> I am up for this one, Merle-
>
> Tory
>
>
> On Sep 7, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Merle Lefkoff wrote:
>
>> But we may have to have a useful conversation about emergence in
>> order to talk about soul, consciousness, or spirit.
>>
>> Merle
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 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 (
[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.
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> ============================================================
>>> 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>>
>>
>> ============================================================
>> 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>>
>
>
> ============================================================
> 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>
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College