emergentist
|e-mer-gent-ist|
🇺🇸
/ɪˈmɝdʒəntɪst/
🇬🇧
/ɪˈmɜːdʒəntɪst/
novel properties arise from complex wholes
Etymology
'emergentist' originates from English, specifically the combination of the adjective 'emergent' and the agentive suffix '-ist'. The word 'emergent' itself ultimately comes from Latin 'emergere', where the prefix 'e-' (from 'ex-') meant 'out' and 'mergere' meant 'to plunge/sink (or to immerse)'.
'emergentist' developed after the verb 'emerge' (from Latin 'emergere') entered English via Middle French; 'emerge' gave rise to the adjective 'emergent' in modern English, and the agentive suffix '-ist' was later added (in philosophical and scientific contexts) to form 'emergentist'.
Initially the Latin root 'emergere' meant 'to rise out' (literally 'come out of immersion'); over time the family of words came to be used figuratively for things that 'come into view' or 'arise', and in modern philosophical usage 'emergentist' denotes someone who holds that novel properties arise from complex wholes and are not reducible to parts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a person who advocates or supports emergentism — the view that complex systems can exhibit novel properties (emergent properties) that cannot be fully predicted or reduced to the properties of their parts.
As an emergentist, she argued that consciousness cannot be fully explained by neural activity alone.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
relating to or characteristic of emergentism; describing an approach or position that emphasizes emergent properties arising from complex systems.
He adopted an emergentist approach to social behavior in his research.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/19 04:07