[MD] Emergent Consciousness

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt to Ian]
"Further, "emergent" is not always a deeply explanatory label even when it 
is agreed on: the more complex the phenomenon is, the more intricate are 
the underlying processes, and the less effective the word emergence is 
alone. In fact, calling a phenomenon emergent is sometimes used in lieu of 
a more meaningful explanation."

So little wonder a layman like me has trouble wrapping his arms around the 
concept of emergence.

[Arlo]
The trouble with emergence from a strictly scientific view is that there is 
nothing detectable in cells (for example) that would lead one to conclude 
they would form a chemistry professor (using Pirsig's example). That is, 
examining one level does not give one any way of predicting or explaining 
(from within that level) how the emergent level comes to be.

Indeed, Wikipedia states early on, "For a phenomenon to be termed emergent 
it should generally be unpredictable from a lower level description." From 
LILA, "All life contains carbon yet a study of properties of carbon atom 
shows that for the extreme hardness of one of its crystalline forms there 
is not much unusual about it. In terms of other physical constants of 
melting point, conductivity, ionization, and so on it does just about what 
its position on the periodic table of the elements suggests it might do. 
Certainly there's no hint of any miraculous powers waiting to spring 
chemistry professors upon a lifeless planet."

And yet carbon atoms do form chemistry professors. Pirsig asked "why?". 
Emergence attempts to explain "how". Each answer, I think, are given 
strength by the other.

And for both, the process is the same. "Individuals" on any level are the 
result of the collective activity of "individuals" on the lower level. When 
atoms "collectivize", biological cells are possible. But there was no way, 
before this emergence, to "predict" exactly when and how cells would spring 
into existence from carbon atoms. And as biological individuals formed more 
complex biological individuals though collective activity (cells form 
bodies), eventually (but not predictable beforehand) the collective 
activity was able to give rise to not just more complex biological 
patterns, but a new, higher level of patterns, what we call in retrospect 
"social patterns". And so on.