Emergence: Key physical issues for deeper philosophical inquiries
Abstract
A sketch of three senses of emergence and a suggestive view on the emergence of time and the direction of time is presented. After trying to identify which issues philosophers interested in emergent phenomena in physics view as important I make several observations pertaining to the concepts, methodology and mechanisms required to understand emergence and describe a platform for its investigation. I then identify some key physical issues which I feel need be better appreciated by the philosophers in this pursuit. I end with some comments on one of these issues, that of coarse-graining and persistent structures.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1204.1077,
title = {Emergence: Key physical issues for deeper philosophical inquiries},
author = {Bei-Lok Hu},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1204.1077},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
16 pages. Invited Talk at the Heinz von Foerster Centenary International Conference on Self-Organization and Emergence: Emergent Quantum Mechanics (EmerQuM11). Nov. 10-13, 2011, Vienna, Austria. Proceedings to appear in J. Phys. (Conf. Series)