Mind and Emergence: From Quantum to Consciousness

✍ Scribed by Philip Clayton (Author)

• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 249
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Strong claims have been made for emergence as a new paradigm for understanding science, consciousness, and religion. Tracing the past history and current definitions of the concept, Clayton assesses the case for emergent phenomena in the natural world and their significance for philosophy and theology. Complex emergent phenomena require irreducible levels of explanation in physics, chemistry and biology. This pattern of emergence suggests a new approach to the problem of consciousness, which is neither reducible to brain states nor proof of a mental substance or soul. Although emergence does not entail classical theism, it is compatible with a variety of religious positions. Clayton concludes with a defence of emergentist panentheism and a Christian constructive theology consistent with the new sciences of emergence.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 10
Preface......Page 6
List of Illustrations......Page 12
1. From Reduction to Emergence......Page 14
The rise and fall of reductionism......Page 15
The concept of emergence......Page 16
The pre-history of the emergence concept......Page 20
Weak and strong emergence......Page 22
Strong emergence: C. D. Broad......Page 24
Emergent evolution: C. L. Morgan......Page 26
Strong emergence since 1960......Page 30
Weak emergence: Samuel Alexander......Page 38
The challenge of weak emergence......Page 44
Conclusion......Page 45
Notes......Page 46
The problem of definitions......Page 51
Five different meanings of emergence......Page 53
An example: emergence at the fourth level......Page 55
Doubts about emergence......Page 57
Diverging approaches to the science and philosophy of emergence......Page 60
Downward causation......Page 62
Emergence and physicalism......Page 67
Conclusion: eight characteristics of emergence......Page 73
Notes......Page 75
Introduction......Page 78
Physics to chemistry......Page 79
Artificial systems......Page 82
Biochemistry......Page 86
The transition to biology......Page 91
Emergence in evolution......Page 97
Toward an emergentist philosophy of biology......Page 106
Conclusion......Page 113
Notes......Page 114
The transition from biology......Page 120
The three levels of emergence......Page 121
Introducing the problem of consciousness......Page 123
The neural correlates of consciousness......Page 125
Can studies of neural correlates solve the problem of consciousness?......Page 130
Why consciousness remains the ‘hard problem’......Page 133
Weak supervenience and the emergence of mental properties......Page 137
Toward an emergentist theory of mind......Page 141
Assumptions and a wager......Page 152
The science and phenomenology of agent causation......Page 153
Person-based explanations and the social sciences......Page 157
Conclusion......Page 161
Notes......Page 162
Introduction......Page 169
Mind and metaphysics......Page 170
Four metaphysical responses to the emergence of mind......Page 172
The presumption of naturalism......Page 176
Is there an emergent level after mind?......Page 178
The limits to possible scientific enquiry......Page 182
What naturalistic explanations leave unexplained......Page 185
Going beyond emergence......Page 192
Trading mind–body dualism for theological dualism......Page 198
Rethinking divine action......Page 200
Integrating personhood and divine action......Page 206
Closing objections......Page 212
Conclusion......Page 216
Notes......Page 219
Bibliography......Page 227
C......Page 244
E......Page 245
K......Page 246
N......Page 247
S......Page 248
Z......Page 249