Delegated causality of complex systems

Raimundas Vidunas

pp. 81-97

in: Axiomathes 29 (1), 2019.

Abstract

A notion of delegated causality is introduced here. This subtle kind of causality is dual to interventional causality. Delegated causality elucidates the causal role of dynamical systems at the "edge of chaos", explicates evident cases of downward causation, and relates emergent phenomena to Gödel's incompleteness theorem. Apparently rich implications are noticed in biology and Chinese philosophy. The perspective of delegated causality supports cognitive interpretations of self-organization and evolution.