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Complexity and the arrow of time /
"There is a widespread assumption that the universe in general, and life in particular, is "getting more complex with time". This book brings together a wide range of experts in science, philosophy, and theology and unveils their joint effort in exploring this idea. They confront esse...
| Clasificación: | Libro Electrónico |
|---|---|
| Otros Autores: | , , |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press,
2013.
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| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
Tabla de Contenidos:
- Author biographies; Part I Introduction; 1 What is complexity? Is it increasing?; Part II Cosmological and physical perspectives; 2 Directionality principles from cancer to cosmology; 2.1 The big picture; 2.2 Gravitational entropy and gravitational complexity; 2.3 Material complexity; 2.4 Biological complexity; 2.5 The origin of life and life as a cosmic phenomenon; 2.6 Cancer as a case study in advancing complexity; 2.7 Conclusion; Acknowledgements; 3 A simple treatment of complexity: cosmological entropic boundary conditions on increasing complexity.
- 3.1 The complexity of complexity3.2 Evolution of the entropy and the maximum potential entropy of the universe; 3.3 Existing equilibrium, opening an entropy gap, and the conceptual problem of the maximum potential entropy of the universe; 3.4 Sources of free energy; 3.5 Does complexity increase?; 3.6 Summary; 4 Using complexity science to search for unity in the natural sciences; 4.1 Cosmic evolution; 4.2 Energy rate density; 4.3 Complexity quantified; Physical evolution; Biological evolution; Cultural evolution; 4.4 Summary; 5 On the spontaneous generation of complexity in the universe.
- 5.1 Marshalling the facts5.2 The dual physical/computational nature of the universe; 5.3 How and why physical systems produce complexity; 5.4 Quantum fluctuations and decoherence; 5.5 Complexity generation in the universe- past and future; 5.6 Generation of complexity in the multiverse; 5.7 Generation of complexity in the type I multiverse; 5.8 Generation of complexity in the type II multiverse; 5.9 Generation of complexity in the type III multiverse; 5.10 Generation of complexity in the type IV multiverse; 5.11 Return to our universe; Acknowledgements.
- 6 Emergent spatiotemporal complexity in field theory6.1 Solitons and self-organization; 6.2 Emergent spatiotemporal complexity in field theory; 6.3 Quantifying the emergence of complexity: organized structures as bottlenecks to equipartition; 6.4 Into the speculative realm: life as a self-sustaining oscillon-like structure; 6.5 Final remarks: looking ahead; Part III Biological complexity, evolution, and information; 7 Life: the final frontier for complexity?; 7.1 Grappling with complexity; 7.2 Which metric?; 7.3 Let there be brains; 7.4 How simple are the starting points?
- 7.5 Evolutionary inherency7.6 Reversing complexity; 7.7 Are there limits to biological complexity?; Acknowledgements; 8 Evolution beyond Newton, Darwin, and entailing law: the origin of complexity in the evolving biosphere; 8.1 Newton; 8.2 Darwin; 8.3 Monod and "teleonomy"; 8.4 Beyond teleonomy: function, doing, agency; 8.4.1 The non-ergodic universe above the complexity of the atom; 8.4.2 Kantian wholes and the reality of functions, "doings, and agency"; 8.4.3 Collectively autocatalytic DNA sets, RNA sets, or peptide sets.