much removed from our everyday experience of the world
This idea of emergence leads to a very different conception of the Enterprise of science
One that does not try to break things [down]
But instead looks at the many different levels to find patterns and processes that are common across all this approach is grounded in
Abstraction through identifying patterns that are common to [all] types of systems on all levels
holistic approaches try to understand the basic process of synthesis
Synergies and the dynamics of [change] that are seen throughout all kinds of systems
Instead of reducing things to a limited subset of physical elements and laws it actively seeks
Diversity to derive the abstract patterns that emerge on all levels and are common to all systems
Here the unity of science that both reductionism and holism seek is not looked for in elementary parts
But instead is looked for in abstraction abstract models that apply to all systems social physical biological
engineered ETC