Emergence

Emergence

Emergence (/ɪˈmɜːrdʒəns/; from the Latin emergere, "to rise out or up") is a phenomenon in complex systems where new properties, behaviors, or structures arise from the interactions of simpler elements, which do not exhibit such properties individually.

Definition

In the context of biology, emergence is often used to describe the way that higher-level properties arise from the collective dynamics of a system's components. These properties are not predictable from the properties of the individual components, making emergence a challenging and fascinating area of study in fields such as neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and systems biology.

In physics, the concept of emergence is used to describe phenomena that arise from the collective behavior of many individual entities, such as the emergence of thermodynamics from statistical mechanics.

Etymology

The term "emergence" comes from the Latin emergere, which means "to rise out or up". It was first used in this context in the late 19th century by the British philosopher George Henry Lewes, who was discussing the philosophy of mind and consciousness.

Related Terms

• Complex systems
• Self-organization
• Synergy
• Holism
• Nonlinearity
• Chaos theory
• Pattern formation

See Also

• Emergent properties
• Emergent behavior
• Emergent evolution
• Emergentism

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Emergence
• Wikipedia's article - Emergence

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