Full Idea
The existence of any fully 'emergent' properties (that have a life of their own) violates even the weakest principle of the transitivity of causation.
Gist of Idea
Fully 'emergent' properties contradict our whole theory of causation
Source
John Searle (The Rediscovery of the Mind [1992], Ch. 5.I)
Book Reference
Searle,John R.: 'The Rediscovery of the Mind' [MIT 1999], p.112
A Reaction
When Searle talks like this, he sounds like a thoroughgoing reductive physicalist (but is he really?). Any philosopher of mind who uses the word 'emergence' must say EXACTLY what they mean by it.