Abstract
Hierarchical thermodynamics is the physical and chemical foundation of origin of life and biological evolution. Darwinism, of course, will be developed on the basis of general laws of nature, including the second law of thermodynamics and the principle of substance stability. Hierarchical thermodynamics explains many facts and contradictions in the theory of evolution.
“One of the principal objects of theoretical research in any department of knowledge is to find the point of view from which the subject appears in its greatest simplicity.”Willard Gibbs (1881)
The theory of Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, in my view, is undoubtedly the greatest creations of the human mind [1-3]. However, this theory is very general and is not accurate. Many private aspects of the theory are vague and ambiguous. This famous biological theory, first and foremost is “а theory in the pictures”. Darwin himself realized that his «speculations run quite beyond the bounds of true science.”
Due to the existence of numerous factors that influence the evolution of living beings, Charles Darwin had not the possibility to use of inductive approaches to create a strict pattern of occurrence and development of the living world. Apparently, we can agree with Karl Popper, that the theory of Darwin’s natural selection, with a certain point of view, is «a metaphysical research program” rather than a scientific hypothesis.
I would compare the theory of Charles Darwin with a guiding way, which should be improved in the future to avoid obstacles along this way. Undoubtedly, “the variation and the selection” is the “cornerstone” or the main aspect of theory. However, in our time we have to reconsider and clarify many facts and observations.
For example the tree of life of Charles Darwin, allegedly having the common ancestor of the living world, apparently, in the refined theory of the future should be presented in the form of numerous mini-trees that characterize countless regions with different but constant environments. Darwinian principles apply to the chemical evolution and the pre-biological evolution too.
Awareness of the general provisions of Darwin’s theory concerning “the variation and the selection” can be done from the position of hierarchical thermodynamics, including the principle of substance stability [1-4]. Thermodynamic theory must take into account both the driving forces acting inside the quasi-closed dynamic living systems, and to take into account the impact of the ever-changing external forces of the environment. The environmental influences manifested in different forms of tropisms of diverse nature. In other words, hierarchical thermodynamics can take into account all the spontaneous and non-spontaneous processes in the biological world and determine its evolution and development. All spontaneous and non-spontaneous processes in the system are taken into account in a generalized Gibbs equation (the generalized equation of first and second laws of thermodynamics of complex system), which takes into account the conversions of all structural hierarchies of the living world [1-3].
Although evolutionary hierarchical thermodynamics is an approximate theory, it is able to strictly enough to describe the physical, chemical and biological evolutionary processes. Undoubtedly, hierarchical thermodynamics, created by the author on the foundation of an accurate theory of J. W. Gibbs, is the physical basis for the development, improvement and refinement of Darwin’s theory.
Many contradictions in the theory of biological evolution, for example, are discussed on the nice site of Professor Richard William Nelson, http://www.darwinthenandnow.com/ . New approaches and rethinking the facts in developing the theory of evolution are discussed in the detailed work of Professor Kevin Neville Laland and colleagues [6].
Literature1.Georgi P. Gladyshev (2015). Natural Selection and Thermodynamics of Biological Evolution. Natural Science, 7, No 5 117-126 Published Online March 2015 Pub. Date: March 9, 2015 DOI:10.4236/ns.2015.73013http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ns.2015.730132.Georgi P. Gladyshev (2015). Thermodynamics of Aging and Heredity. Natural Science, 7, No 5 270-286.Published Online May 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ns.2015.75031 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ns(Typo: Figure 1 (page 272) in the center of the upper part of the figure (A) in the inequality instead of “<” should be “>”, as in other articles and monographers (see for example [28]. – http://www.mdpi.org/ijms/papers/i7030098.pdf ).3. G. P. Gladyshev. Thermodynamics of the origin of life, evolution, and aging . Advances in Gerontology, April 2015, Volume 5, Issue 2, pp 55-58. http://link.springer.com/journal/13329/5/2/page/14. G. P. Gladyshev (2004) Macrothermodynamics of Biological Evolution: Aging of Living Beings. International Journal of Modern Physics B, 18, 801-825. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S02179792040239705.G. Gladyshev (2014) Thermodynamics Optimizes the Physiology of Life. Philosophy & Cosmology, 12, 152- 162.http://ispcjournal.org/journals/2014/PhC_2014.pdf6. K. N. Laland, T. Uller, M.W. Feldman, K. 6 Sterelny, G. B. Muller, A. Moczek, E.Jablonka, F. J. Odling-Smee (2014). Does evolutionary theory need a rethink?Nature514: 161-164. See:http://www.nature.com/news/does-evolutionary-theory-need-a-rethink-1.16080?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20141009
gladyshevevolution 
Leave a Reply