This question <162|158> overall <144|146> Homer: <56|221>.

Question 89: Marx gave here a mistaken example of emergence. Give examples where there is indeed emergence.

[145] Homer: emergence   Emergence is where something possesses certain qualities which cannot be explained by the summation of its individual components.

Using this definition, I can think of a couple of examples. The first is human thought. The brain is composed of millions of individual cells. No single cell is capable of thought, therefore if one were to look at thought as the summation of the thought power of the millions of individual cells the total would equal zero and thought would not be possible. However, when brain cells are arranged in the right way, thought emerges from the cells, although no cell by itself contained any thought.

Another example is the emotional effect of a musical composition. For instance, when listened to in its entirety, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has certain emotional effects on the listener. As the brain is composed of cells, the symphony is composed of notes. The individual notes do not possess any emotional quality. Therefore, the sum of the emotional qualities of the notes should be zero. But when the notes are arranged in a certain way, the music has an emotional effect which was not contained in the single notes.

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