The notion of emergence is widespread in several fields of the natural and human sciences, and, due to such a large variety of applications and aims, tends to become slurry and even confuse. Plausible examples of emergence are now discussed in diverse scientific fields, including the study of complex systems, solid state physics, elementary particle physics, artificial life, sociology, evolutionary biology, among others. We thought that it would be important to organize a meeting aimed at identifying the basic epistemological ingredients of emergence, so as to agree on a common denominator and possibly identify a common language across the various disciplines.

The meeting will be three days long, and will consist in six sessions, one in each morning and one in each afternoon. Each session will focus, rather freely, on a particular aspect of emergence. There will be three speakers in each session (max. allotted time, with discussion, 45 min.), and ample time will be devoted to panel discussions. Detail will follow, but we foresee sessions on the epistemology of emergence, e.g., on emergence and reductionism; on predictability of emergent properties; on downward causality, and then illustrations of emergent properties in sciences, in human enterprise, in evolution, economy.