Evolution and the second law of thermodynamics

TL;DR

The paper clarifies that biological evolution does not violate the second law of thermodynamics by addressing misconceptions about entropy reduction, emphasizing the role of sunlight in increasing Earth's entropy, and refining previous assessments.

Contribution

It provides a refined argument demonstrating that evolution does not conflict with thermodynamics, correcting assumptions in prior quantitative assessments.

Findings

Sunlight's entropy increase outweighs local entropy decreases in evolution

Previous assessments relied on unjustified assumptions about entropy reduction

The refined argument confirms no thermodynamic conflict with evolution

Abstract

Skeptics of biological evolution often claim that evolution requires a decrease in entropy, giving rise to a conflict with the second law of thermodynamics. This argument is fallacious because it neglects the large increase in entropy provided by sunlight striking the Earth. A recent article provided a quantitative assessment of the entropies involved and showed explicitly that there is no conflict. That article rests on an unjustified assumption about the amount of entropy reduction involved in evolution. I present a refinement of the argument that does not rely on this assumption.