OMNES ET SINGULATIM: ART, COMPLEXITY AND EMERGENCE

The concept of emergence dates back a long way and throughout its history it has taken on different meanings in the different spheres of knowledge in which it has become relevant. If today, several theoreticians are presenting complexity as the paradigm of the new millennium, emergence seems to be becoming the explanation as to how complexity has evolved. Complexity is said to be an emerging phenomenon, and emergence is said to be what self-organised systems produce, the explanation for phenomena such as hurricanes, life itself, ecosystems and complex organisms such as humans, to name but a few examples.