Emergence

<b>Contemporary classics on the the major approaches to emergence found in contemporary philosophy and science with chapters by such prominent scholars as John Searle Stephen Weinberg William Wimsatt Thomas Schelling Jaegwon Kim Daniel Dennett Herbert Simon Stephen Wolfram Jerry Fodor Philip Anderson David Chalmers and others.</b><p>Emergence largely ignored just thirty years ago has become one of the liveliest areas of research in both philosophy and science. Fueled by advances in complexity theory artificial life physics psychology sociology and biology and by the parallel development of new conceptual tools in philosophy the idea of emergence offers a way to understand a wide variety of complex phenomena in ways that are intriguingly different from more traditional approaches. This reader collects for the first time in one easily accessible place classic writings on emergence from contemporary philosophy and science. The chapters by such prominent scholars as John Searle Stephen Weinberg William Wimsatt Thomas Schelling Jaegwon Kim Robert Laughlin Daniel Dennett Herbert Simon Stephen Wolfram Jerry Fodor Philip Anderson and David Chalmers cover the major approaches to emergence. Each of the three sections (Philosophical Perspectives Scientific Perspectives and Background and Polemics) begins with an introduction putting the chapters into context and posing key questions for further exploration. A bibliography lists more specialized material and an associated website (http: //mitpress.mit.edu/emergence) links to downloadable software and to other sites and publications about emergence.</p><p><b>Contributors<br></b>P. W. Anderson Andrew Assad Nils A. Baas Mark A. Bedau Mathieu S. Capcarrère David Chalmers James P. Crutchfield Daniel C. Dennett J. Doyne Farmer Jerry Fodor Carl Hempel Paul Humphreys Jaegwon Kim Robert B. Laughlin Bernd Mayer Brian P. McLaughlin Ernest Nagel Martin Nillson Paul Oppenheim Norman H. Packard David Pines Steen Rasmussen Edmund M. A. Ronald Thomas Schelling John Searle Robert S. Shaw Herbert Simon Moshe Sipper Stephen Weinberg William Wimsatt and Stephen Wolfram</p>