Complexity and the arrow of time PDF
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more information - www.cambridge.org/9781107027251 Complexity and the Arrow of Time Thereisawidespreadassumptionthattheuniverseingeneral,and lifeinparticular,is“gettingmorecomplexwithtime.”Thisbook bringstogetherawiderangeofexpertsinscience,philosophy,and theologyandunveilstheirjointeffortinexploringthisidea.They confrontessentialproblemsbehindthetheoryofcomplexityandthe roleoflifewithinit.Whatiscomplexity?Whendoesitincrease,and why?Istheuniverseevolvingtowardsstatesofevergreater complexityanddiversity?Ifso,whatisthesourceofthisuniversal enrichment?Thisbookaddressesthosedifficultquestions,and offersauniquecross-disciplinaryperspectiveonsomeofthemost profoundissuesattheheartofscienceandphilosophy.Readerswill gaininsightsintocomplexitythatreachdeepintokeyareasof physics,biology,complexityscience,philosophy,and religion. Complexity and the Arrow of Time Edited by charles h. lineweaver AustralianNationalUniversity paul c. w. davies ArizonaStateUniversity michael ruse FloridaStateUniversity UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress, NewYork CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge. ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence. www.cambridge.org Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107027251 (cid:2)c CambridgeUniversityPress2013 Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2013 PrintedandboundintheUnitedKingdombyBellandBainLtd AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata Complexityandthearrowoftime/editedbyCharlesH.Lineweaver, PaulC.W.DaviesandMichaelRuse. pages cm Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-1-107-02725-1(hardback) 1.Complexity(Philosophy) 2.Science–Philosophy. I.Lineweaver, C.H.(CharlesH.) II.Davies,P.C.W. III.Ruse,Michael. Q175.32.C65C64 2013 003–dc23 2013007433 ISBN978-1-107-02725-1Hardback CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate. Contents Authorbiographies pagevii PartI Introduction 1 1 Whatiscomplexity?Isitincreasing? 3 charles h. lineweaver, paul c. w. davies, and michael ruse PartII Cosmologicalandphysicalperspectives 17 2 Directionalityprinciplesfromcancertocosmology 19 paul c. w. davies 3 Asimpletreatmentofcomplexity:cosmological entropicboundaryconditionsonincreasing complexity 42 charles h. lineweaver 4 Usingcomplexitysciencetosearchforunityin thenaturalsciences 68 eric j. chaisson 5 Onthespontaneousgenerationofcomplexityin theuniverse 80 seth lloyd 6 Emergentspatiotemporalcomplexityinfieldtheory 113 marcelo gleiser vi contents PartIII Biologicalcomplexity,evolution,and information 133 7 Life:thefinalfrontierforcomplexity? 135 simon conway morris 8 EvolutionbeyondNewton,Darwin,andentailinglaw: theoriginofcomplexityintheevolvingbiosphere 162 stuart a. kauffman 9 Emergentorderinprocesses:theinterplayof complexity,robustness,correlation,andhierarchyin thebiosphere 191 eric smith 10 Theinferentialevolutionofbiologicalcomplexity: forgettingnaturebylearningtonurture 224 david krakauer 11 Informationwidth:awayforthesecondlawto increasecomplexity 246 david h. wolpert PartIV Philosophicalperspectives 277 12 Wrestlingwithbiologicalcomplexity:fromDarwinto Dawkins 279 michael ruse 13 Theroleofgenerativeentrenchmentandrobustness intheevolutionofcomplexity 308 w. c. wimsatt 14 Onthepluralityofcomplexity-producingmechanisms 332 philip clayton Index 352 Author biographies eric j. chaisson is a Research Associate at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a member of the Fac- ulty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, where he teaches an annualundergraduateclasson“cosmicevolution”.Hisscientific research involves an interdisciplinary, thermodynamic study of physicalandbiologicalphenomenathatseekstounderstandthe origin, evolution, and unification of galaxies, stars, planets, and lifeformsintheuniverse.Hiseducationalresearchengagesexpe- riencedteachersandcomputeranimatorsincreatingbettermeth- ods, technological aids, and novel curricula to stimulate teach- ers and instruct students in all aspects of the natural sciences. HeiscurrentlyaboardmemberoftheInternationalBigHistory Association. philip clayton is Ingraham Professor and Dean of the Faculty at ClaremontSchoolofTheologyandProvostofClaremontLincoln University. He received a joint doctorate in philosophy and reli- giousstudiesfromYaleUniversityandhasheldteachingpostsat Williams College and the California State University, as well as guestprofessorshipsattheUniversityofMunich,theUniversity ofCambridge,andHarvardDivinitySchool.Theauthororeditor ofsometwodozenbooks,Claytonspecializesinthephilosophy ofscience,especiallytheoreticalbiologyandemergentcomplex- ity, and in the philosophy of religion and comparative religious studies. simon conway morris is professor of evolutionary paleobiology at Cambridge University and a Fellow of St. John’s College. He viii author biographies was elected to the Royal Society in 1990 and has won vari- ous medals and awards. His contribution to the Burgess Shale was summarized in The Crucible of Creation, while some of his earlier work on evolutionary convergence is discussed in Life’s Solution (Cambridge University Press). He contributes to the public understanding of science and the science/religion debates. paul c. w. davies is a Regents’ Professor and the founding Direc- torofBEYOND:CenterforFundamentalConceptsinScienceat ArizonaStateUniversity(ASU).HeisalsoPrincipalInvestigator in the Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Can- cer Biology and co-director of ASU’s Cosmology Initiative. His research has spanned the fields of cosmology, gravitation, quan- tumfieldtheory,astrobiology,andcancerresearch,withparticu- laremphasisonblackholes,theoriginoftheuniverse,theorigin oflife,andtheoriginofcancer–topicsonwhichhehasauthored or co-authored 30 books. He is a Member of the Order of Aus- tralia,andtherecipientoftheTempletonPrize,theBicentenary MedalofChile,theRobinsonCosmologyPrize,theFaradayPrize of The Royal Society, and the Kelvin Medal of the UK Institute of Physics. The asteroid 1992 OG was officially named “(6870) Pauldavies”inhishonor. marcelo gleiser is Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and professor of physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. His research interests include the physics of the early uni- verse, the properties of solitons in classical and quantum field theories, and questions related to the origins of life and self- organizing complexity. He is a fellow of the American Physi- cal Society and an elected member of the Brazilian Academy of Philosophy. He serves on the editorial board of National Geo- graphic magazine. His two science series for Brazil’s TV Globo were watched by more than 30 million viewers. He writes a
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