The Energy Dissipation Model of the Evolutionary Imperative

Abstract

At every level of resolution, over many orders of magnitude in time, size, and space, every aspect of the universe is constantly evolving under the pressure of the major forces of nature to resolve gradients of disparity in mass and energy. This imperative for change is channeled by two fundamental constraints: the bias of the Second Law of Thermodynamics (SLT) toward increasing entropy, and the mandate by the Principle of Least Action (PLA) that change must occur by the most direct and efficient path possible. While the SLT would seem to predict that the world would unwind rather than complicate itself, the opposite often occurs at the local level. While the evolutionary imperative drives the universe as a whole toward an ever higher level of entropy, it promotes increased local granularity and complexity to effect change in the net direction required by the SLT over the optimal path prescribed by the PLA. This provides a unifying perspective for all the complexity that astronomical and geophysical forces have created in the physical world, and that random variation and natural selection have induced in the living world―a consequence of nature’s imperative to dissipate energy as thoroughly and efficiently as possible.