The concept of emergence has seen a significant resurgence in
philosophy and the sciences, yet debates regarding emergentist and
reductionist visions of the natural world continue to be hampered
by imprecision or ambiguity. Emergent phenomena are said to arise
out of and be sustained by more basic phenomena, while at the same
time exerting a "top-down" control upon those very sustaining
processes. To some critics, this has the air of magic, as it seems
to suggest a kind of circular causality. Other critics deem the
concept of emergence to be objectionably anti-naturalistic.
Objections such as these have led many thinkers to construe
emergent phenomena instead as coarse-grained patterns in the world
that, while calling for distinctive concepts, do not "disrupt" the
ordinary dynamics of the finer-grained (more fundamental) levels.
Yet, reconciling emergence with a (presumed) pervasive causal
continuity at the fundamental level can seem to deflate emergence
of its initially profound significance. This basic problematic is
mirrored by similar controversy over how best to characterize the
opposite systematizing impulse, most commonly given an equally
evocative but vague term, "reductionism." The original essays in
this volume help to clarify the alternatives: inadequacies in some
older formulations and arguments are exposed and new lines of
argument on behalf the two visions are advanced.
General
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