As I see it, Julia, synergy is one of the areas where science has not broken through well enough yet. Scientists are very subject focused and they tend to overlook Rubin’s Vase.
At the overall level, one can look at data and see a Vase, meaning all is explained from a central and focused perspective.
But data can be viewed as Two Faces often just as easily. The harder part of the Two Faces perspective is that the center is actually empty; there is a functioning, but no specific central entity.
Synergy is of course a special reality in that we have something that is based on the parts, but that is distinct from the parts as well. We have something additional that at its core is ‘not there’ because the essence belongs to the parts.
Mothers, father, children and families are four groups we can all understand. But in reality there are only three groups because families is based on them. Still, as we all known darn well, families can have a functioning all of their own! : -)
Thank you for your fascinating article. I hope you don’t mind my philosophical-scientific-structured article here:
