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Emergence & Reductionism (Part 2)
| SERIES: Emergence & Reductionism AUTHOR: Jim Schofield |
STRANDS: EMERGENCE |
ABSTRACT: These papers contrast the pluralist tradition and methodology of Reductionism with the revolutionary and holistic nature of an Emergent Event. Using the Origin of Life on Earth as THE guide, the study of Emergences is commenced and the unpredictable new qualities generated are shown to be also irreducible to those at the immediate precursor Level. The crucial feature of self-maintenance is addressed, without which an Emergent Event could never succeed. The Study of Emergence is said to be very difficult because they don’t happen while you are watching for them. Indeed, we never know when they are about to happen because we cannot predict such Events from preceding situations. For many reasons such areas are just NEVER addressed. Even the Santa Fe Institute – set up for this precise purpose, has proved incapable of delivering anything ofconsequence. Yet the Study of Emergence is now imperative in many areas of Science, which cannot be addressed by the old pluralist methods. |
SYNOPSIS: 1. Catching an Emergence while it is actually happening in order to study it, is well nigh impossible! Such consequent gaps in explanations are usually seen merely as yet-to-be done areas conducive to the old methods. 2. Prediction of the details of a New Level is impossible because the previous Level’s significant variable to which we look for explanation VANISH during the process of an Emergence. 3. Reductionism is always limited to be local to its own Level 4. The self-maintenance of a New Level is largely down to its developed constraints on any lower level elements still existing. If they are not conducive to the new regime they are eliminated. 5. The Santa Fe Institute (supposedly to investigate Emergence) has produced nothing of consequence due to their impotent pluralist methods in such circumstances. 6. The Emergent boundaries are anathema to all pluralists, so receive little or no attention. 7. Modern Science is now jeopardized by pluralist methods, and has been driven into maths-led speculation on a whole range of issues. 8. The only hope for the major outstanding questions can only be via a holistic study of Emergences. |
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