Spirituality and Emergence

[StephenK]

In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is a phenomenon whereby larger entities arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities such that the larger entities exhibit properties the smaller/simpler entities do not exhibit.

A molecule of water is as basic as it gets—just an oxygen atom with two hydrogen atoms adhering to it. But throw a jillion of them together you get a substance with characteristics that the individual molecules do not possess on their own—liquidity, for instance. Emergent properties often beget emergent behaviors.

When it comes to Spirituality, does emergence also play a role when it comes to discourse, as well as what we deem to be true? The scale at which a situation is viewed seems to be integral to what appears to be true of the system itself. In fact, could it not be that many of the perceived paradoxes in life are as a result of trying to reconcile truths that exist at different levels of emergence?   

Edited March 13, 2018 by StephenK