What is Emergence? Emerge Gathering Reading Material

The following reading and watching material, which should take around 1.5 hours to finish, has been carefully selected for those of you who are dipping your toes into these waters for the first time. For the best experience, we recommend watching/reading in order.

1. Margaret Wheatley on Emergence and Adaptation. (2 min video) A short overview of emergence in the natural world and how it can be applied to human systems.

2. Joanna Macy on Uncertainty. (3 min video) Why we should take heart in spite of the breadth and depth of the current ecological catastrophe.

3. Meg Wheatley on Controlling Chaos. (6 min video) A segment of conversation on leadership styles, and why we often choose power over productivity.

4. Daniel Schmachtenberger’s talk at Emergence. (25 min video) Or read a transcription on the Perspectiva website. This talk engages with the question of what is emergence as a phenomena and why is it essential for understanding the nature of the universe and what it means to be human. In this talk, Daniel Schmachtenberger grapples with what this means for the future of civilisation.

5. Lene Andersen on Metamodernity. (30 min read) There are many takes on Metamodernity. This is Lene’s short version.

6. Jonathan Rowson's on 'What is Emerging?'. (20 min read) In this Insight for Emerge, Jonathan Rowson outlines some of the key observations about our current global situation that led us to create the Emerge Gathering.

See you all very soon and have a wonderful weekend.