Life is Negentropy
How Organisms Resist Entropy.
Introduction
Life resists chaos by creating order. This principle, called negentropy, explains why living systems grow, adapt, and survive in a universe that naturally tends toward disorder.
1. Entropy vs. Negentropy
- Entropy is a measure of disorder. In physics, it describes how energy spreads out and becomes less useful. For example, when a hot cup of tea cools down, its heat disperses into the air.
- Negentropy (negative entropy) is the opposite. It is the process of creating and maintaining order. Life is a phenomenon that opposes entropy by storing energy, building structure, and maintaining organization.
In 1944, physicist Erwin Schrödinger wrote *What is Life?*, introducing the idea that organisms survive by feeding on negative entropy. He thus linked negentropy to living systems.
2. Life Creates Flexible Dynamic Order
Organisms are not static. They constantly adjust their internal systems to remain stable. This is called Flexible Dynamic Order.
- Cells repair damaged DNA.
- Plants grow toward sunlight.
- Animals regulate body temperature.
These adjustments happen through cybernetic feedback loops—systems that detect changes and respond to them. For example, when your body overheats, sweating cools you down.
3. Entropy versus Life
Cause and Effect
| Force | Effect | Example |
| Entropy | Creates disorder, dissipates energy. | Ice melting into water. |
| Negentropy | Creates order, stores energy. | Tree growing from a seed. |
| Adaptation | Organism secures optimal structure, function or behaviour. | Birds developing seasonal migration. |
| Manipulation | Organism reshapes environment. | Humans building cities. |
Table A: Cause and effect examples in the context of Entropy versus Life.
Closed system vs. Living system
Image B: A line graph showing entropy in a closed system versus entropy in a living system.
The graph visually compares entropy trends over time in two contrasting systems:
- 🔴 Closed system (cooling tea): Entropy increases steadily.
- 🔵 Living system (growing plant): Entropy decreases as order and complexity increase.
4. Real-World Phenomena
Examples of Negentropy
- Organisms encapsulate their surroundings within their own orderly structures. A beehive is a perfect example: bees reduce chaos by creating hexagonal cells that store food and protect larvae.
- Humans are masters of manipulation. By shaping environments—through agriculture, technology, and cities—humanity has dominated the planet. This has allowed progress but also caused ecological imbalance, reducing biodiversity.
Time-scale of discovery
- 19th century: Thermodynamics introduced entropy.
- 1940s: Schrödinger linked negentropy to life.
- 1984: Ilya Prigogine’s book *Order out of Chaos* explores self-organization.
- 21st century: Systems biology and cybernetics deepen our understanding of feedback loops and adaptation.
Entropy-vs-Negentropy-Cybernetics.png
Image A: Timeline of discoveries on Entropy versus Negentropy.
5. Life reduces Entropy
Flowchart:
Energy Input → Organism → Order Created → Adaptation → Reduced Entropy.
6. Respecting Nature
Life thrives by resisting entropy, but this resistance requires energy and balance. Humans, by manipulating environments, often increase entropy elsewhere: deforestation, pollution, and climate change. Understanding negentropy helps us respect the delicate order of ecosystems.
Conclusion
Life is negentropy
WCG assumes that life is a phenomenon that opposes entropy, so life is negative entropy, also called negentropy.
Order
Lifeforms create flexible dynamic order in their systems and adaptively maintain it.
Adaptation
Organisms detect changes in their environment, and adjust to maintain optimal structure.
Manipulation
Lifeforms adapt themselves to their environment, or adapt the environment to them.
For example:
Humans are masters at shaping their environment to their own ends; this allows humanity to dominate the entire world at the expense of other animals (and plants).
Summary and Challenge
Key concepts:
- Entropy = disorder, energy loss.
- Negentropy = order, energy storage.
- Life adapts and manipulates to reduce entropy.
- Humans dominate by reshaping environments, but this comes with responsibility.
Congratulations for reading to the end! You now understand why life is negentropy.
Challenge Question:
If life creates order against entropy, how can humanity balance its power to manipulate environments with the need to preserve nature’s own dynamic order?
References
- Schrödinger, E. (1944). What is Life? Cambridge University Press.
- Prigogine, I., & Stengers, I. (1984). Order out of Chaos. Bantam Books.
- Morowitz, H. J. (1968). Energy Flow in Biology. Academic Press.