nature such as stripes and spots can arise naturally out of a homogeneous uniform
state (Turing 1952).”
“Prigogine’s dissipative structure theory led to pioneering research in self-organizing systems, as well as philosophical inquiries into the formation of complexity
on biological entities and the quest for a creative and irreversible role of time in the
natural sciences. Prigogine’s formal concept of self-organization was used also as a
“complementary bridge” between General Systems Theory and thermodynamics,
conciliating the cloudiness of some important systems theory concepts with scientific rigor. Quoting from Prigogine’s own Wikipedia page, definitions of selforganization and general systems theory are described as, “self-organization”, also
called (in the social sciences) spontaneous order, is a process where some form of
overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered
system. The process can be spontaneous when sufficient energy is available, not
needing control by any external agent. It is often triggered by random fluctuations,
amplified by positive feedback. The resulting organization is wholly decentralized,
distributed over all the components of the system. As such, the organization is
typically robust and able to survive or self-repair substantial perturbation. Chaos
theory discusses self-organization in terms of islands of predictability in a sea of
chaotic unpredictability. General systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of
systems. A system is a cohesive conglomeration of interrelated and interdependent
parts that is either natural or fabricated. Every system is delineated by its spatial and
temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its
structure and purpose or nature and expressed in its functioning. In terms of its
effects, a system can be more than the sum of its parts if it expresses synergy or
emergent behavior. Changing one part of the system usually affects other parts and
the whole system, with predictable patterns of behavior. For systems that are selflearning and self-adapting, the growth and adaptation depend upon how well the
system is adjusted with its environment. Some systems function mainly to support
other systems by aiding in the maintenance of the other system to prevent failure.
The goal of general systems theory is systematically discovering a system's dynamics, constraints, conditions, and elucidating principles (purpose, measure, methods,
tools, etc.) that can be discerned and applied to systems at every level of nesting, and
in every field for achieving optimized equifinality (Beven 2006).” Quoting from
Wikipedia to define, “equifinality which is the principle that in open systems a given
end state can be reached by many potential means. Also meaning that a goal can be
reached by many ways. The same final state may be achieved via many different
loading paths. However, in closed systems, a direct cause-and-effect relationship
exists between the initial condition and the final state of the system. Biological and
social systems are open systems, however, operate quite differently”. Simply, the
idea of equifinality suggests that similar results may be achieved with different initial
conditions and in many different ways.
Entropy has also been used beyond positive sciences. The seminal paper on the
topic was published by Jaynes (1957) who proved that statistical mechanics, which
is based on Boltzmann’s equation, could be generalized to information theory
independent of experimental verification. Jaynes (1957) using von Neumann–
4.1 Literature Review of Use of Thermodynamics in Continuum Mechanics
117
state (Turing 1952).”
“Prigogine’s dissipative structure theory led to pioneering research in self-organizing systems, as well as philosophical inquiries into the formation of complexity
on biological entities and the quest for a creative and irreversible role of time in the
natural sciences. Prigogine’s formal concept of self-organization was used also as a
“complementary bridge” between General Systems Theory and thermodynamics,
conciliating the cloudiness of some important systems theory concepts with scientific rigor. Quoting from Prigogine’s own Wikipedia page, definitions of selforganization and general systems theory are described as, “self-organization”, also
called (in the social sciences) spontaneous order, is a process where some form of
overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered
system. The process can be spontaneous when sufficient energy is available, not
needing control by any external agent. It is often triggered by random fluctuations,
amplified by positive feedback. The resulting organization is wholly decentralized,
distributed over all the components of the system. As such, the organization is
typically robust and able to survive or self-repair substantial perturbation. Chaos
theory discusses self-organization in terms of islands of predictability in a sea of
chaotic unpredictability. General systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of
systems. A system is a cohesive conglomeration of interrelated and interdependent
parts that is either natural or fabricated. Every system is delineated by its spatial and
temporal boundaries, surrounded and influenced by its environment, described by its
structure and purpose or nature and expressed in its functioning. In terms of its
effects, a system can be more than the sum of its parts if it expresses synergy or
emergent behavior. Changing one part of the system usually affects other parts and
the whole system, with predictable patterns of behavior. For systems that are selflearning and self-adapting, the growth and adaptation depend upon how well the
system is adjusted with its environment. Some systems function mainly to support
other systems by aiding in the maintenance of the other system to prevent failure.
The goal of general systems theory is systematically discovering a system's dynamics, constraints, conditions, and elucidating principles (purpose, measure, methods,
tools, etc.) that can be discerned and applied to systems at every level of nesting, and
in every field for achieving optimized equifinality (Beven 2006).” Quoting from
Wikipedia to define, “equifinality which is the principle that in open systems a given
end state can be reached by many potential means. Also meaning that a goal can be
reached by many ways. The same final state may be achieved via many different
loading paths. However, in closed systems, a direct cause-and-effect relationship
exists between the initial condition and the final state of the system. Biological and
social systems are open systems, however, operate quite differently”. Simply, the
idea of equifinality suggests that similar results may be achieved with different initial
conditions and in many different ways.
Entropy has also been used beyond positive sciences. The seminal paper on the
topic was published by Jaynes (1957) who proved that statistical mechanics, which
is based on Boltzmann’s equation, could be generalized to information theory
independent of experimental verification. Jaynes (1957) using von Neumann–
4.1 Literature Review of Use of Thermodynamics in Continuum Mechanics
117