Why Emergence and Self-Organization are Conceptually Simple, Common and Natural

Emergent properties are properties of a whole that cannot be reduced to the properties of the parts. Properties of a system are defined as relations between a particular input given to a system and its corresponding output. From this perspective, whole systems formed by coupling component systems have properties different from the properties of their components. Wholes tend to arise spontaneously through a process of self-organization, in which components randomly interact until they settle in a stable configuration that in general cannot be predicted from the properties of the components. That configuration constrains the relations between the components, thus defining emergent “laws” that downwardly cause the further behavior of the components. Thus, emergent wholes and their properties arise in a simple and natural manner. [Note: this paper was initially prepared for the Proceedings of the Science Week on Complexity, UM6P, 2023. When the Proceedings were cancelled, it was submitted to the journal Complexities]