Two approaches to emergence

　Emergence refers to the behavior of a system that cannot be logically derived from the sum of the regular and simple behaviors of the elements that make up that system.

　When considering emergence, I believe there are two prominent approaches: “evolutionary theory” and “dialectics.”

１）The Theory of Evolution
　W. James interpreted the theoretical essence of evolutionary theory as follows.
　He stated that, in Darwinism, the two processes of “mutation” and “natural selection” are regarded as independent, unrelated phenomena. In other words, W. James understood Darwinism to be a theory that links two distinct types of change occurring in nature while keeping them separate.

２）Dialectics
　Peirce, the father of pragmatism and its greatest theorist, stated, “Even if it is dressed in strange garb, my philosophy is a revival of Hegelian philosophy.” It appears that Peirce valued dialectics as a methodological approach for describing the behavior of a system evolving over time. Furthermore, the pragmatist John Dewey was a Hegelian in his youth.

　Whether we are talking about “evolutionary theory” or “dialectics,” it is reasonable to expect that they share a deep theoretical affinity with pragmatism. Or rather, it seems possible to use pragmatism as a bridge to connect “evolutionary theory” and “dialectics” theoretically. Furthermore, my current prediction is that this could represent a significant breakthrough for contemporary systems theory.

[See] Our article below
The essence of Darwinism(Japanese Version)
Charles Sanders Peirce’s assessment of Hegel