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Thinking in Complexity pp 79–112Cite as

Complex Systems and the Evolution of Life

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Abstract

How can one explain the emergence of order in the Darwinian evolution of life? In the history of philosophy and biology, life was explained teleologically by non-causal (“vital”) forces aiming at some goals in nature. In a famous quotation Kant said that the “Newton for explaining a blade of grass” could never be found (Sect. 3.1). Boltzmann could show that living organisms are open dissipative systems which do not violate the second law of thermodynamics: Maxwell’s demons are not necessary to explain the arising order of life in spite of the increasing entropy and disorder in closed systems according to the second law. Nevertheless, in the statistical interpretation from Boltzmann to Monod the emergence of life is only a contingent event, a local cosmic fluctuation at the boundary of the universe (Sect. 3.2). In the framework of complex systems the emergence of life is not contingent, but necessary and lawful in the sense of dissipative self-organization. The growth of organisms and species is modeled as the emergence of macroscopic patterns caused by nonlinear (microscopic) interactions of molecules, cells, etc., in phase transitions far from thermal equilibrium (Sect. 3.3). Even ecological populations are understood as complex dissipative systems of plants and animals with mutual nonlinear interactions and metabolism with their environment (Sect. 3.4). Spencer’s idea that life is determined by a structural evolution with increasing complexity seems to be mathematized by complex dynamical systems. Is the “Newton of life” found? The theory of complex dynamical systems does not explain what life is, but it can model how forms of life can arise under certain conditions. Thus, the existence of our life is still a wonder for us as well as for our ancestors, even if we shall eventually model the complex dynamics of life.

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie, Universität Augsburg, Universitätsstrasse 10, D-86135, Augsburg, Germany

    Professor Dr. Klaus Mainzer

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Mainzer, K. (1997). Complex Systems and the Evolution of Life. In: Thinking in Complexity. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-13214-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-13214-2_3

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