I think I'll have a Martini, while contemplating this opportunity. --Doug
On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 5:09 PM, Victoria Hughes <[email protected]>wrote: > I am up for this one, Merle- > > Tory > > > > On Sep 7, 2009, at 12:02 PM, Merle Lefkoff wrote: > > But we may have to have a useful conversation about emergence in order to >> talk about soul, consciousness, or spirit. >> >> Merle >> >> >> >> >> Nicholas Thompson wrote: >> >>> Try this: a property of an entity is emergent when it depends on the >>> arrangment or the order of presentation of the parts of the entity. (It's >>> /properties/ that are emergent, not /entities/ ... some properties of a pile >>> of sand are emergent, some aggregate.) Here, I believe, I am channeling >>> Wimsatt. The beauty of reading a collection such as Bedau and The Other Guy >>> is that you experience the whip-lash of moving from point of view to point >>> of view. Good exercise for the neck. By the way, Russ (was it?) was a >>> ...leetle... unfair to Bedau. I dont think Bedau thinks it's a mystery; i >>> think he thinks others have thought it a mystery. But it's been a few >>> months since I read it. Implementation: Consider the expression, "there is >>> more than one way to skin a cat". Equivalent to: "there are several >>> programs you can use to implement a cat skinning." Consciousness: the big >>> source of confusion in emergence discussions is the attempt to attach >>> emergence to such perennial mysteries as consciousness. (Actually, I dont >>> think consciousness is a mystery, but let that go.) The strength of a >>> triangle is an emergent property of the arrangment of its legs and their >>> attachments. There are lots of ways bang together boards and still have a >>> weak construction, which I learned when I put together a grape arbor with no >>> diagonal members. Worked fine until the grapes grew on it. Emergent >>> properties are everywhere in the simplest of constructions. We dont need to >>> talk about soul, or consciouness, or spirit to have a useful conversation >>> about emergence. >>> Nick >>> Nicholas S. Thompson >>> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, >>> Clark University ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>) >>> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>< >>> http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> *From:* Victoria Hughes <mailto:[email protected]> >>> *To: *The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group >>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>> *Sent:* 9/6/2009 10:32:59 AM >>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] emergence >>> >>> Consciousness / self-awareness? >>> Is this thus acceptable as an emergent phenomenon? >>> If so, how does this permit, or not, the definition of 'the self' >>> as a unique identity? >>> >>> Emergence is what happens when components of the "emergent >>>> entity" act in such a way as to bring about the existence and >>>> persistence of that entity. >>>> >>>> When "boids" follow their local flying rules, they create >>>> (implement) a flock. It's not mysterious. We know how it works. >>>> >>>> That's all emergence is: coordinated or consistent actions among >>>> a number of elements that result in the formation and persistence >>>> of some aggregate entity or phenomenon. >>>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> >>> ============================================================ >>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >>> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >>> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >>> >> >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org >> >> > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > -- Doug Roberts [email protected] [email protected] 505-455-7333 - Office 505-670-8195 - Cell
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
