Emergence from local rules

Simple interactions among parts can produce patterns that are easier to describe at the level of the whole.

Emergence names several related ideas about the relationship between parts and higher-level properties. In computational examples such as cellular automata, local update rules can generate persistent moving patterns. Knowing the rules and recognizing a useful large-scale pattern are different achievements.

For example: A traffic jam can move backward along a road even while individual cars move forward. The jam is a collective pattern, not a special car.

Keep in mind: A surprising pattern does not by itself establish strong philosophical emergence or show that physical laws have been violated.

Think about it

What collective pattern in a group cannot be usefully described by looking at only one member?

Connected ideas

Feedback loops and stability · Small world networks · The ship of Theseus

Sources and further reading

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Emergent Properties

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