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The many faces of irreversibility

K. G. Denbigh

British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 40 (4):501-518 (1989)

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A Conceptualisation of Irreversibility for Sustainable Development.Laurent Jodoin - 2024 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 37 (3):109-126.details The concept of irreversibility is central in several disciplines, from physics to biology and economics, as well as in many philosophical disputes. Yet, it is seldom clearly defined. In this article, it is argued that the thermodynamic framework with its concept of entropy – allegedly the hallmark of irreversibility – offers a formal framework for a thorough conceptualisation of irreversibility based on three (generic) parameters: (1) the openness of the systems and the possible interventions, (2) the (acceptable) equivalence of the (...) Download Export citation Bookmark
Reflections on Path Dependence and Irreversibility: Lessons from Evolutionary Biology.Eric Desjardins - 2011 - Philosophy of Science 78 (5):724-738.details This essay examines the claim “path dependence entails irreversibility” from the point of view of evolutionary biology. I argue that evolutionary irreversibility possesses many faces, sometimes conflicting with path dependence. I propose an account of path dependence that does not rely on irreversibility and explains why it more naturally coexists with the notion of (contingent) irreversibility developed by the Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo. However, I argue that we should not conceive of this relationship as necessary. Download Export citation Bookmark 13 citations
Bluff Your Way in the Second Law of Thermodynamics.Jos Uffink - 2001 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 32 (3):305-394.details The aim of this article is to analyse the relation between the second law of thermodynamics and the so-called arrow of time. For this purpose, a number of different aspects in this arrow of time are distinguished, in particular those of time-reversal (non-)invariance and of (ir)reversibility. Next I review versions of the second law in the work of Carnot, Clausius, Kelvin, Planck, Gibbs, Caratheodory and Lieb and Yngvason, and investigate their connection with these aspects of the arrow of time. It (...) Download Export citation Bookmark 86 citations
In Search of Time Lost: Asymmetry of Time and Irreversibility in Natural Processes. [REVIEW]A. L. Kuzemsky - 2020 - Foundations of Science 25 (3):597-645.details In this survey, we discuss and analyze foundational issues of the problem of time and its asymmetry from a unified standpoint. Our aim is to discuss concisely the current theories and underlying notions, including interdisciplinary aspects, such as the role of time and temporality in quantum and statistical physics, biology, and cosmology. We compare some sophisticated ideas and approaches for the treatment of the problem of time and its asymmetry by thoroughly considering various aspects of the second law of thermodynamics, (...) Download Export citation Bookmark 1 citation
Entropy, Its Language, and Interpretation.Harvey S. Leff - 2007 - Foundations of Physics 37 (12):1744-1766.details The language of entropy is examined for consistency with its mathematics and physics, and for its efficacy as a guide to what entropy means. Do common descriptors such as disorder, missing information, and multiplicity help or hinder understanding? Can the language of entropy be helpful in cases where entropy is not well defined? We argue in favor of the descriptor spreading, which entails space, time, and energy in a fundamental way. This includes spreading of energy spatially during processes and temporal (...) Download Export citation Bookmark 4 citations

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