Complexity and Emergence II: Visions of Cosmic Order, from Particles to People

This roundtable explores the emergence of complexity and order across scales—from fundamental physical particles to biological systems and human civilization—examining whether recurring principles of combination and integration give rise to distinct levels of organization. It considers how complexity evolves over time, how novel structures and behaviors emerge at different stages of the universe, and what these patterns reveal about the development of matter, life, culture, and consciousness.