ABSTRACT
One of the central themes of classical philosophy is the persistence and puzzling nature of change. Throughout the history of philosophy this concern appears, disappears, reappears, and never completely goes away. There is a similar oscillation in our sciences between an interest in equilibrium states and a fascination with the sources and persistence of disorder. Which is primary, order or disorder, change or permanence? Perhaps it is a coincidence that the period and place in which I grew up (1950s America) was characterized by an obsession with “progress,” but a dislike for change. Both nature and the economy sought equilibrium, and the nation itself was on the way to a more perfect union. Or so it seemed to me that it seemed to my elders.
