Emergence, a Universal Phenomenon which Connects Reality to Consciousness, Natural Sciences to Humanities
Human and Social Studies June 1, 2018 Gabriel Crumpei, Alina Gavriluţ
A central question in neuroscience remains unanswered: what is consciousness? Computational modeling has advanced cognitive neuroscience but reveals limits in defining and describing consciousness. From Descartes' mind-brain dualism to the hard problem of qualia, many theories have been proposed. Some neuroscientists view consciousness as an emergent phenomenon of brain processes, supported by mathematical formalizations in complex systems. Network science allows physical-mathematical models of neural phenomenology. Extrapolating emergence across physical, biological, and psychic systems may yield new models. Meaning and significance structure consciousness as direction and teleological finality in complex systems.