Emergence

Emergences are emergencies resulting in unexpected fundamental enrichments of the semantics within a scenario. Emergence is an important concept in Systems Thinking and Systems Engineering. Emergence is used in the contexts of nature, scientific theories, and technology and innovation.

Neither ISO 9000 nor ISO 15288 list emergence in their terms and definitions. The reluctance may be based on the opinion that cases of emergence are temporary constructs. As an example, they may point to the relation between mechanics and thermodynamics. Initially, thermodynamics rested on experienced based axioms defined by Nicolas L. S. Carnot (1796-1832) before Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906) found the formula to connect mechanics with thermodynamics. Although this is historically true, it has nothing to do with the definition of emergence above. A molecule within a gas volume owns no feature temperature or pressure. Only if all particles in a gas volume would have the same energetic state, the energetic state of a single molecule would allow a direct calculation of the temperature or pressure within the whole gas volume. If something is an unrealistic construct, then this scenario. Emergence does not break causality. In reverse, from the viewpoint of the whole gas volume only statistical deductions on the state of individual molecules are possible ignoring all mutual interactions of individual molecules by proclaiming uncorrelated, white noise.

Emergence in Nature

When we talk about emergence within nature we have to start with the existence of a physical world with energy, matter, and time. It is undecidable whether the existence of the whole world is based on emergence according to the definition above, or not. All scientific considerations on the beginning are speculative in that they involve infinitesimal limit value considerations for that mathematics clearly states that these values are mathematically undefined. We do not even know, if our intellectual understanding of causality and time could ever be applicable to a reality without energy and matter. From a human point of view, the following emergences within our physical world are important:

• Life
  The emergence of reproductive cells gaining over time the capability to move autonomously in their living environment marks the beginning of live.
• Photosynthesis
  Photosynthesis emerged in cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are the species that has changed the Earth more than any other species. Over more than one billion years they generated an atmosphere with a remarkable content of oxygen.
• Animals and Plants
  With multicellular organisms developing cell specialisation, two essential concepts emerged applicable to all animals and plants. First, multicellular organisms are subjected to life cycles with birth, adolescence, adulthood, and death. Second, they own a kind of self-concept, at least in the sense not to attack and to eat themselves erroneously. At this stage, evolution continued featuring animals and plants as described by Charles Darwin (). Animals and plants live in search of an equilibrium regarding many axes, most notably including the ratio of the oxygen and carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. Competition and symbiosis are the two principles regulating the biosphere. Genetic variation drives the evolution further resulting in a certain resilience of the biosphere in case of adverse developments, and geological and cosmological threats. Over several billion years, the Earth was not harmed by catastrophic cosmological events destroying all life, and thanks to its geological dynamics, evolution advanced continuously leading to the generation hominids.
• Argumentative Language
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• Civilisations
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• Scientific Understanding of Origins
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Emergence in Scientific Theories

Emergence in Technology and Innovation