Emergence and Reductionism: an awkward Baconian alliance

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex relationship between emergence and reductionism in physics, arguing they are interconnected and mutually supportive, shaping scientific understanding from classical to quantum phenomena and driving frontier research.

Contribution

It offers a historical and conceptual analysis showing how emergence complements reductionism, with examples from modern physics like topological insulators and strange metals.

Findings

Emergence is an encrypted consequence of reductionism.

Understanding of energy and forces historically depended on emergent phenomena.

Emergence continues to drive frontier scientific research.

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between emergence and reductionism from the perspective of a condensed matter physicist. Reductionism and emergence play an intertwined role in the everyday life of the physicist, yet we rarely stop to contemplate their relationship: indeed, the two are often regarded as conflicting world-views of science. I argue that in practice, they compliment one-another, forming an awkward alliance in a fashion envisioned by the Renaissance scientist, Francis Bacon. Looking at the historical record in classical and quantum physics, I discuss how emergence fits into a reductionist view of nature. Often, a deep understanding of reductionist physics depends on the understanding of its emergent consequences. Thus the concept of energy was unknown to Newton, Leibnitz, Lagrange or Hamilton, because they did not understand heat. Similarly, the understanding of the weak force awaited an understanding of the Meissner effect in superconductivity. Emergence can thus be likened to an encrypted consequence of reductionism. Taking examples from current research, including topological insulators and strange metals, I show that the convection between emergence and reductionism continues to provide a powerful driver for frontier scientific research, linking the lab with the cosmos.