EMERGENCE EVERYWHERE?! REFLECTIONS ON PHILIP CLAYTON'S MIND AND EMERGENCE: Emergence Theory—What Is Its Promise?

Author: Jackelén, Antje

Source: Zygon, Volume 41, Number 3, September 2006 , pp. 623-632(10)

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Abstract:

Emergence is a powerful concept marked by great emotional, aesthetic, and intellectual appeal. It makes inroads into the understanding of the most diverse phenomena. Emergence appears to have the potential of explaining anything from the behavior of atoms, ant colonies, and traffic jams to insurance risks, human consciousness, and divine action. Philip Clayton's book Mind and Emergence (2004) offers much-needed clarification of the philosophical grounding of emergence theory. To a large extent, emergence hinges on the concept of levels and hierarchies in nature. The preferred metaphor is that of a ladder. Given the tendency of concepts like emergence to build ideology, a careful analysis of language and metaphor is called for, however. I argue that the preference for the ladder metaphor does not do justice to the differentiated relationality that is a distinct mark of emergence. This oversight may have detrimental consequences when emergence theory is transferred from natural to social and cultural processes. A hermeneutical analysis suggests that better metaphors and visualizations need to be found. As an invitation to consider alternatives, some examples of complex regular poly topes are offered.

Keywords: Philip Clayton; complex regular polytope; complexity; differentiated relationality; emergence; hermeneutics; hierarchy; metaphor; religious naturalism; theism

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2005.00764.x

Affiliations: 1: Associate Professor of Systematic Theology/Religion and Science at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 1100 E. 55th Street, Chicago, IL 60615, and director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science;, Email: ajackele@lstc.edu.

Publication date: 2006-09-01