The Science and Philosophy of the "Thermodynamic School" of Evolution
Charlie Hall and Timothy McWhirter are presenting two paper at this conference. The first one is entitled “Energy and Evolution: The Systems Approach.” It will be presented Wednesday, August 5, between 1:00 and 2:30. The second paper is entitled “The Evolution of Power and Entropy Production.” It will be presented Friday, August 7th, at 12:30…
This paper was written by Luis Bettencourt and published in 2024. It is part of an elaborate project of the Sante Fe Institute to chart the course of the development of complex-systems science by discussing eighty-nine revolutionary works originally published between 1922 and 2000. Bettencourt’s paper begins volume one by focuses on the papers that…
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This paper was written by Enrico Sciubba and published in 2011. It critically analyzes the maximum power principle, focusing primarily on Alfred Lotka’s formulation of the principle. Sciubba concludes that the weakness of Lotka’s view of evolution appears to be his insistence on the validity of a maximum principle. Sciubba suggests that contemporary scientists are…
Read More “What did Lotka really say? A critical reassessment of the “maximum power principle.”” »
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 paper was written by Alfred Lotka and published in 1922. In this paper, Lotka argues that the principle of natural selection is a physical principle that applies to all systems that develop out of equilibrium. Consequently, he concluded that this principle should be considered “as a third law of thermodynamics (or a fourth, if…
This paper was written by Alfred Lotka and published in 1922. In this short essay, the mathematician, physical chemist, and statistician, Alfred Lotka first describes his principle of maximum energy flux, which he argues guides evolutionary development. Alfred Lotka. 1922a. Contribution to the energetics of evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 8/6:147–151.