Emotions as emergent properties

In recent decades, affective scientists have begun using concepts and tools from dynamical systems theory (DST) to characterise emotional processes. This article considers how the concept of emergence might be used develop this approach. Emotions are explicated as ‘emergent products’ that diachronically constrain operations their parts in virtue feedback loops (a classical feature nonlinear systems). The explication is shown broadly consistent with what sometimes called ‘pattern’ emergence. Casting emotions emergent patterns shed light on a major conceptual empirical challenge emotion theorists faced over past century: identifying measuring presence episodes (Lindquist et al., 2012; Hollenstein & Lanteigne, 2014), dubbed here ‘boundary problem’ (following Colombetti, 2014). particular, suggests seeing ‘signatures’ thought accompany fragile context-bound: likely hold under relevant class interventions (Woodward, 2005), but not without exception beyond class. turn may suggest need significantly revise statistical methods currently measure ‘signatures’. casting also functions further case study supporting value ‘pattern emergence’ (Winning Bechtel, 2019) powerful vehicle for characterising objects investigation — compound context-sensitive ubiquitous biological sciences.