Emergence and reduction: is there nothing new under the sun?

Emergence and reduction: !
is there nothing new !
under the sun?"
Donato BERGANDI
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris
Réductionnisme et propriétés émergentes"
"
16-17 novembre 2012!
!
Atelier sciences – histoire – cité, UPMC!

Worldviews!
Reductionism Emergentism"
n Atomism!
!
!
n Applicability of physics
and chemistry!
!
n Emergents do not exist!
n Holism!
n Applicability of
physics and
chemistry !
!
!
n Emergence!

Strategy of research!
Reductionism Emergentism"
n Bottom-up!
!
n Acceptance of
analytical
approach!
!
!
n Relationships
among constitutive
parts !
n Top-down!
!
!
n Criticism of
analytical approach !
!
!
n Relationships
among constitutive
parts (BUT)!

Theoretical domain (inter-level reduction)!
Reductionism Emergentism"
n Hierarchical
framework!
!
n Ideal reduction of
the non-physical
sciences!
!
!
n Systemic
framework!
!
!
n Autonomy of the
non-physical
sciences!
!
!

n Holism: Not all holistic
positions are emergentist,
but all emergentist views
are holistic. "
n Levels of organisation:
Reality is a hierarchical,
multi-layered, multi-level
process."
Ontology!
"
n Novelty: The emergent
properties of every level
of organisation express
new qualities and a new
order of phenomena
compared with the level
of organisation on which
they depend and from
which they emerge.!
!

n Epistemological
status of « wholes »,
« parts » and
« relations ».!
n Hypothetical
attribution of
emergent properties.!
Methodology!
"
!
!
n Multi-level, triadic
approach.!

Theoretical domain"
n Unpredictability: The emergent properties of a
level of organisation cannot be predicted, even
in principle, by even the most complete
knowledge of the parts, properties and
relationships among the parts. "
"
n The laws concerning the emergent properties
of a level of organisation cannot be deduced,
even in principle, by the laws concerning the
lower level relations between the constituent
parts."

n A specific organisation
of matter is correlated to
exclusive emergent
properties. "
!
!
Unpredictability!
n To be able to explain emergent
properties would require:"
"
n - the constitution of a new or
reorganised scientific
discipline ;"
n - to use new postulates,
theories and laws that
introduce new terms and
patterns suited to the emergent
phenomena and properties."

Emergentism-reductionism !
in ecology"
è 1) Reduction of!
è Ecosystem/community theories and laws !
" "to!
è Population theories and laws!
! ! !or to!
è theories and laws on individual organisms !
!
è 2) Physicalism ⇔ emergentism"
"
è 3) The “true” basic units of ecology !

!
Pre-energetic ecology "
§ Forbes (1880, 1887)!
§ Clements (1916, 1920,
1935)!
§ Phillips (1931, 1935)!
!
§ Gleason (1917, 1926)!
§ Tansley (1935)!
!
!
è Organicism"
è Super-organism"
!
!
"
è Individualism"
è Random"
è Anti-organicism!

INDIVIDUALISTIC, MEROLOGICAL, MECHANISTIC
(structure and dynamics of populaDons and communiDes)
Popula'on and community ecology
(units of nature)
Gleason 1917, 1926, 1938; Tansley 1935;
Elton 1927; Lotka 1925; Volterra 1926; Gause
1934; D'Ancona 1939;
WhiTaker 1956; Hutchinson 1965; Price, Slo-­‐
bodchikoff and Gaud 1984; Abele and Thistle
1984; Price 1986; Schoener 1986; Strong,
Simberloff, Roughgarden and Diamond 1986;
Evolu'onary biology, evolu'onary ecology
(units of selecDon)
Fisher 1924, 1930;
Williams 1966; LewonDn 1970; Pianka 1974;
Dawkins 1976, 1988;
Maynard-­‐Smith 1964, 1976, 1998;
SYSTEMIC, HOLISTIC, INTEGRATIVE
(general funcDons and paTerns of ecological systems)
Popula'on and community ecology
(units of nature)
Forbes 1875, 1888; Lindeman 1942, 1941;
Clements 1905, 1916, 1935; Phillips 1931;
Tansley 1935; Clements and Shelford 1939;
Andrewartha and Birch 1954, 1984;
Ecosystem Ecology
Odum, 1953, 1959, 1971, 1993, 2005;
Evolu'onary biology, evolu'onary ecology
(units of selecDon)
Allee et. al. 1949
Wynne-­‐Edwards 1962;
D.S. Wilson 1975, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1997;
Sober and Wilson 1998;
Oyama 1985; LewonDn 1991; Griffiths and
Gray 1997; Godfrey-­‐Smith 2000; Morange
2001; Okasha 2006;

!
Are communities and populations “true” !
basic units of ecology? "
ü Individual organisms"
§ Lotka (1925), Volterra (1926) "
"— Predator/prey interactions;"
§ Lack (1954) "
— Individual selection"
§ Williams (1966) "
"—Individual (and gene) selection"
§ Andrewartha, Birch (1954, 1984)"
"— Interplay between individual organisms
and environment (“theory of environment”)"
§ Schoener (1986), Price (1986), Tilman (1987) "
— “Mechanistic” approach!
!
ü Population-systems "
§ Allee, Park, Emerson, Park, Schmidt (1949)
§ Wynne-Edwards (1962)
§ Wilson D.S. (1975, 1980), Sober, Wilson,
D.S. 1998) "
— Group selection!
è Is it possible to reduce
community characteristics
to those of component
populations and
individuals? "
"
è Is it possible to reduce
population characteristics
to those of component
individuals? "
!
!!

Ecosystem ecology (Odum E.P., Odum H.T.) "
Ontologically holistic"
"
— The basic units of ecology (ecosystem,
community, population) are characterized
by specific emergent properties"
"
"
"
Methodogically reductionistic"
— Multi-layered approach"
— Analytical-synthetic method"
"
"
"
"
Theoretically reductionistic "
— Physicalism"
è “Living organisms and their nonliving
(abiotic) environment are inseparably
interrelated and interact upon each
other.” (Odum 1959, 1971)
è “ The ecosystem is the basic functional unit
in ecology, since it includes both organisms
(biotic communities) and abiotic
environment, each influencing the
properties of the other and both necessary
for maintenance of life as we have it on the
earth” (Odum 1959, 1971)
è “(The principle of hierarchical
organization) states simply that it is not
necessary to understand precisely how a
component of a system is structured from
simpler subcomponents in order to predict
how it will behave.” (Odum 1971)
è The outcomes of energy evaluation are
considered as emergent properties of
ecosystems (Odum 1977; Odum, Odum
1955)

Bergandi D (1995) « 'Reductionist holism': an oxymoron or a philosophical
chimaera of E.P. Odum's systems ecology », Ludus Vitalis, 3, 5, 145–180 (reprinted
in Keller DR, Golley FB (eds) (2000) The philosophy of ecology: from science to
synthesis. University of Georgia, Athens (abridged version).!
!
Bergandi, D, Blandin, P (1998), « Holism vs reductionism: do ecosystem ecology
and landscape ecology clarify the debate? », Acta Biotheoretica, 46, 3, pp. 185-206. !
!
Bergandi D (2007) « Niveaux d'organisation: évolution, écologie et transaction »,
In: Martin, T (ed), Le tout et les parties dans les systèmes naturels, Vuibert, Paris!
!
Bergandi D (2011) « Multifaceted ecology between organicism, emergentism and
reductionism », In: Schwarz, A, Kurt, J, (ed), Revisited Ecology. Reflecting on
Concepts, Advancing Science, S p r i n g e r , D o r d r e c h t .!
!
Bergandi D (2013), « Ecology, Evolution, Ethics: In Search of a Meta-Paradigm -!
An Introduction », In: Bergandi D, The Structural Links between Ecology,
Evolution and Ethics: The Virtuous Epistemic Circle, Springer, Dordrecht.!
"