Does matter have an intrinsic property to self-organise into ever more complex forms including life?
Adrian Kilbane from West Yorkshire (age 55+)
Filed under: Answered Big Questions, Biology Big Questions, Chemistry Big Questions, Evolution Big Questions, Genetics Big Questions, Mathematics Big Questions, Molecular Biology Big Questions, Philosophy Big Questions, Physics Big Questions, Science Big Questions, age 55+
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I am reading a book called “Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos “. And from what I have read I would say that the self-organising behaviour of matter has to do with the so called edge of chaos. The region between equilibrium and chaos.
To readdress your question, not all matter will arrange itself into ever more complex systems. The universe on the largest scales doesn’t. The smallest particles quarks etc don’t, because they don’t have enough states / freedoms available to them. Matter has to find the right balance between states available and forces acting on them to get itself to the edge of chaos regime. And I think that the scale of molecules is exactly in this region, thankfully.
Try the above book, it is very enlightening!