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Genetic Programming and Emergence

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A Reply to this article was published on 19 November 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

A Commentary to this article was published on 10 October 2013

Abstract

Emergence and its accompanying phenomena are a widespread process in nature. Despite its prominence, there is no agreement in the sciences about the concept and how to define or measure emergence. One of the most contentious issues discussed is that of top-down (or downward) causation as a defining characteristic of systems with emergence. In this contribution we shall argue that emergence happens in Genetic Programming, for all the world to see.

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Notes

  1. In nature, this happens even today as in the example of new chemical elements that are produced the very first time (see, e.g. [29]).

  2. Note that this is different from emergence of novelty happening on an existing level of organization, e.g. the appearance of a new gene in a genome.

  3. This difference is subtle and often overlooked. The argument that something is emergent because it has been a surprise to the observer, for instance, is an argument using the epistemological dimension of emergence.

  4. More exactly: “… What causes each one of them to be one? For in anything which has many parts and whose totality is not just a heap but in some whole besides just the parts, there is some cause … of unity.” Metaphysics, [Book H, 1045b: 9–11]

  5. A better translation would be "modes of explanation” or "modes of understanding” [34].

  6. Think of the Earth-Moon system: The Moon is kept in orbit by the gravitational force of the Earth, the cause of this motion. Switch off that force, and the Moon will leave its orbit tangentially.

  7. In genetics, this simple approach to causes has long come to its limits.

  8. The essence of a whole is its unity. Note, however, that a whole might have many properties (emergent properties) assignable to it.

  9. One might ask whether this is the ultimate reason for quantum indeterminism.

  10. Causal conflict refers to the potential contradictory influences exerted if both, bottom-up and top-down causation are present.

  11. If there are inner-level interactions, they would rule out both bottom-up and top-down causation.

  12. Note that one can legitimately argue that the selection mechanism and algorithm itself are the highest level of a hierarchy. In this contribution, we consider the algorithm as external to the system, which is a legitimate perspective as well: every system needs to have a boundary.

  13. Without selection, patterns would perhaps also emerge in a population, though very slowly, brought about by drift in program space. Those patterns could be said to be the product of bottom-up causes, like the constant interaction of individuals through crossover. Here one has two possibilities: Either to recognize this as a case of weak emergence, according to Bedau’s nomenclature, or to dismiss it as non-emergent altogether.

  14. Mortality is the price to pay for access to hierarchical complexity! This statement is corroborated by the observation that the invention of cell apoptosis was a key event in the development of multi-cellularity [30].

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Acknowledgments

This opinion article arose from a workshop on Frontiers in Natural Computing which took place on September 10–12, 2012 at the Center for Complex Systems, University of York, York, UK. The author is grateful for the invitation to speak at this event, and for the lively discussions at the workshop. The author also acknowledges fascinating discussions at our interdisciplinary MUN Complex Systems Discussion Group. Reviewer comments were very helpful in improving this manuscript. W.B. is supported by NSERC under the Discovery Grant program, RGPIN 283304-2012.

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  1. Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada

    Wolfgang Banzhaf

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Correspondence to Wolfgang Banzhaf.

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Commentaries to this article can be found at doi:10.1007/s10710-013-9198-5, 10.1007/s10710-013-9199-4, 10.1007/s10710-013-9200-2, 10.1007/s10710-013-9201-1, 10.1007/s10710-013-9202-0, 10.1007/s10710-013-9203-z, 10.1007/s10710-013-9204-y.

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Banzhaf, W. Genetic Programming and Emergence. Genet Program Evolvable Mach 15, 63–73 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10710-013-9196-7

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