Towards the feeling of emergence

Abstract

Emergence is a multi-dimensional notion; the meanings it has acquired span the mythopoetic to the scientific, especially as found in complex systems. Examples of emergence in Navaho and Egyptian imagery underscore its diverse cultural origins and applications as well as suggesting an underlying archetypal quality to the core concept. A brief overview of the use of this term in science starting in the 17th century helps to locate the roots of modern emergent views in the philosophy of Leibniz. Jung's own use of early systems approaches was a part of his formulations of a 'third' position associated with the transcendent function. As this paper was delivered at the 50th anniversary conference of the Journal of Analytical Psychology, aspects of the emergence of the Journal within the contents of the first issue are explored. Attention is drawn to several articles, especially a case of brief child therapy done by Robert Moody. His approach to working his case is strikingly modern and vividly demonstrates principles of emergence within the clinical setting. Following this there is a discussion of some neuroscientific research on neural body maps, pointing to the experience of feelings as an emergent process. It is suggested that feelings derive from phase transitions in the brain's body mapping states. A reconsideration of a seeming impasse in the case described by Moody leads instead to a view of the initial phase of treatment as a pre-critical period. Research findings on mirror neurons are presented in terms of the feeling of empathy. Subjective feelings are then shown to be associated with moments of emergence, especially surprise and curiosity, exemplified by a case from the author's practice.

The Interpretation of Telepathy like Effects: A Novel Electromagnetic and Synchronistic Version of the Psychoanalytic Model

“…The process represents a kind of social synchronization and coherence, much like two clocks separated in time and space that undergo changes approximately simultaneously. This has been most commonly called a synchronicity, when the causal relation between one individual with another or an external event is not immediately obvious and rationally known (Cambray, 2006). Nonetheless, there may still be causal connections that are unavailable to conscious awareness that determine and guide the outcome of interactive behavior in a coherent way; and that coherence could also be contributed to by causal factors in the larger environment.…”

Darkness in the Contemporary Scientific Imagination and its Implications

“…Daniel Stern (2004) has discussed this in terms of the "moment of meeting" (p. 28), and Jungians have been applying this thinking to a host of theoretical and practical considerations (Cambray 2011;Cambray & Carter, 2004;Hogenson, 2009). In one paper Cambray (2006) explored the affective experience associated with the onset of emergence in the clinical setting and suggested that the primary emotion of surprise/startle/shock was central. This in turn may serve as a link in regaining access to the transformative potential of the numinous and may be the reason that a number of researchers in complexity have turned to questions of spiritual experience; for example, Stuart Kauffman's (2008) book Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason and Religion blends complexity science, especially that associated with life forms, with a new way into spirituality.…”

The ethical dimensions of life and analytic work through a Levinasian lens

“…There are evidences however, that Jung anticipated such a turn most noted in his phenomenological descriptive approach developed early in his career in his association test researches (see Austin, 2009;Vezzoli et al, 2007) and in his immanent critique of such emerging phenomena from the patient. For a contemporary application of this crucial insight, see Cambray, 2006;Cambray, Gaillard, Gibeault, Gastelumendi & Kast, 2011. 5.…”