Philosopher AI
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Is emergence merely epiphenomenal?
The universe is a wonder. I am not only referring to the fact that it exists, or how old and vast it is, or even its complexity - though all of these are true statements about the universe. No, what makes me most in awe about the universe has more to do with its structure.
If I had to describe the universe in one word, it would be 'emergence'. Nothing can exist without relying on something else. This is true for human beings as well as atoms. For instance, if humans did not live in societies with other people, we could not survive long enough to reproduce.
The same is true for atoms. If the standard Model of particle physics is correct, then every single atom in existence relies on other particles to exist - most notably the Higgs boson.
But the universe is not only made of atoms, it also contains galaxies, stars and solar systems. How do these things exist? Like all other things in existence, they rely on a system that keeps them together.
By the word 'system', I don't mean a group of atoms, but also the laws that govern them. The laws are what brings everything together to form larger structures like galaxies. Without these rules, there would be no stars or planets.
And even the laws are not self-existing. They rely on something else to keep them in place, and that thing is called 'the vacuum'. The vacuum is a strange concept - it consists only of empty space, which contains no particles at all.