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The Second Law of Thermodynamics of Man (Part 3)
| SERIES: The Second Law of Thermodynamics AUTHOR: Jim Schofield |
STRANDS: PHILOSOPHY / PHYSICS |
ABSTRACT: The Second Law of Thermodynamics is, in one way at least, the banker of all Law. In encapsulates a supposed overall tendency for everything that exists to move inexorably from Order to Chaos, and so is claimed to establish “Times Irreversible Arrow”. Yet it cannot be true! When we contemplate the undoubted development of Reality from the Origin of Life, through its evident and continuing Evolution, we certainly cannot justify such a law’s universality. And we are correct in taking such a position. If we study the trajectory of Mankind’s long struggle to come to grips with Reality, we do find the seed that grew into the Second Law. For that struggle only began to succeed when Mankind attained a position in which it was able to control limited areas of Reality in order to study them and begin to reveal hidden relations which seemed to be crucial to making Reality what it is. But, we were, by doing this, imposing an unavoidable bias on our gains. They were all only possible in rigorously controlled Domains, which if maintained as constant allowed both the extraction of such relations, and their subsequent predictable use. But, every such gain came with a retinue of conditions: these involved it Domain – its contrived and maintained conditions. They allowed the extraction, but limited its use to ONLY within the Domain. Mankind began to control and use his Domains to his advantage, but made the mistake of exporting his laws to Reality in general. All this was based on his basic standpoint of Plurality – the Whole and the Part, which not only made necessary his controlled definition of Domains to study, but was also incorrectly generalised to result in the principle of Reductionism, wherein a continuous hierarchy of Parts could be investigated right down to fundamental units and eternal basic Laws. It was from that false ground that Reality outwith these Domains seemed wholly bent on disorder. From the point of view of Mankind’s ground and his methodology of extraction and use, it was a drive to disorder. But it was of Man’s own making! Mankind produced the Second Law as a counter from Reality to his control and modifications of it for his own ends. |
SYNOPSIS: 1. Mankind’s seemingly indissoluble commitment to Plurality changed his attitude and his conceptions in many important ways. He devised Reductionism, which encapsulated both the analysis of his Domains into their local laws, and the bringing together of all these laws in the single and universal ground o Reality as is. 2. The final base from such a position could only be an ultimately basic set of immutable entities, and their eternal fundamental laws. Ultimately, all phenomena could be reduced to the same invariant set. 3. But, everywhere these things were opposed by Reality in sum. Outside of the necessary Domains, all laws were opposed! No wonder the Second Law was considered primary. 4. Order it seemed was local and confined to controlled regions. Outside, the holistic mix of all real laws was seen as producing only total disorder. 5. Mankind’s formulation of the Second Law was inevitable from the ground he had constructed and now dwells upon. His incessant labours to maintain this ground, made its constant dissolution by Reality THE ever present Law. |
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