Frozen Evolution. Or, that’s not the way it is, Mr. Darwin. A Farewell to Selfish Gene.

The second law of thermodynamic is valid only for the organization of isolated systems. In open systems, i.e. systems that exchange energy and mass with their surroundings, the degree of organization can both decrease and increase (Prigogine & Stengersová 2001). Energy from the Sun constantly impacts on the Earth and, on the other hand, thermal energy is constantly irradiated back into the surroundings. This means that the overall degree of organization of the Sun-Earth system decreases, while the degree of organization of the Earth increases at the expense of the rest of the solar system. Similarly, the individual living organisms have an increasing level of organization at the expense of the organization of the substances that they consume.