Emergence and reductionism: An awkward baconian alliance

TY - CHAP

T1 - Emergence and reductionism

T2 - An awkward baconian alliance

AU - Coleman, Piers

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Sophie Gibb, Robin Findlay Hendry, and Tom Lancaster. All rights reserved.

PY - 2019/1/1

Y1 - 2019/1/1

N2 - This chapter discusses the relationship between emergence and reductionism from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. It argues that in practice, they complement one another, forming an awkward alliance in a fashion envisioned by the philosopher-scientist, Francis Bacon. The chapter shows that the connection between emergence and reductionism continues to provide a powerful driver for frontier scientific research, linking the lab with the cosmos. Emergence, by contrast, is the intriguing idea that as matter comes together, it develops novel properties and unexpected patterns of collective behavior. The chapter presents a pragmatic middle ground: arguing that reductionism and emergence are mutually complementary and, quite possibly, inseparable. Biologists trace the idea of emergence back to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, and the use of the term in science began in biology. One of the most remarkable developments has been the discovery of a topological connection to emergence.

AB - This chapter discusses the relationship between emergence and reductionism from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. It argues that in practice, they complement one another, forming an awkward alliance in a fashion envisioned by the philosopher-scientist, Francis Bacon. The chapter shows that the connection between emergence and reductionism continues to provide a powerful driver for frontier scientific research, linking the lab with the cosmos. Emergence, by contrast, is the intriguing idea that as matter comes together, it develops novel properties and unexpected patterns of collective behavior. The chapter presents a pragmatic middle ground: arguing that reductionism and emergence are mutually complementary and, quite possibly, inseparable. Biologists trace the idea of emergence back to Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, and the use of the term in science began in biology. One of the most remarkable developments has been the discovery of a topological connection to emergence.

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U2 - https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315675213-25

DO - https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315675213-25

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9781138925083

SP - 298

EP - 314

BT - The Routledge Handbook of Emergence

PB - Taylor and Francis

ER -