ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Complex Syst.
Sec. Complex Systems Theory
This article is part of the Research TopicTheories of EmergenceView all articles
Emergence as a Science
Provisionally accepted
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, United States
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Envisioning emergence as a science has greater potential than finding a particular theory of emergence, as is expressed in the call for papers for this Special Issue. The present paper identifies several key benefits of a science of emergence. First is the identification of emergence Prototypes, each of which reflects a unique aspect of emergence. Second, several Principles of Generative Emergence have been identified, describing the process of generating a 'conditioned' emergence . Third is the link to a wide range of emergences, all of which can be defined by a single set of Core Characteristics. Last, the paper shows the potential of an emergence science by introducing applications of emergence to Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Sustainability.
Keywords: Theory of emergence, complexity science, Generative emergence, prototypes, leadership of emergence, Emerging, Entrepreneuring
Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lichtenstein. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Benyamin Lichtenstein, b.lichtenstein@umb.edu
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