ABSTRACT
In the linear irreversible thermodynamics, the maximum entropy production principle is equivalent to the Onsager's least dissipation framework and superior to Prigogine's minimum entropy production principle. More generally, some authors proposed that the maximal entropy production is a consequence of the stochastic least-action principle applied to dissipative multistable systems. The phase-transition to higher complexity and higher entropy production has been repeatedly observed in inanimate and biological evolution. For the latter one, our “evolution coupling” hypothesis states that biological evolution accelerates thermodynamic evolution through a positive feedback loop. Life was always inventive to find new ways how to channel the input power into those dissipative metabolic pathways where electrochemical rather than only thermal free-energy conversion can occur. The extra cost from the entropy reduction due to complexity increase during biological evolution is more than offset by a significantly larger entropy production. Accelerated evolution usually means a shorter lifetime for the system of interest. Common to living in a fast or a slow lane is the low efficiency of free energy transduction. The prejudice must be given up about the desirability of maximal free-energy storage efficiency and the minimal dissipation for living systems. What counts for life is an optimal power transfer through all the hierarchy of irreversible energy transduction steps with nonlinear force-flux relationships. The advantage of the nonlinear mode in its superior capability to transfer and dissipate large amounts of free-energy is more important during evolution than its disadvantage in terms of limited overall energy conversion efficiency. The driving force behind the evolution of life is likely to be the corollary or generalization of the Second Law: every system, either organic or inorganic, evolves as fast as possible. Life exists in the universe because it speeds up the evolution of the universe. Increased order is not the goal of universal evolution, but it is the best way to speed up the entropy increase far from equilibrium. Dissipative self-organization, dissipative structures, and the emergence of self-organized criticality are common hallmarks of many complex nonequilibrium systems, whether living or not.
