Theories of disorder and order, energy and information, in sociological thought

Martin, John Levi

doi:10.1098/rsta.2022.0292

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 43 publications

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“…The lack of clarity regarding the multiscale influence of one system on another leads to the idea that very different disciplines (such as physics, life sciences, and humanities, among others) are in separate fields and their unification is seen as unthinkable or improbable [271,272]. However, new developments in the field of thermodynamics have questioned this separation, so recent efforts seek to unify the sciences under the lens of thermodynamics, stability, and dissipation [273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280][281][282][283]. The way in which excess external energy is dissipated at different scales can be seen as a description that aligns with the perspective of unifying different scientific fields through thermodynamics as parts of a "big history".…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Multiscale Principle in Nature (Principium luxuriæ): Linking Multiscale Thermodynamics to Living and Non-Living Complex Systems

Venegas-Aravena,

Cordaro

2024

Fractal Fract

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Why do fractals appear in so many domains of science? What is the physical principle that generates them? While it is true that fractals naturally appear in many physical systems, it has so far been impossible to derive them from first physical principles. However, a proposed interpretation could shed light on the inherent principle behind the creation of fractals. This is the multiscale thermodynamic perspective, which states that an increase in external energy could initiate energy transport mechanisms that facilitate the dissipation or release of excess energy at different scales. Within this framework, it is revealed that power law patterns, and to a lesser extent, fractals, can emerge as a geometric manifestation to dissipate energy in response to external forces. In this context, the exponent of these power law patterns (thermodynamic fractal dimension D) serves as an indicator of the balance between entropy production at small and large scales. Thus, when a system is more efficient at releasing excess energy at the microscopic (macroscopic) level, D tends to increase (decrease). While this principle, known as Principium luxuriæ, may sound promising for describing both multiscale and complex systems, there is still uncertainty about its true applicability. Thus, this work explores different physical, astrophysical, sociological, and biological systems to attempt to describe and interpret them through the lens of the Principium luxuriæ. The analyzed physical systems correspond to emergent behaviors, chaos theory, and turbulence. To a lesser extent, the cosmic evolution of the universe and geomorphology are examined. Biological systems such as the geometry of human organs, aging, human brain development and cognition, moral evolution, Natural Selection, and biological death are also analyzed. It is found that these systems can be reinterpreted and described through the thermodynamic fractal dimension. Therefore, it is proposed that the physical principle that could be behind the creation of fractals is the Principium luxuriæ, which can be defined as “Systems that interact with each other can trigger responses at multiple scales as a manner to dissipate the excess energy that comes from this interaction”. That is why this framework has the potential to uncover new discoveries in various fields. For example, it is suggested that the reduction in D in the universe could generate emergent behavior and the proliferation of complexity in numerous fields or the reinterpretation of Natural Selection.

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