Emergence, convergence, and theory of mind

Abstract

Arocha’s critique of psychology is framed in the scientific realism of the late philosopher of science, Mario Bunge. Arocha draws on Bunge’s concept of emergence, the ontological postulate that the world is organized in systems with properties that its components lack. Although emergence is helpful to psychological theory and research, this commentary proposes another concept from Bunge’s philosophy, namely convergence, as a complementary path to improving psychological theory. Convergence is the epistemological postulate that, because the world is organized in systems, engaging with different areas of science, that is, taking a cross-disciplinary perspective, leads to a greater understanding of reality. Psychology often focuses narrowly and inwardly, resulting in theoretical commitments that are incommensurate with evidence in other sciences. After examining the relation between emergence and convergence, this commentary will provide an example of convergence using biology and sociology to unpack theory of mind.