Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [emergence]

41 questions
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What are the missing pieces that prevents us from deriving the laws of chemistry from physics?

What are the missing pieces that prevents us from deriving the laws of chemistry from physics? People say it's emergent properties, but it's hard to believe that there are emergent properties between physics and chemistry. Simulating physical laws…
Sayaman
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What are the arguments against the emergence of mind?

There are theories that state that a mind or human consciousness emerged from the properties of underlying systems, e.g. physical properties of the atoms of the brain, or biological properties of the cells in the brain. What are the arguments that…
Bob
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Relation between Existence of Free Will and Existence of the Self

So, I am a student in mathematics and physics with no formal training in philosophy whatsoever, although I enjoy reading popular discussions of philosophical questions. However, my question is bound to be vague and badly phrased, for which I…
Scipio
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What are the relations between supervenience, grounding and emergence in philosophy of science?

So, I am wondering if anyone could help me with the notions of grounding (supervenience?) and emergence in the modern discussions in philosophy of science. What are they and what is the relation between them? Any papers or simply thoughts?
kondeusz
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Could there be higher level emergent phenomena from more complex systems with properties different from consciousness?

My original question may have been unclear. Most answers seem to miss my point. So I'll try to restate it. Can you speculate about an entirely new higher level phenomena that might emerge from a larger alien brain or computer, analogous to how…
JeffK
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Is the concept of emergence sufficient in blocking reductionism?

Is emergence the only avenue to follow in order to successfully short-cirquit full reductionist explanations? What other recourse does one have to avoid full-fledged reductionism without risking back-tracking to some sense of essentialism?
user43583
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Can Thomas Nagel be considered a pantheist?

I have recently come across Thomas Nagel's book "Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False", which I've only skimmed. I've also just finished reading "What's it like to be a bat". He…
Alexander S King
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What are the main arguments that emergence-based theories of consciousness can't solve the hard problem of consciousness?

Ever since reading Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach as a teenager I've been fascinated by the idea that consciousness is an emergent property of physical systems. Roughly the claim is that consciousness is a physical property, but not one…
Avi C
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What's the difference between "emergence" and "reductionism"?

Isn't a system, which emerged from simpler system also reducible to the simpler system? More general, is emergence the reverse term to reducitionism?
Bob
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Intentionality and emergentism in Marxist theories?

This question came to mind when reading about Adorno and Horkheimer's Culture Industry, but it might apply to any Marxist theory where the bourgeoisie/capitalist class performs some action to defend its interests. Adorno and Horkheimer state in…
Alexander S King
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Why does naturalistic dualism imply panpsychism?

From this article: First, [naturalistic dualism] seems to imply panpsychism, the view that everything in the universe has consciousness. Once you accept the existence of nonphysical features of the world that are fundamental, it is hard to find a…
David Gudeman
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Are some emergent properties non-falsifiable by science?

Are some emergent properties non-falsifiable as a causal necessity by science? Since we cannot determine why emergent properties are what they are from physics and chemistry laws, I am guessing that we cannot determine what other alternatives there…
Sayaman
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Is there a theory or alternative or nonconventional explanation to the phenomena of emergence?

Is there a theory or alternative or nonconventional explanation to the phenomena of emergence? Emergence state that we can't predict chemistry or biology from physics alone, because there are properties that emerge from the interactions of many…
Sayaman
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Does instrumental corruption constitute extra-will multi-agency?

Through my previous question on ideology and instinct, a more fundamental query was encountered. In both individual and collective minds, semantic decay can result in mental threads out of alignment with the being's instinct. This effect is perhaps…
Michael
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Emergent consciousness

Thought experiment on emergent consciousness from physical object - brain: Imagine we record all neural firings of human brain within 5 seconds interval. Now, if we replace each neuron with a single person (we would need billions of people), and…
Mirza Hadzic
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