What is Emergence? – Your Next Breakthrough

Is the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

Or does the value of things simply depend on the pieces that make them?

Studies in the field of emergence show how the whole really can be something special.

And by asking, what is emergence, we increase our ability to foster personal breakthroughs.

(This is part of a series of posts on Emergence – Don’t miss out on part 2)

What is Emergence?

When many things come together, sometimes new features or characteristics bloom into existence. They emerge from the previous level of organization.

For example, chemistry describes how atoms can come together to form molecules.

Some molecules can link to form things like amino acids and proteins.

Biology describes how proteins are the building blocks of cells.

Cells make up organs.

The brain is an organ with particularly special abilities.

Brains are capable of feeling, thinking, believing, and even creating, which are studied by the field of psychology.

Higher Levels and Emerging Abilities

At each level of organizations described above, new qualities emerge into existence as the whole becomes more intricate, subtle, and complex.

As Carl Sagan so eloquently put it, “The beauty of a living thing are not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together.”

So we can safely say that, at least in some cases, the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.

What Does Emergence Have to Do with Me?

It’s obvious that cells and organs have special qualities not present in atoms themselves. But how does any of this affect you, me, or the way we go about our lives?

Emergence doesn’t just stop at the level of physical matter and biological organisms.

This pattern continues into the realm of psychology, creativity, and the skills we develop in every area of our lives.

When Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it,” he was was really pointing out the power of emergence in the realm of psychology and problem solving.

**When we experience emergence in our own lives, it feels like a breakthrough. It’s that “ahah” moment when things become suddenly clear.

The elusive obvious (that thing that was right in front of our faces the whole time but we were just too close to see it) snaps into focus.

And with our emerging awareness comes new, higher, possibilities.

Emergence and Psychology

When it comes to the mind, what is emergence?

If you’ve come to this website, found any of the content even the least bit intriguing, and are following along right now, then clearly you have certain powers of cognition.

Being able to understand the concept of emergence requires certain mental abilities. Children, for example, have little to no chance of understanding it.

That’s because the mind evolves. As it does, abilities emerge as new skills, powers of perception, and understanding.

Some examples in childhood include:

Object Permanence: The ability to realize that objects still exist even when I’m not perceiving them directly.

Conservation: If I move the same liquid (or any mass) between two containers, the amount of liquid does not change (even if one container is thinner and taller and the liquid reaches a higher point).

Concept Logic and Reversibility: If I take any number and then add x to it, I will get the same number if I then subtract x. This will always be true for any number I choose. (number + x – x = number with any number imaginable)

Each of these 3 abilities is more advanced than the previous. In fact, the later ones build upon the skills that emerged in the first stages.

Emergence and Creating The Good Life

Those stages of psychological development described above happen naturally in early childhood. But development doesn’t stop there.

The mind continues to evolve throughout our entire lifetimes. But this development slows down in adulthood, and can even stop, if we don’t actively foster it.

So don’t miss the next post where we’ll consider what emergence can mean for us as adults:

• Metacognition
• The Self-Authoring Mind
• Strategic Systems Thinking
• And Creating Environments for Thriving

These are just a few of the possibilities made available to us as an extension of emergence. And each one can be a treasure trove of immense value and potential.

What was your last breakthrough?

We’ve all experienced those “ahah” moments at some point in life. So when was your last breakthrough?

What was it like and how did it feel? Did it come to you slowly over time, or was it a sudden epiphany?

What is emergence to you?

Share in the comments below. And in the meantime…

Keep rockin’ it and make every day count.