> 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 (
[hidden email] <mailto:
[hidden email]>)
>
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
> <
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Victoria Hughes <mailto:
[hidden email]>
> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
> <mailto:
[hidden email]>
> *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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