emergent definition

emergent

System characteristics or properties (such as the wetness of water, a person's character or personality, or a particular strength or weakness of an economy or society) manifested only when it is 'whole,' and meaningful only at the level of the 'whole.' They are not the sum of (and cannot be anticipated from) the characteristics or properties of its components or parts, and require knowledge of the 'whole' system to be understood.

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