Abstract
Daniel R. Brooks and E. O. Wiley have proposed a theory of evolution in which fitness is merely a rate determining factor. Evolution is driven by non-equilibrium processes which increase the entropy and information content of species together. Evolution can occur without environmental selection, since increased complexity and organization result from the likely “capture” at the species level of random variations produced at the chemical level. Speciation can occur as the result of variation within the species which decreases the probability of sharing genetic information. Critics of the Brooks-Wiley theory argue that they have abused terminology from information theory and t thermodynamics. In this paper I review the essentials of the theory, and give an account of hierarchical physical information systems within which the theory can be interpreted. I then show how the major conceptual objections can be answered.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bookstein, F.: 1983, ‘Comment on a “Nonequilibrium” Approach to Evolution’, Syst. Zool. 32, 291–300.
Brillouin, L.: 1962, Science and Information Theory, Academic Press, New York.
Brooks, D. R.: 1983, ‘What's Going On in Evolution? A Brief Guide to Some New Ideas in Evolutionary Theory’, Can. J. Zool. 61, 2637–2654.
Brooks, D. R., P. H. Leblond, and D. D. Cumming: 1984, ‘Information and Entropy in a Simple Evolution Model’, J. Theor. Biol. 109, 77–93.
Brooks, D. R. and E. O. Wiley: 1984, ‘Evolution as an Entropic Phenomenon’, in J. W. Pollard (ed.), Evolutionary Theory: Paths to the Future, John Wiley, London.
Brooks, D. R. and E. O. Wiley: 1985, ‘Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics and Evolution — Responses to Bookstein and Wicken’, Syst. Zool. 34.
Brooks, D. R. and E. O. Wiley: 1986, Evolution as Entropy: Toward a Unified Theory of Biology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Gatlin, L. L.: 1972, Information Theory and the Living System, Columbia University Press, New York.
Ghiselin, M. T.: 1974, ‘A Radical Solution to the Species Problem’, Syst. Zool. 23, 536–544.
Holzmüller, W.: 1984, Information in Biological Systems: The Role of Macromolecules, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Hull, D.: 1976, ‘Are Species Really Individuals?’, Syst. Zool. 24, 174–191.
Hull, D.: 1980, ‘Individuality and Selection’, Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11, 311–332.
Jantsch, E. (ed.): 1981, The Evolutionary Vision, AAAS Selected Symposia, Westview, Boulder, Colorado.
Løvtrup, S.: 1983, ‘Victims of Ambition: Comments on the Wiley and Brooks Approach to Evolution’, Syst. Zool. 32, 90–96.
Landsberg, P. T.: 1984, ‘Can Entropy and “Order” Increase Together?’, Physics Letters 102A, 171–173.
Nicolis, G. and I. Prigogine: 1977, Self-Organization in Non-Equilibrium Systems: From Dissipative Structures to Order Through Fluctuations, John Wiley, New York.
Prigogine, I.: 1961, Introduction to Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes, 2nd Ed., John Wiley, New York.
Schrödinger, E.: 1945, What is Life?, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Shannon, C. E. and W. Weaver: 1949, The Mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Stegmüller, W.: 1976, The Structure and Dynamics of Theories, Springer, New York.
Wicken, J. S.: 1983, ‘Entropy, Information, and Nonequilibrium Evolution’, Syst. Zool. 32, 438–443.
Wicken, J. S.: 1984, ‘Evolution, Teleology, and Thermodynamics’, unpublished manuscript.
Wiley, E. O. and D. R. Brooks: 1982, ‘Victims, of History — A Nonequilibrium Approach to Evolution’, Syst. Zool. 31, 1–24.
Wiley, E. O. and D. R. Brooks: 1983, ‘Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics and Evolution: A Response to Løvtrup’, Syst. Zool. 32, 209–219.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Collier, J. Entropy in evolution. Biol Philos 1, 5–24 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127087
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127087