Emergentism: what is it and how does this philosophy explain consciousness?

This philosophical paradigm tries to solve the problem of the relationship between matter and mind.

The human mind is a complex thing to understand, and much of its functioning is still a great mystery. An example of this is self-consciousness, about which there is very little knowledge and whose study has generated a great diversity of models and perspectives, both at the scientific level from psychology and even philosophical.

One of the multiple models or theories in this regard is the so-called emergentism, of which we are going to talk about in the following section.One of the multiple models or theories in this regard is the so-called emergentism, which we will talk about throughout this article and whose main axiom is the fact that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts".

Emergentism: what is it?

Emergentism is understood as a philosophical tendency, model or paradigm. characterized by the consideration that everything that exists, and all the properties of matter (including, in the case of psychology, the mind and our being) cannot be derived solely from the sum of the elements that compose them, but that they arise and evolve from them as an irreducible whole and generate their own laws.

Emergentism arises as a counterpoint to the reductionist theorieswhich consider that reality can be explained on the basis of a single type of factors, the sum of which simply results in the specific phenomenon being analyzed.

It considers that the different phenomena are multi-causal, and that from each way or level of higher organization different properties will emerge that do not exist in the components of lower levels. These properties are therefore part of the whole and cannot be explained from the elements that have constituted it.

Common properties

Although there are different emergentist visions and conceptions, most of them share some main elements.

To begin with, one of them is the existence of synergism, or the belief that the properties of matter arise from the cooperation of various elements from whose interaction different properties and new elements emerge. Such properties and elements are more than the sum of their previous components, not being reducible or solely derived from them, but a sum of their previous components. or solely derived from them but a new and previously non-existent product.

The fact that new properties emerge that are not reducible to their parts means that, in reality, what emerges cannot be predicted. Nevertheless, there would be a certain coherence between complex elements when generating elements over time.

When we link emergence to the biological, we must also take into account the existence of self-maintenance through reproduction. the existence of a self-maintenance through reproduction as well as the capacity for self-organization and the capacity to adjust to the environment in which living beings inhabit and the demands they have to face.

Two basic types

Emergentism is not a totally homogeneous theory, but rather within it can be found different positions for understanding consciousness or the consciousness of living beings. different postures for understanding consciousness or mental states.. Two types of emergentism stand out in particular: weak and strong emergentism.

1. Weak emergentism

Weak emergentism or innocent emergentism proposes that a hierarchically elevated phenomenon, such as human consciousness, is weakly emergent with respect to a lower domain, appearing from that domain.

This type of emergentism proposes that it is the development of new physical structures leading to the emergence of new capabilities.. Thus, the emergence of capacities is due to physics, considering that we ignore the structures that allow the emergence of higher domain levels and this is what prevents us from knowing the higher domain itself or its functioning.

This is a position close to Biological reductionism, since although the emergent is more than the mere sum of the parts (it would be the product of the evolution of structures), it is basically assumed that it is the result of a new structure. That is to say, in reality it would be assumed that it is a product of a "part".

2. Strong emergentism

The so-called strong emergentism proposes that a phenomenon or higher domain is highly emergent with respect to a lower domain from which it may arise, but nevertheless, this higher domain cannot be explained solely on the basis of this lower level.

In other words, the process, domain or element in question may derive in part from pre-existing structures, but it cannot be explained solely on the basis of them; rather, its existence exceeds the mere sum of them. In addition to this, it has a way of functioning slightly independent of them. The new is derived from the whole, not being explicable only by its component parts.

An example in the human psyche

Perhaps the above explanations are difficult to understand as they refer to rather abstract aspects. An easier way to understand this position is to give an example, which can also serve to bring us closer to the human psyche. can help us to approach the application of emergentism in the field of psychology..

Consciousness, as the text on which this article is based suggests, is a good example of this. However, technically any of the higher mental capacities or even aspects and constructs such as intelligence or personality would serve us well.

In the case of personalityIn the case of personality, there is a large part of our way of being that comes from genetic inheritance, while another major factor that explains it is our experiences and the learning we have done throughout our lives. Neither one nor the other completely explains how we behave in real life (if we were to consider that it is one or the other factor we would be being reductionist), and not even their direct sum explains by itself our behavior (being something that emerges from them but is not totally reducible to them).

And it is that aspects such as will or the situation we are living in at the moment independently of our natural tendency to respond would also have a link with it, being aspects that are not merely a sum of biology and experience but that emerge from their interaction in such a way that can even alter them in their own right (our personality and our will can alter our experience, which in turn influences personality).