Contributions to a physical science for the study of civilization

Abstract

This paper attempts to apply a physics of systems, e.g., statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, to civilizations. It is offered as a supplement to the thinking of social scientists to provide their constructs with a primitive scientific base. Society is viewed as a collection (an ensemble) of interacting individuals; their interactions are tracked by identifying those basic conservations which are involved in interaction. The claim is made that these variables are the only ones that can be causally related within a scientific construct. The effort assumes the philosophic view known as epistemological reductionism ‡ (explanation in terms of a physical construct), and has been pursued, previously, along the line from complex physical systems (e.g., hydrodynamic fields, in laminar and turbulent flow; plastic-elastic deformation including stability), to living systems (e.g. physiological and psychophysiological responses of organs and organisms), and, more recently, to the social system as a social physics § . In this present essay, the effort is made to offer such a theory for the startup of civilizations. An introductory note is included on their termination. As a layman not trained in these other-than-physical subjects, I have always made the effort to ‘capitulate’ to the thoughts and findings of experts in these other fields, that is to the historical and logical development of the field's discipline. The following difficulty is found. Since the general task under study is the physics of complex systems, including their history and evolution, such study must be grounded parsimoniously on general physical principles and pursue only a physical logic. That effort is found to be philosophically at odds with (offensive to) the current belief structures of both physical scientists and social scientists † . Such unification is not in tune with the existing scientific paradigm, which encourages independent developments in each field of study. Natural systems are explained differently from biological systems, and both differently from social systems. This paper is likely an early form of a rapprochement. It offers an analytical framework (homeokinetic) for such interdisciplinary studies. It assumes differences in morphology, but not in the basic principles of ensemble movement and change.