Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Emergence plays a central role in theories of integrative levels and of complex systems. For instance, the phenomenon of life as studied in biology is an emergent property of chemistry and physics. In philosophy, theories that emphasize emergent properties have been called emergentism. [1]
For example, in physics, the study of phenomena such as superconductivity and the behavior of complex quantum systems has provided empirical examples of emergent properties. [7] In biology, the study of complex biological networks and the dynamics of ecosystems has further illustrated how emergent properties play a crucial role in natural ...
His Emergent Evolution (1923) established the central idea that an emergence might have the appearance of saltation but was best regarded as "a qualitative change of direction or critical turning point."(quoted in Reid, p. 73-74) [10] Morgan, due to his work in animal psychology, had earlier (1894) questioned the continuity view of mental ...
In biology, evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organization , from kingdoms to species , and individual organisms and molecules , such as DNA and proteins .
Aquatic succession or hydrosere: A) Emergent plant life, or pond pioneers, surround an open water lake. Some terrestrial plant life surrounds it as well. B) Emergent plant life begins to move inward and submerge, filling up the lake. Sediment accumulates as the plants grow and die. Terrestrial plant life increases.
The evolution of biological complexity is one important outcome of the process of evolution. [1] Evolution has produced some remarkably complex organisms – although the actual level of complexity is very hard to define or measure accurately in biology, with properties such as gene content, the number of cell types or morphology all proposed as possible metrics.
Surprisingly, most emergent viruses are zoonotic, with natural animal reservoirs a more frequent source of new viruses than is the sudden evolution of a new entity. The most frequent factor in emergence is human behavior that increases the probability of transfer of viruses from their endogenous animal hosts to man.
The concept of emergence—that the properties and functions found at a hierarchical level are not present and are irrelevant at the lower levels–is often a basic principle behind self-organizing systems. [20] An example of self-organization in biology leading to emergence in the natural world occurs in ant colonies. The queen does not give ...