Emergentism

Emergentism is the belief in emergence, particularly as it involves consciousness and the philosophy of mind. A property of a system is said to be emergent if it is a new outcome of some other properties of the system and their interaction, while it is itself different from them.^[1] Within the philosophy of science, emergentism is analyzed both as it contrasts with and parallels reductionism.^[1]^[2] This philosophical theory suggests that higher-level properties and phenomena arise from the interactions and organization of lower-level entities yet are not reducible to these simpler components. It emphasizes the idea that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

The formation of complex symmetrical and fractal patterns in snowflakes exemplifies emergence in a physical system.

^ ^a ^b [1], O'Connor, Timothy and Wong, Hong Yu (eds.), "Emergent Properties", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
^ Kistler, Max (2006). "New Perspectives on Reduction and Emergence in Physics, Biology and Psychology". Synthese. 151 (3): 311–312. doi:10.1007/s11229-006-9014-3. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20118808. S2CID 36301964. Retrieved 3 September 2021.

[stanford-1] [1], O'Connor, Timothy and Wong, Hong Yu (eds.), "Emergent Properties", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

[2] Kistler, Max (2006). "New Perspectives on Reduction and Emergence in Physics, Biology and Psychology". Synthese. 151 (3): 311–312. doi:10.1007/s11229-006-9014-3. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20118808. S2CID 36301964. Retrieved 3 September 2021.

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