View source for Integrative level

{{Short description|Set of phenomena emerging from pre-existing phenomena}}
An '''integrative level''', or '''level of organization''', is a set of phenomena [[Emergence|emerging]] from pre-existing phenomena of a lower level. The levels concept is an intellectual framework for structuring reality. It arranges all entities, structures, and processes in the universe, or in a certain [[field of study]], into a hierarchy, typically based on how complex their organization is. When arranged this way, each entity is three things at the same time: It is made up of parts from the previous level below. It is a whole in its own right. And it is a part of the whole that is on the next level above. Typical examples include [[life]] emerging from non-living substances, and [[consciousness]] emerging from [[nervous system]]s.

==Levels==
The main levels usually acknowledged are those of [[matter]], [[life]], [[mind]], and [[society]]. These are called ''strata'' in philosopher [[Nicolai Hartmann]]'s [[ontology]]. Levels can be further analyzed into more specific ''layers'', such as those of particles, atoms, molecules, and rocks forming the material stratum, or those of cells, organisms, populations, and ecosystems forming the life stratum.

The sequence of levels is often described as one of increasing [[complexity]], although it is not clear whether this is always true: for example, [[parasitism]] emerges on pre-existing organisms, although parasites are often simpler than their originating forms.

==Philosophies==
Ideas connected to integrative levels can be found in the works of both [[Materialism|materialist]] philosophers and [[Idealism|anti-materialist]] ones. Some philosophers and scientists have argued against certain ideas about levels of organization (see {{slink||Arguments against levels of organization}}).

==See also==
{{div col begin|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Antireductionism]]
* [[Big History]]
* [[Biological organisation]]
* [[Boundary problem (spatial analysis)]]
* [[Hierarchy theory]]
* [[Level of analysis]]
* [[Mereology]]
* [[Mereotopology]]
* [[Model of hierarchical complexity]]
* [[Modifiable areal unit problem]]
* [[Nicolai Hartmann]]
* [[Scale (analytical tool)]]
* [[Spatial scale]]
* [[Structuralism (biology)]]
* [[The central science]]
* [[Tree of knowledge system]]
* [[Unity of science]]
* [[Vitalism]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
<!--For historical context, please keep the references in this section in chronological order by publication date-->
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Comte |first=Auguste |author-link=Auguste Comte |editor-last=Stanislav |editor-first=Andreski |translator-last1=Clarke |translator-first1=Margaret |date=1974 |orig-year=1830–1842 |title=The essential Comte: selected from Cours de philosophie positive |publisher=London: [[Croom Helm]]; New York: [[Barnes & Noble]] |isbn=0064901815 |oclc=1032574 |title-link=Course of Positive Philosophy }}
* {{cite book |last=Spencer |first=Herbert |author-link=Herbert Spencer |date=1877 |chapter=Super-organic evolution |title=The principles of sociology |series=A system of synthetic philosophy |volume=6–8 |location=New York |publisher=[[D. Appleton & Company]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22432/page/n13 3] |oclc=2083641 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22432/page/n13 }}
* {{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Samuel |author-link=Samuel Alexander |date=1920 |title=Space, time, and deity: the Gifford lectures at Glasgow, 1916–1918 |volume=1916–18 |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |oclc=1041642 |url=https://archive.org/details/spacetimeanddeit00alexuoft }}
* {{cite book |last=Sellars |first=Roy Wood |author-link=Roy Wood Sellars |date=1922 |title=Evolutionary naturalism |location=Chicago |publisher=[[Open Court Publishing]] |oclc=172131 |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionarynat00selluoft }}
* {{cite book |last=Morgan |first=C. Lloyd |author-link=C. Lloyd Morgan |date=1923 |title=Emergent evolution |series=[[Gifford lectures]] |location=London |publisher=[[Williams and Norgate]] |oclc=3140885 |url=https://archive.org/details/emergentevolutio032372mbp }}
* {{cite journal |last=Conger |first=George P. |date=4 June 1925 |title=The doctrine of levels |journal=[[The Journal of Philosophy]] |volume=22 |issue=12 |pages=309–321 |doi=10.2307/2014178 |jstor=2014178 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wheeler |first=William Morton |author-link=William Morton Wheeler |date=1928 |title=Emergent evolution and the development of societies |series=New science series (New York, N.Y.) |location=New York |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |oclc=3399922 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001491952 }}
* {{cite book |last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |date=1943 |orig-year=1937 |chapter=Integrative levels: a revaluation of the idea of progress |title=Time: the refreshing river (essays and addresses, 1932–1942) |location=London |publisher=[[G. Allen & Unwin]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/timerefreshingri00need/page/233 233–272] |oclc=1148711 |url=https://archive.org/details/timerefreshingri00need |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/timerefreshingri00need/page/233 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hartmann |first=Nicolai |author-link=Nicolai Hartmann |date=1940 |title=Der Aufbau der realen Welt: Grundriß der allgemeinen Kategorienlehre |series=Ontologie |volume=3 |location=Berlin |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]] |oclc=174268798 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QtwKnkhwocC |doi=10.1515/9783110823844 |isbn=9783110823844 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Novikoff |first=Alex B. |author-link=Alex B. Novikoff |date=March 1945 |title=The concept of integrative levels and biology |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=101 |issue=2618 |pages=209–215 |doi=10.1126/science.101.2618.209 |pmid=17814095 |jstor=1672950 |bibcode=1945Sci...101..209N }}
* {{cite book |last=Hartmann |first=Nicolai |author-link=Nicolai Hartmann |translator-last1=Kuhn |translator-first1=Reinhard C. |date=1952 |orig-year=1949 |title=New ways of ontology |trans-title=Neue Wege der Ontologie |location=Chicago |publisher=H. Regnery Co. |oclc=888650 |url=https://archive.org/details/newwaysofontolog00hart }}
* {{cite journal |last=Feibleman |first=James K. |authorlink=James Feibleman|date=May 1954 |title=Theory of integrative levels |journal=[[The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science]] |volume=5 |issue=17 |pages=59–66 |doi=10.1093/bjps/V.17.59 |jstor=685952 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Boulding |first=Kenneth Ewart |author-link=Kenneth E. Boulding |date=April 1956 |title=General systems theory: the skeleton of science |journal=[[Management Science (journal)|Management Science]] |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=197–208 |doi=10.1287/mnsc.2.3.197 |jstor=2627132 |url=http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10887248/general_systems_theory_-_the_skeleton_of_science.pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sellars |first=Roy Wood |author-link=Roy Wood Sellars |date=September 1959 |title=Levels of causality: the emergence of guidance and reason in nature |journal=[[Philosophy and Phenomenological Research]] |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.2307/2104949 |jstor=2104949 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Simon |first=Herbert A. |author-link=Herbert A. Simon |date=December 1962 |title=The architecture of complexity |journal=[[Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society]] |volume=106 |issue=6 |pages=467–482 |jstor=985254 |citeseerx=10.1.1.110.961 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bertalanffy |first=Ludwig von |author-link=Ludwig von Bertalanffy |date=1968 |title=General system theory: foundations, development, applications |location=New York |publisher=G. Braziller |oclc=1465 |url=https://archive.org/details/generalsystemthe0000bert |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Bunge |first=Mario |author-link=Mario Bunge |date=1973 |chapter=The metaphysics, epistemology and methodology of levels |title=Method, model, and matter |series=Synthese library |location=Dordrecht; Boston |publisher=[[D. Reidel]] |pages=160–168 |isbn=9027702527 |oclc=613670 |doi=10.1007/978-94-010-2519-5_9 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bUqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Foskett |first=Douglas John |author-link=Douglas John Foskett |date=June 1978 |title=The theory of integrative levels and its relevance to the design of information systems |journal=[[ASLIB Proceedings]] |volume=30 |issue=6 |pages=202–208 |doi=10.1108/eb050633 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Greenberg |editor1-first=Gary |editor1-link=Gary Greenberg (psychologist) |editor2-last=Tobach |editor2-first=Ethel |editor2-link=Ethel Tobach |date=1984 |title=Behavioral evolution and integrative levels |series=The [[T. C. Schneirla]] conference series |volume=1 |location=Hillsdale, NJ |publisher=[[Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]] |isbn=0898593638 |oclc=10997500 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CiiAwAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book |last1=O'Neill |first1=Robert V. |last2=Deangelis |first2=Donald Lee |last3=Waide |first3=J. B. |last4=Allen |first4=Timothy F. H. |author-link4=Timothy F. H. Allen |date=1986 |title=A hierarchical concept of ecosystems |series=Monographs in population biology |volume=23 |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=069108436X |oclc=13526197 |url=https://archive.org/details/hierarchicalconc00onei |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Greenberg |editor1-first=Gary |editor1-link=Gary Greenberg (psychologist) |editor2-last=Tobach |editor2-first=Ethel |editor2-link=Ethel Tobach |date=1987 |title=Cognition, language, and consciousness: integrative levels |series=The [[T. C. Schneirla]] conference series |volume=2 |location=Hillsdale, NJ |publisher=[[Lawrence Erlbaum Associates]] |isbn=0898597226 |oclc=15317589 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FfmGWzzcSooC }}
* {{cite book |last=Blitz |first=David |author-link=David Blitz |date=1992 |title=Emergent evolution: qualitative novelty and the levels of reality |series=Episteme |volume=19 |location=Dordrecht; Boston |publisher=[[Kluwer Academic Publishers]] |isbn=0792316584 |oclc=25370568 |doi=10.1007/978-94-015-8042-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hm0yBwAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite book |last=Pettersson |first=Max |date=1996 |title=Complexity and evolution |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=052145400X |oclc=34543726 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511565564 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QzDeRm6FK8C }} Foreword by [[Joseph Needham]].
* {{cite journal |last=Poli |first=Roberto |date=September 2001 |title=The basic problem of the theory of levels of reality |journal=Axiomathes |volume=12 |issue=3–4 |pages=261–283 |doi=10.1023/A:1015845217681 }}
* {{cite book |last=Bunge |first=Mario |author-link=Mario Bunge |date=2003 |title=Emergence and convergence: qualitative novelty and the unity of knowledge |series=Toronto studies in philosophy |location=Toronto |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=0802088600 |oclc=52411064 |doi=10.3138/9781442674356 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UxhBgAAQBAJ }}
* {{cite journal |last=DiFrisco |first=James |date=August 2017 |title=Time scales and levels of organization |journal=[[Erkenntnis]] |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=795–818 |doi=10.1007/s10670-016-9844-4 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Brooks |first1=Daniel Stephen |last2=Eronen |first2=Markus I. |date=June 2018 |title=The significance of levels of organization for scientific research: a heuristic approach |journal=Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences |volume=68–69 |pages=34–41 |doi=10.1016/j.shpsc.2018.04.003 |pmid=29653763 |url=https://research.rug.nl/files/78646937/63410204_4521941_BrooksEronen2018.pdf }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Brooks |editor1-first=Daniel Stephen |editor2-last=DiFrisco |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Wimsatt |editor3-first=William C. |editor3-link=William C. Wimsatt |date=2021 |title=Levels of organization in the biological sciences |series=Vienna series in theoretical biology |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |isbn=9780262045339 |oclc=1184123324 |doi=10.7551/mitpress/12389.001.0001}}
{{refend}}

===Arguments against levels of organization===
<!--Because these references are all relatively contemporary, they are in alphabetical order by author last name-->
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* {{cite SEP |url-id=levels-org-biology |title=Levels of organization in biology |edition=Spring 2018 |last=Eronen |first=Markus I. |last2=Brooks |first2=Daniel Stephen |date=5 February 2018 |harv}} See the section: [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/levels-org-biology/#LeveSkepDeflAcco "2.4 Levels skepticism and deflationary accounts"].
* {{cite journal |last=Eronen |first=Markus I. |date=January 2015 |title=Levels of organization: a deflationary account |journal=[[Biology and Philosophy]] |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=39–58 |doi=10.1007/s10539-014-9461-z |url=https://philpapers.org/archive/EROLOO.pdf }}
* {{cite web |last=Eronen |first=Markus I. |date=3 August 2015 |title=Are there levels out there? |url=http://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/are-there-levels-out-there/ |website=scientiasalon.wordpress.com |access-date=20 December 2019 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Eronen |first=Markus I. |date=December 2013 |title=No levels, no problems: downward causation in neuroscience |journal=[[Philosophy of Science (journal)|Philosophy of Science]] |volume=80 |issue=5 |pages=1042–1052 |doi=10.1086/673898 |jstor=10.1086/673898 |url=https://research.rug.nl/files/62438349/No_Levels_No_Problems.pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last=Guttman |first=Burton S. |date=February 1976 |title=Is 'levels of organization' a useful biological concept? |journal=[[BioScience]] |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=112–113 |doi=10.2307/1297326 |jstor=1297326 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Noble |first=Denis |date=February 2012 |title=A theory of biological relativity: no privileged level of causation |journal=Interface Focus |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=55–64 |doi=10.1098/rsfs.2011.0067 |pmid=23386960 |pmc=3262309 }}
* {{cite book |last=Potochnik |first=Angela |date=2017 |chapter=Levels and fields of science |title=Idealization and the aims of science |location=Chicago |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |pages=161–197 |isbn=9780226507057 |oclc=975478843 |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226507194.001.0001 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeU3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 }}
* {{cite book |last=Potochnik |first=Angela |date=2021 |chapter=Our world isn't organized into levels |editor1-last=Brooks |editor1-first=Daniel S. |editor2-last=DiFrisco |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Wimsatt |editor3-first=William C. |title=Levels of organization in the biological sciences |series=Vienna series in theoretical biology |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |pages=61–76 |isbn=9780262045339 |oclc=1184123324 |doi=10.7551/mitpress/12389.003.0007 |chapter-url=https://philpapers.org/archive/POTOWI.pdf}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Potochnik |first1=Angela |last2=McGill |first2=Brian J. |date=January 2012 |title=The limitations of hierarchical organization |journal=[[Philosophy of Science (journal)|Philosophy of Science]] |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=120–140 |doi=10.1086/663237 |jstor=10.1086/663237 |url=http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/19012/1/POTTLO-2.1.pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last=Schaffer |first=Jonathan |date=September 2003 |title=Is there a fundamental level? |journal=[[Noûs]] |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=498–517 |doi=10.1111/1468-0068.00448 |jstor=3506125 |url=http://www.jonathanschaffer.org/fundamental.pdf }}
* {{cite book |last=Thalos |first=Mariam |date=2013 |title=Without hierarchy: the scale freedom of the universe |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780199917648 |oclc=827008044 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199917648.001.0001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWU-e4uCRMEC }}
{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ordering]]
[[Category:Emergence]]
[[Category:Concepts in metaphysics]]
[[Category:Ontology]]

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