In most of the contexts in which I have seen the word "emergent used", it has signified a lack of understanding of the underlying causes of the phenomenon being described but rather than acting as a semantic stop-sign seemed to be used as its exact oppposite - as a marker for an area sufficiently interesting to be deserving of further research with a view to eventual full explanation. But perhaps I've been misunderstanding the intent of the authors.
In most of the contexts in which I have seen the word "emergent used", it has signified a lack of understanding of the underlying causes of the phenomenon being described but rather than acting as a semantic stop-sign seemed to be used as its exact oppposite - as a marker for an area sufficiently interesting to be deserving of further research with a view to eventual full explanation. But perhaps I've been misunderstanding the intent of the authors.