Wikipedia appears to agree with you, Nick:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence
"Every resultant is either a sum or a difference of the co-operant
forces; their sum, when their directions are the same -- their
difference, when their directions are contrary. Further, every
resultant is clearly traceable in its components, because these are
homogeneous and commensurable. It is otherwise with emergents, when,
instead of adding measurable motion to measurable motion, or things of
one kind to other individuals of their kind, there is a co-operation
of things of unlike kinds. The emergent is unlike its components
insofar as these are incommensurable, and it cannot be reduced to
their sum or their difference." (Lewes 1875, p. 412)(Blitz 1992)
-- Owen
On Sep 6, 2009, at 11:18 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote:
Try this: a property of an entity is emergent when it depends on
the arrangment or the order of presentation of the parts of the
entity. (It's properties that are emergent, not entities ... some
properties of a pile of sand are emergent, some aggregate.) Here, I
believe, I am channeling Wimsatt.
The beauty of reading a collection such as Bedau and The Other Guy
is that you experience the whip-lash of moving from point of view to
point of view. Good exercise for the neck.
By the way, Russ (was it?) was a ...leetle... unfair to Bedau. I
dont think Bedau thinks it's a mystery; i think he thinks others
have thought it a mystery. But it's been a few months since I read
it.
Implementation: Consider the expression, "there is more than one
way to skin a cat". Equivalent to: "there are several programs you
can use to implement a cat skinning."
Consciousness: the big source of confusion in emergence discussions
is the attempt to attach emergence to such perennial mysteries as
consciousness. (Actually, I dont think consciousness is a mystery,
but let that go.) The strength of a triangle is an emergent
property of the arrangment of its legs and their attachments.
There are lots of ways bang together boards and still have a weak
construction, which I learned when I put together a grape arbor with
no diagonal members. Worked fine until the grapes grew on it.
Emergent properties are everywhere in the simplest of
constructions. We dont need to talk about soul, or consciouness, or
spirit to have a useful conversation about emergence.
Nick
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University ([email protected])
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
----- Original Message -----
From: Victoria Hughes
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Sent: 9/6/2009 10:32:59 AM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] emergence
Consciousness / self-awareness?
Is this thus acceptable as an emergent phenomenon?
If so, how does this permit, or not, the definition of 'the self' as
a unique identity?
Emergence is what happens when components of the "emergent entity"
act in such a way as to bring about the existence and persistence
of that entity.
When "boids" follow their local flying rules, they create
(implement) a flock. It's not mysterious. We know how it works.
That's all emergence is: coordinated or consistent actions among a
number of elements that result in the formation and persistence of
some aggregate entity or phenomenon.
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
