Structural properties of both elemental and emergent structures. All structures possess static or semi-static organization and relationships between the constituent elements of the system. These consist of the physical, chemical, or computational properties of individual elements, such as the individual physical and chemical structures and binding properties hydrogen and oxygen atoms, or the structural and binding properties of carbon atoms. When these elements combine, they create a spatial and/or a relational arrangement of elements that create an emergent topology or pattern of symmetry, hierarchy of interacting elements.
Dynamical properties. These properties emerge from the interactions of the elemental parts of a structure that evolve over time. They can be both linear and non-linear in their causal, interactive effects. Their non-linear effects emerge from the action of feed-forward and feed-backward causal loops. These loops may subsequently evolve inhibition, activation, amplifications and weighting thresholds that determine the structure’s limits and adaptive ability within its essential ovary.
As the structure evolves it passes through transition states toward a stable state structure -- i.e., bit minimizes the final energy state of the structure. This is how structures evolves stability. Here, it is important to explicitly recognize and account for the time-dependence evolution and functioning of the structure, as it is at this level of analysis that the emergent properties of the structure reside (e.g., the viscosity of water or the conductive properties of aligned atoms). Another example is the adaptive properties of a behavioral cusp. That is, the evolution of cause-effect sensitivities that do not exist otherwise or at the level of the elemental components of the structure. For example, at the level of a single operant versus the adaptive capacity of an evolved repertoire.
Key principles differentiating emergent structures from their constituent parts. The functioning of an emergent structure cannot be fully explained by the properties of its elemental parts. These properties are “irreducible”. The example eluded to above of the viscosity of water demonstrates this characteristic of emergent, irreducible properties. Also noted above, the emergent structure is dependenton the context created by the environment in which it evolves. For example, a foundational symmetry relation behaves differently in isolation than within a relational network in which it may participate. That is, the functioning and properties of the emergent structure is context dependent and driven. The emergent structure is also hierarchically organized in both its topological and functional expressions. This organizational character is what allows for the evolution of complex systems of inhibition, activation and cause-effect reaction potentials. The sodium and potassium pumps that are constituent to neurons exemplify such hierarchical structures and dependencies. In essence, an evolved emergent structure produces an entity in which synchronization, competition and cooperation may collectively arise – effects that are not characteristic of any one component of the larger structure.
Functional potentials of emergent structures. These include novel functional and topographical properties that cannot be attributed to the elemental components of the larger structure. They also include a resilience and robustness to assaults, disturbances and perturbations that would otherwise disrupt the functional and topographical properties of elemental parts. Emergent structures may, but not always, evolve a two-way causal pathway between the scale level, part-whole structures. For example, swarming behavior creates an emergent structure that constrains the movement of individual birds to an algorithm such as (1) stay apart from your neighbors, (2) align your movement with you neighbors, and (3) always move toward the center of the group.