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This volume introduces readers to emergence theory, outlines the major arguments in its defence, and summarizes the most powerful objections against it. It provides the clearest explication yet of this exciting new theory of science, which challenges the reductionist approach by proposing the continuous emergence of novel phenomena.
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T H E R E - E M E RG E N C E O F E M E RG E N C E This page intentionally left blank The Re-Emergence of Emergence The Emergentist Hypothesis from Science to Religion Edited by P H I L I P C L AY TO N A N D PAU L DAV I E S 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York ß Oxford University Press 2006 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The reemergence of emergence : the emergentist hypothesis from science to religion/edited by Philip Clayton and Paul Davies. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-928714-7 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-19-928714-7 (alk. paper) 1. Emergence (Philosophy) 2. Science–Philosophy. 3. Consciousness. 4. Religion and science. I. Clayton, Philip, 1956II. Davies, Paul, 1962Q175. 32. E44R44 2006 501–dc22 2006009453 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0–19–928714–7 978–0–19–928714–7 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Contents Acknowledgements Preface Paul C. W. Davies vii ix 1. Conceptual Foundations of Emergence Theory Philip Clayton 1 I. THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES 2. The Physics of Downward Causation Paul C. W. Davies 35 3. The Emergence of Classicality from Quantum Theory Erich Joos 4. On the Nature of Emergent Reality George F. R. Ellis 53 79 II. THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 5. Emergence: The Hole at the Wheel’s Hub Terrence W. Deacon 111 6. The Role of Emergence in Biology Lynn J. Rothschild 151 7. Emergence in Social Evolution: A Great Ape Example Barbara Smuts 166 III. CONSCIOUSNESS AND EMERGENCE 8. Being Realistic about Emergence Jaegwon Kim 9. In Defence of Ontological Emergence and Mental Causation Michael Silberstein 10. Emergence and Mental Causation Nancey Murphy 11. Strong and Weak Emergence David J. Chalmers 189 203 227 244 vi Contents IV. RELIGION AND EMERGEN