Dr. Braungardt,
I am writing this in response to the link that you sent me.
“The sum of the parts are greater than the whole” is a common phrase which has been inverted. The original phrase was intended to mean that a whole unit, together, is stronger than the parts of the unit separately. In a particular post written by Jurgen Braungardt entitled “Emergence”, Braungardt stated:
“…The concept of emergence entails that the sum is more than its parts, and that there can be a downward causation, because new qualities can emerge in more complex systems that are simply not there if you look at the elements themselves…”
Causation is a topic in philosophy which one could write volumes on. Braungardt iterated that, “there is a downward causation” on more than one occasion. Our universe has the special quality of the second law of thermodynamics. On the Planck scale coherent notions of causality break down. There is no denying that (say for instance the neurons in) the brain is a collection of complex cells which allow for something as complex as human intelligence to emerge. However, a primary function of the brain is consciousness. Consciousness in human beings is undeniably more complex than the consciousness inside of the brain of an ant or rodent. One could boil down this paragraph to the question of, ‘can consciousness arise from a single neuron?’ The answer is yes, unicellular organisms have the ability to learn and find foods.
Though I am not a materialist I am also not a dualist. A dualist would take the perspective that there exists a soul which is sometimes used interchangeably with the word “mind”. I think that it is clear that information is integrated. I do believe that in some ways information (such as causality) is emergent. In order for a situation to make sense it must be emergent. Braungardt stated:
“…Psychology cannot simply be explained as applied biology, and biology, or life itself, cannot be explained as a chemical process only. Chemistry is more than physics, Biology is more than chemistry, human psychology is more than biology, and sociology and politics is more than psychology…”
I agree with the above text. I seek to answer the question: ‘What is time?’ If this question can be answered (separate from the perception of time) then this will answer many questions regarding causation. The definition for an “observer” shall prove to be a critical part of untangling the mess which philosophers and scientists face.
Speculative matters are quintessential parts of modern philosophy and shall be relevant to solve questions such as, ‘What is quantum gravity?’, ‘How are memories formed?’ ‘What is unconscious information?’ Philosophers are going to need to establish universal axioms for which scientists and mathematicians can build on.
Source
http://braungardt.trialectics.com/sciences/physics/emergence/
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