The Immateriality of Consciousness and the Immanence of Thought: How Emergence Forces Us to Rethink Metaphysics
Sterling Hall
International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities June 18, 2013 DOI: 10.7710/2155-4838.1075 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that philosophy should be receptive to 'Events' in other fields rather than dictating their progress, and proposes Complexity Science's 'Emergentism' as such an Event, from which the author aims to draw radical metaphysical conclusions and open new avenues of philosophical thought. |
Abstract
This paper wishes to follow the injunction given to us from Badiou that philosophy shouldn’t dictate the progress in various fields that it’s coupled with (science, politics, etc.), and that it should instead be receptive to the ‘Events’ in these fields. This paper wishes to take the field of science called ‘Complexity Science’, specifically the idea of ‘Emergentism’ in it, as an Event that philosophy should be receptive to. In exploring this relatively new field, this paper wishes to draw the properly radical metaphysical conclusions that crop up from such an investigation. Thus this paper’s goal is two-fold: it wishes to explore Emergentism as an important new topic for philosophy, and it wishes to explore the new avenues of thought that this science opens up.