Stanley N. Salthe

Biological Sciences, Binghamton University, New York, USA.
Tel. 607-467-2623, E-mail: [email protected], URL: http://www.nbi.dk/~natphil/salthe/
42 Laurel Bank Avenue, Deposit, New York 13754.

Received: 18 March 2004 / Accepted: 2 June 2004 / Published: 19 June 2004

Abstract: Given a background of universal thermodynamic disequilibrium, I suggest that the interpolation of new levels in a material scale hierarchy is favored when the entropy production of a local region would be increased by such structural complexification. This would involve the separation by order of magnitude of the average dynamical rate of the new level compared to those of the resulting contiguous levels from which it became disentangled, thereby facilitating laminar flows. Here the Second Law of thermodynamics is understood as a final cause, which can be expressed in this creative way when the surrounding superstructure has a form allowing it to mediate this change (by, e.g., focusing kinetics, etc.), and given, as well, sufficiently differentiated local energy gradients to materially support the increased local dissipation.

Keywords: Aristotelian causal categories; entropy production; finality; scalar hierarchy.