Year: 2008
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: This chapter offers a definition of the term “emergent” that is relevant to the study of Artificial Life. Since its inception, the field of Artificial Life has consistently referred to the property of “emergent” phenomena as one of its primary distinguishing features. Despite its frequent use in the literature, however, a clear and widely accepted definition of the term “emergent” is yet to be realized. The chapter studies emergence in the realm of an ALife model, and notes the rich history of the concept, which the ALife approach will hopefully expand. The idea of emergence could perhaps be traced to Heraclitus, with his theory of flux; and Anaxagoras, with his theory of perichoresis, which held that all discernible structures in the world are products of a dynamical unmixing process which began with a homogeneous chaos.
Source: The MIT Press eBooks
Author: Mark A. Bedau
Institution: Reed College
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W228505724