Chapter 10 - Some important applications of systems theory

Abstract

This chapter describes some breakthrough applications of systems theory in biology, ecology, and theory of life. Properties of complex systems are discussed as seen by Gell-Mann, Nicolis and Prigogine, England, Kleidon, and some others who assert that complexity is somehow related to various manifestations of life. Schrödinger’s “order from disorder” phenomena are interpreted in accordance with the thermodynamic picture proposed by Schneider and Kay in their 1994 and 1995 papers, which stress the important role of dissipative and living systems as “gradient dissipators” in the thermodynamic theory of ecosystems. On the other hand, England of MIT, in his 2013 (JCP) paper on statistical physics of self-replication, derives a formula which shows that when a group of atoms is driven by an external source of energy (the sun or a fuel) and surrounded by a heat bath (the atmosphere), it will often gradually restructure itself in order to dissipate (degrade or consume) increasingly more energy. This could mean that, under certain conditions, matter inevitably acquires the key physical attribute associated with life. Yet, in A. Kleidon’s picture of life, hierarchy, and thermodynamic machinery of Earth, the role of life is discussed as a photochemical process that generates substantial amounts of chemical-free energy which essentially skips the limitations and inefficiencies associated with the transfer of power within the thermodynamic hierarchy of the planet. This perspective allows us to view life as being a means to transform many aspects of planet Earth to states even further away from thermodynamic equilibrium than is possible by purely abiotic means. In this perspective, pockets of low-entropy life emerge from the overall trend of the Earth system to increase the entropy of the universe at the fastest possible rate.