Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 18:07:18 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Emergence


Dear List:  

I believe we are on the topic of emergence.  Examples—

1)  Mind/Personality emerges from Body.  A person, say
Bill,  is essentially a complex organic arrangement of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen which in turn form molecules
which in turn form cells, etc…. but to argue that Bill
and his mind are merely an array of carbon, hydrogen,
etc. would be entirely missing the point.  

2) Humankind emerges from nature; individuals from
societies.  

Marx and Engels argue that man emerges from nature and
is determined by nature.  For this we must understand
what the old use of the word "determine" was. 
Determine means "to set limits."  Thus nature and its
laws set limits on humankind and our activities.  

But humankind emerges from nature and is an agent. 
Marx:
  
"Men can be distinguished from animals as soon as they
begin to produce their means of subsistence, a step
which is conditioned by their physical organisation. 
By producing their means of subsistence men are
indirectly producing their actual material life" 
-Preface of "A Contribution to the Critique of
Political Economy"


 Thus, we can transform and manipulate nature.   Chris
Harman writes in "Marxism and History":  Humans cannot
act independently of their circumstances.  But this
does not mean they can be reduced to them.  They are
continually involved in ‘negating’ the material
objective world around them, in reacting upon it in
such a way as to transform both it and themselves."

Also individuals emerge from historically specific
societies.  Marx:  

"The mode of production of material life conditions
the social, political and intellectual life process in
general.  It is not the consciousness of men that
determines their being, but, on the contrary, their
social being that determines their consciousness." 
-From "The German Ideology"

Societies determine the lives of iindividuals.  They
also set the limits of their ideas and consciousness. 
Ex.—A person from a primitive communist society
contemplating about the state of affairs of a
professional baseball league would be ridiculously
impossible.

-Victor


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