The Science and Philosophy of the "Thermodynamic School" of Evolution
This paper was written by Nadeem Hussain and published in 2007. It outlines the textual challenges for accurately interpreting the metaethical position implied by Nietzsche’s critique of morality. He illustrates the problems with the interpretation that holds the will to power is, itself, a fundamental moral value. He describes this as a form of moral…
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This article was written by Iris Fry and published in 1995. She further developed these ideas in a book, Emergence of Life on Earth: A Historical and Scientific Overview, which was published in 2000. In the paper, she argues that what she calls the “thermodynamic school” of evolution provides a “law-governed” view of the “continuous…
Read More “Evolution in Thermodynamic Perspective: A Historical and Philosophical Angle” »
Henry Adams (1838-1918) was a historian and a member of the Adams family, which produced two presidents of the United States, John Adams and John Quincy Adams. He appears to be the first professional historian to correlate historical periods in terms of the use of energy, and his work led him to outline a new…
This book was written by Thomas Nagel and published in 2012. He argues that the contemporary approach to evolutionary theory, which characterizes it as a random process, is unable to account for the existence of the mind and consciousness, and is therefore incomplete. Nagel’s argument (which is controversial) is that we need to use different…
This paper was written by Elijah Thimsen and published in 2024. It is based on research he did on data from the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instruments in order to determine how the rate of sunlight absorbed by the earth and the rate of global entropy production have evolved…
Read More “Planetary Energy Flow and Entropy Production Rate by Earth from 2002 to 2023” »
This paper was written by Will Steffen (pictured), Wendy Broadgate, Lisa Michele Deutsch, Owen Gaffney, and Cornelia Ludwig and was published in 2015. Steffen was the executive director of the Australian National University Climate Change Institute. The abstract of paper states: “The ‘Great Acceleration’ graphs, originally published in 2004 to show socio-economic and Earth System…
Read More “The Trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration” »
This book was written by Earl Cook and published in 1976. Below is a partial, chronological list of the advancements in the power output of heat engine technology provided by Cook (1976, p. 29). This list illustrates that the power of these engines has continued to go up over time and there are non-linear increases…
This paper was written by Timothy M. Lenton (pictured), Peter-Paul Pichler, and Helga Weiz and published in 2016. The abstract states: “Major revolutions in energy capture have occurred in both Earth and human history, with each transition resulting in higher energy input, altered material cycles and major consequences for the internal organization of the respective…
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This paper was written by Nancy L. Harris, Charles A. S. Hall, and Ariel E. Lugo and published in 2013. The abstract states: “The maximum power principle predicts that maximum transformation of available energy into useful work occurs when a system operates at an intermediate rate and efficiency. This relation is apparent in everyday situations…
This paper was written by T. T. Cai, C. L. Montague, and J. S. Davis and published in 2006. The abstract of the paper states: “The maximum power principle is a potential guide to understanding the patterns and processes of ecosystem development and sustainability. The principle predicts the selective persistence of ecosystem designs that capture a…
Read More “The maximum power principle: An empirical investigation” »