The Science and Philosophy of the "Thermodynamic School" of Evolution
This book was written by Timothy McWhirter and published in 2025. It examines the relation between the maximum power principle developed by Alfred Lotka and H. T. Odum and the concept of the will to power developed by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It discusses the work of the scientists and philosophers that influenced the…
This book was written by Richard Joyce and published in 2024. It is the third in a series of books Joyce has written that explore the relation between morality and evolution. The promotional materials provided for this book state the following. We make moral judgments about all sorts of things, both mundane and momentous. But…
This book was written by Richard Joyce and published in 2007. This is the second book in a series Joyce has written that explore the relation between morality and evolution. The promotional materials provided for this book provide the following description. Moral thinking pervades our practical lives, but where did this way of thinking come…
This book was written by Richard Joyce and published in 2007. Joyce is an International Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney that has written a series of books that focus on investigating the relation between morality and evolution. In this book, Joyce argues that moral discourse is hopelessly flawed. At the heart of…
This book was written by H. T. Odum and Elisabeth C. Odum and published in 1976. The first paragraph of the Introduction states: “Everything is based on energy. Energy is the source and control of all things, all values, and all the actions of human beings and nature. This simple truth, long known to scientists…
This book was written by Friedrich Nietzsche and published in 1887. In it Nietzsche develops a typology of moral values that describes whether they foster the growth and flourishing of life, or they undermine its growth and are a sign of the degeneration of life (GM Preface, 3, 6). In Beyond Good and Evil, published…
This paper was written by H. T. Odum and published in 1977. It provides a detailed analysis of the relation between moral values, energy, and the maximum power principle. It describes the difference between the moral values in social systems that are growing in power and those that, as a result of a limited amount…
This book was written by H. T. Odum and published in 1971. It was the third book written by Odum. It provides a comprehensive picture of how his unique view of systems ecology, including the maximum power principle and his energy systems language, applies to ecological, electrical, economic, and political systems. He critically analyzes moral…
This paper was written by Alfred Lotka and published in 1945. It provides the longest published argument for his principle of maximum energy flux. In this paper, he also uses this principle to critically evaluate the behavior of human beings, including that evidenced in World War II. Alfred Lotka. The law of Evolution as a…
This book was written by Friedrich Nietzsche and published in 1886. Among many other things, it contains Nietzsche’s famous argument for his concept of the will to power (aphorism 36), his claim that living things seek to discharge their strength rather than just survive (13), his description of life growing “not out of any morality…