Synchronic vs. diachronic emergence: a reappraisal

In this paper, I put forward a benchmark account of emergence in terms of non-explainability and explicate the relationship that exists between its synchronic and diachronic declinations. I develop an argument whose conclusion is that emergence is essentially a “two-faceted” notion, i.e. it always e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal for philosophy of science 2015-01, Vol.5 (1), p.31-54
Main Author: Sartenaer, Olivier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Education
Emergence
Original paper in Philosophy of Science
Philosophy
Philosophy of Science
Topology
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Summary:In this paper, I put forward a benchmark account of emergence in terms of non-explainability and explicate the relationship that exists between its synchronic and diachronic declinations. I develop an argument whose conclusion is that emergence is essentially a “two-faceted” notion, i.e. it always encapsulates both synchronic and diachronic dimensions. I then compare this account with alternative recent accounts of (diachronic) emergence that define the concept through the notion of unpredictability or topological non-equivalence.
ISSN:1879-4912
1879-4920
DOI:10.1007/s13194-014-0097-2