What is Emergence? How does consciousness arise from the interactions of simple neurons? How do thousands of starlings move as one in breathtaking murmurations, or schools of fish twist and turn in perfect synchronization? What transforms individual water molecules into the turbulent flow of a river? We explore the idea of Emergence with Henrik Jeldtoft Jensen of Imperial College London, in this first discussion in the Emergence discussion series.

How do we understand the evolution of languages and the linguistic diversity in India?  This is an evolution encompassing multiple movements of people into India over thousands of years – from the west, north-west, and east - and the social structures arising from these varied assimilations. But, is there a conceptual framework we can use to make sense of the historical forces and contingencies that contributed to the emergence of the language mosaic of India? We explore this question with linguist Peggy Mohan, who discusses her theory of linguistic evolution.

At what level does natural selection occur - genes, or individuals, or groups? How did evolution result in the emergence of human altruism? These, and other such, questions hinge on the debate around 'levels of selection' in evolutionary biology. In this discussion, Samir Okasha discusses his work on levels of selection and implications for emergence, modelling approaches and empirical hypotheses.