Spirit as an emergent property of life

Today my friend and former student Greg Whetsel, the Grizzly Geek, sent me an interesting message, from which I quote with his permission. The second and third paragraphs seem especially relevant on this day of emergent war in the Middle East:

I think of Spirit as an emergent property of life. The story that started me thinking in this direction was something I read probably 15 or 20 years ago. I can't even remember for sure where I found it, although it is in my notes somewhere.

The description was of a soccer game in Europe (they take soccer so seriously, y'know :-). There are several days of anticipation of the big game, including drunken revelry and trash talk between the rival groups. The game takes place in a large stadium and beer is plentiful. The game is close and the two groups of fans become highly excited. There is a questionable call and the crowd begins to yell at the officials. Someone throws a beer bottle and the riot is on. Fist fights break out in the stands and the crowd rushes the field. You can take this as far as you want, including fire and death, you get the idea.

The question being, if Spirit is involved, is it some evil spirit that swooped in from the great beyond? Or is it a property that emerged from the combination of anger, jealousy, alcohol abuse, competition, crowd mentality, and so on? Does that make it less "spiritual?"

Of course, on the more positive side, is love simply a biological response to propigate the species? Or, is it an emergent property that grows from a long-term relationship and a shared life? A melding of two complex lives (systems) giving rise to something that is greater than the sum of the parts.