Emergence, Chaos and the Meaning of it All - Finding Significance in the Natural World, Part 1

Why do some people find it difficult to find meaning in life? Why do some find it so easy? Does it have something to do with our understanding of the way the universe works? If so, what is it that leads one to believe one or the other?
With increasing understanding in the scientific world, we are beginning to see that there are natural laws that govern the universe. With a naturalistic (as opposed to supernaturalist) view of the universe, how does one account for meaning? Is there meaning in the universe? If so, where is it to be found, and more importantly, how? In my new miniseries on my philosophy blog, I wrestle with the issue. Here is a sample:

There are many things which are simply difficult not just to understand but to know at all.

Though I tried my best and still did horribly in my biology class in community college, there was one concept that I gleaned which I've found myself thinking about as of late. The concept is "emergence" or "emergent properties." In general, emergence has to do with a system giving rise to properties which are not directly traceable to the component parts of said system. On the physiological level, emergence refers to secondary traits emerging unpredictably from the combination of various primary traits. In genetics, the primary traits are those which can be deduced from genes, and the secondary, emergent traits are those which come about from the combination of several of the primary traits.

Emergent properties are difficult to predict, as they themselves are not "written into the script," so to speak, and come about as a result of the things that actually are. For example, one would not gather by inspecting Oxygen and Nitrogen molecules that in large quantities they would transmit the complex waves that make up audible sound.

As emergence usually manifests itself in complex systems, it seems natural that it occurs in social systems as well. Single celled organisms are physiologically and genetically simple on an individual level, yet in large groups, they form organized colonies with specific structures and cause illnesses with specific symptoms. Larger and more complex still, an ant by itself is a relatively simple organism, but in a colony of ants, complex hierarchies, behaviors and architecture emerge.

Given the simplicity of a single celled organism and the comparatively enormous complexity of a colony of the same, we see an enormous gap between the complexity of the component and the complexity of the system. The same is evident in the ant colony. As the components - or members - of a system are more complex, the emergent properties evident in the system - or society - are exponentially more so...

To read more of this particular essay, click HERE. Be sure to check back for future installments and other postings here.