>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 12/19/00 07:11PM >>>
Charles,
The extract you posted states well why life doesn't obey to the 2nd law but it
suggests that it behaves according to a law that would be the reverse of the
second law... Not totally convincing.
((((((((((
CB: Yes, it does suggest a rather neat line for what seems something of a profound
definition of life in terms of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. I'm trying to get help
from this list in thinking it through, because it seems pertinent to the discussion of
life on a scientific philosophical level as touched on here.
((((((((((
If such a thing as the crash happens, it will be
caused by living organisms but will not be "a movement toward greater
organization, greater differentiation of structure, ...".
((((((((((
CB: Would that be the 2nd Law asserting itself ?
(((((((
Also, if I wander around, I see
animals as well as humans doing things which doesn't look like a "struggle for free
energy". I doubt there is any law here. If there is one, it's probably about cycles
rather than movements in some direction.
((((((((((
CB: I don't think they would have to spend all of their time doing that. There is play
as well as work.
((((((((((((
BTW, I totally agree with the last post of Carrol. That's my contribution to common
ground. ;-)
Original message from: "Charles Brown"
>Does the below make a correct connect between the physics of the 2nd Law of
>Thermodynamics and life, ecosystems ?
>
>Charles
>
>
> I wonder if you are familiar with the evolutionary schools of thought in cultural
>anthropology derivative of Leslie A. White, who in "Energy and the Evolution
>of Culture" ( in The Science of Culture ) claimed:
>
>
>"The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that the cosmos as a whole is
>breaking
>down structurally and running down dynamcially; matter is becoming less
>organized
>and energy more uniformly diffused. But in a tiny sector of the cosmos, namely
>in living material systems, the direction of the cosmic process is reversed:
>matter becomes more highly organized and energy more concentrated. Life is a
>building up process. But in order to run counter to the cosmic current, biological
>organisms must draw upon free energy in non-living systems, capture it and put
>it to work in the maintennce of the vital process. All life is a struggle for
>free energy. Biological evolution is simply an expression of the thermodynamic
>process that moves in a direction opposite to that specified for the cosmos
>as a whole by the Second Law. It is a movement toward greater organization,
>greater differentiation of structure, increased specialization of function,
>higher levels of integration, and greater degrees of energy concentration "
_______________________________________________
Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
_______________________________________________
Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
