The “More is Different” approach essentially notes that even when the basic bottom-up rules are known, they cannot be efficiently used to predict large-scale interactions. Those behaviours have to be studied as though they have their own set of rules (ie, the laws of chemistry), even though they emerge from a more fundamental set (the laws of physics). It seems to me that labelling a phenomena as “emergent” is a useful and descriptive term, which means “you need to study this phenomenon empirically to figure out its rules, because trying to make predictions based on fundamental principles won’t get you anywhere”.
I would suggest reading “More is Different”, an excellent paper on the topic of emergent phenomena and the limits of reductionism. (http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~wktse/Welcome_files/More_Is_Different_Phil_Anderson.pdf).
The “More is Different” approach essentially notes that even when the basic bottom-up rules are known, they cannot be efficiently used to predict large-scale interactions. Those behaviours have to be studied as though they have their own set of rules (ie, the laws of chemistry), even though they emerge from a more fundamental set (the laws of physics). It seems to me that labelling a phenomena as “emergent” is a useful and descriptive term, which means “you need to study this phenomenon empirically to figure out its rules, because trying to make predictions based on fundamental principles won’t get you anywhere”.