Patricia Churchland Emergentism: C. Lloyd Morgan

Patricia Churchland is a pioneering philosopher in neuroscience who explores the relationship between mind and brain. Emergentism, influenced by C. Lloyd Morgan, suggests that complex systems—like the human brain—can produce new properties or behaviors that aren't found in their individual parts. This contrasts with reductionism, which argues that understanding each part is enough to explain the whole. In essence, emergentism emphasizes that higher-level phenomena, such as consciousness, emerge from the intricate interactions within the brain, highlighting the importance of examining complexity and how it gives rise to unique mental experiences.