United States
£ GBP
Much of the modern period was dominated by a 'reductionist' theory of science. On this view, to explain any event in the world is to reduce it down to fundamental particles, laws, and forces. In recent years reductionism has been dramatically challenged by a radically new paradigm called 'emergence'. According to this new theory, natural history reveals the continuous emergence of novel phenomena: new structures and new organisms with new causal powers. Consciousness is yet one more emergent level in the natural hierarchy. Many theologians and religious scholars believe that this new paradigm may offer new insights into the nature of God and God's relation to the world.
The Re-emergence of Emergence introduces readers to emergence theory, outlines the major arguments in its defence, and summarizes the most powerful objections against it. Written by experts but suitable as an introductory text, these essays provide the best available presentation of this exciting new field and its potentially momentous implications.
1: Philip Clayton: Conceptual Foundations of Emergence Theory
I. The Physical Sciences
2: Paul Davies: The Physics of Downward Causation
3: Erich Joos: The Emergence of Classicality from Quantum Theory
4: George F. R. Ellis: On the Nature of Emergent Reality
II. The Biological Sciences
5: Terrence Deacon: Emergence: The Hole at the Wheel's Hub
6: Lynn Rothschild: The Role of Emergence in Biology
7: Barbara Smuts: Emergence in Social Evolution: A Great Ape Example
III. Consciousness and Emergence
8: Jaegwon Kim: Being Realistic about Emergence
9: Michael Silberstein: In Defence of Ontological Emergence and Mental Causation
10: Nancey Murphy: Emergence and Mental Causation
11: David Chalmers: Varieties of Emergence
IV. Religion and Emergence
12: Arthur Peacocke: Emergence, Mind, and Divine Action: The Hierarchy of the Sciences in Relation to the Human Mind-Brain-Body
13: Niels Henrik Gregersen: Emergence: What is at Stake for Religious Reflection?
14: Philip Clayton: Emergence from Quantum Physics to Religion: A Critical Appraisal
Edited by Philip Clayton, Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology; Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Claremont Graduate University, and Paul Davies, Professor of Natural Philosophy, Australian Centre for Astrobiology, Macquarie University, Sydney
Contributors:
Philip Clayton
Paul Davies
Erich Joos
George F. R. Ellis
Terrence Deacon
Lynn Rothschild
Barbara Smuts
Jaegwon Kim
Michael Silberstein
Nancey Murphy
David Chalmers
Arthur Peacocke
Niels Henrik Gregersen
Philip Clayton
"The book edited by Clayton and Davies gathers fourteen contributions of great scientific and philosophical quality, signed by the best scholars working in that field."
– Lluis Oviedo, European Society for the Study of Science and Theology (ESSAT)
