van Hateren, J. H. (2021) A mechanism that realizes strong emergence. [Preprint]
|
Text
strongly_emergent_cause.pdf Download (250kB) | Preview |
Abstract
The causal efficacy of a material system is usually thought to be produced by the law-like actions and interactions of its constituents. Here, a specific system is constructed and explained that produces a cause that cannot be understood in this way, but instead has novel and autonomous efficacy. The construction establishes a proof-of-feasibility of strong emergence. The system works by utilizing randomness in a targeted and cyclical way, and by relying on sustained evolution by natural selection. It is not vulnerable to standard arguments against strong emergence, in particular ones that assume that the physical realm is causally closed. Moreover, it does not suffer from epiphenomenalism or causal overdetermination. The system uses only standard material components and processes, and is fully consistent with naturalism. It is discussed whether the emergent cause can still be viewed as 'material' in the way that term is commonly understood.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
||||||
| Additional Information: | Accepted for publication in Synthese | ||||||
| Keywords: | strong emergence; causation; materialism; physicalism; indeterminacy; evolution | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
||||||
| Depositing User: | Dr. J. H. van Hateren | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 28 Jul 2021 02:54 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 28 Jul 2021 02:54 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 19372 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Causation General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
||||||
| Date: | 2021 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19372 |
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}