Emergence
is largely used as an explanation: such
and such an object -- ranging from atoms through
multi-cellular
organisms to
consciousness
-- is an emergent property of
some ensemble of parts. But this leaves an inadequate level of
understanding, making the term a representation of something almost
mystical. For emergence to be useful an understanding of the
mechanisms of emergence must be brought out. This paper proposes a
system of orders of organizing relations that are the means by which
complex objects ``emerge'' from the interactions of their
constituent parts.