Toward a Universal Theory of Stable Evolution

TL;DR

This paper proposes a universal framework linking thermodynamic stability concepts to the evolution of systems across social and natural sciences, emphasizing the role of stability and entropy as fundamental principles.

Contribution

It introduces a universal formalism based on stability and entropy inequalities that can be applied to dynamical systems beyond traditional thermodynamics.

Findings

Stability structures underpin natural selection and system survival.

Entropy functions serve as Lyapunov functions indicating system stability.

The formalism is applicable across diverse scientific disciplines.

Abstract

The backbone of nonequilibrium thermodynamics is the stability structure, where entropy is related to a Lyapunov function of thermodynamic equilibrium. Stability is the background of natural selection: unstable systems are temporary, and stable ones survive. The physical concepts from the stability structure and the related formalism of constrained entropy inequality are universal by construction. Therefore, the mathematical tools and the physical concepts of thermodynamics help formulate dynamical theories of any systems in social and natural sciences.