Conflicting emergences. Weak vs. strong emergence for the modelling of brain function.

ABSTRACT: The concept of "emergence" has become commonplace in the modelling of complex systems, both natural and man-made; a functional property" emerges" from a system when it cannot be readily explained by the properties of the system's sub-units. A bewildering array of adaptive and sophisticated behaviours can be observed from large ensembles of elementary agents such as ant colonies, bird flocks or by the interactions of elementary material units such as molecules or weather elements. Ultimately, emergence has been adopted as the ontological support of a number of attempts to model brain function. This manuscript aims to clarify the ontology of emergence and delve into its many facets, particularly into its "strong" and "weak" versions that underpin two different approaches to the modelling of

SUBMITTER: Turkheimer FE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6581535 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature