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The Second Law of Thermodynamics of Man (Part 1)

SERIES: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
AUTHOR: Jim Schofield
STRANDS: PHILOSOPHY / PHYSICS

ABSTRACT:

The Second Law of Thermodynamics is, in one way at least, the banker of all Law. In encapsulates a supposed overall tendency for everything that exists to move inexorably from Order to Chaos, and so is claimed to establish “Times Irreversible Arrow”. Yet it cannot be true! When we contemplate the undoubted development of Reality from the Origin of Life, through its evident and continuing Evolution, we certainly cannot justify such a law’s universality. And we are correct in taking such a position.

If we study the trajectory of Mankind’s long struggle to come to grips with Reality, we do find the seed that grew into the Second Law. For that struggle only began to succeed when Mankind attained a position in which it was able to control limited areas of Reality in order to study them and begin to reveal hidden relations which seemed to be crucial to making Reality what it is. But, we were, by doing this, imposing an unavoidable bias on our gains. They were all only possible in rigorously controlled Domains, which if maintained as constant allowed both the extraction of such relations, and their subsequent predictable use. But, every such gain came with a retinue of conditions: these involved it Domain – its contrived and maintained conditions. They allowed the extraction, but limited its use to ONLY within the Domain. Mankind began to control and use his Domains to his advantage, but made the mistake of exporting his laws to Reality in general. All this was based on his basic standpoint of Plurality – the Whole and the Part, which not only made necessary his controlled definition of Domains to study, but was also incorrectly generalised to result in the principle of Reductionism, wherein a continuous hierarchy of Parts could be investigated right down to fundamental units and eternal basic Laws. It was from that false ground that Reality outwith these Domains seemed wholly bent on disorder. From the point of view of Mankind’s ground and his methodology of extraction and use, it was a drive to disorder. But it was of Man’s own making! Mankind produced the Second Law as a counter from Reality to his control and modifications of it for his own ends.
  SYNOPSIS:

1. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is Mankind’s distillation of his own position within it. From that self-constructed position, he perceives that as being within an inexorable drive from Order to Chaos – indeed the very negation of his own needs and purposes. The Natural World “stands” in opposition to Man. To give this belief some weight, the “property” of entropy is defined to measure the degree of randomness that characterises each subsequent phase in all natural change.

2. It is an intensely negative and pessimistic view of the changes in Reality, and is given s seemingly progressive gloss by being said to be what “proves” Time’s Irreversible Arrow. But it most significant failing has to be in regard to the Origin of Life on Earth

3. But, all the time (and not only in Living Things), Reality was demonstrating that it did advance in Order, and though intuitively the descent into Chaos hardly needed justification, some sort of natural ascent to Order certainly did.

4. The whole example of modern-day Cosmology from the Big Bang to today’s Universe hardly justifies the Second Law, though even here the “theorists” have a denouement wherein the very last star is finally extinguished and all ends up black and quiet.

5. So, what is this Law, and how did it emerge for Mankind? It fits in with the assumption of Plurality, in that it could be true in walled off sections of Reality. For, when we do this, (and must do it in order to analyse sections of the World) we set up an unnatural Domain which is constantly assaulted by surrounding unfettered Reality.

6. As soon as we realise what we do with a pluralistic approach, whenever we apply it, we set up the necessity to maintain our constructed Domains, which if we don’t constantly tend them, will indeed move towards dissolution.

7. We must not judge Mankind too harshly in this scenario. Indeed, his “discovery” of the ossibilities of Plurality via increasing control, was of itself, a veritable Revolution, and a necessary phase in Mankind’s attempt to understand the World.

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