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Anthropology thermodynamics
In human thermodynamics, anthropology thermodynamics or “anthropological thermodynamics” is the cross-cultural study of human societies according to the laws of thermodynamics. This branch is very marginal in its development, likely attributed to the fact that anthropologists, in generally, are not a mathematically inclined group. Most attempts in this area have been exercises to invoke the thermodynamics laws metaphorically. [1] Anthropologists, as some have noted, are attracted particularly to the second law, with its “arrow of time” as a directional progress of change, as well as the Prigoginean thermodynamics conceptions of “dissipative structures”.
History
It was well known that, prior to the 1940s, the subject of anthropology, as a science, lacked well-developed laws with predictive powers. It was American anthropologist Leslie White, described as “anthropology’s most significant prophet of the second law”, especially found in his 1943, 1949, and 1959 publications, describing his “energy theory of cultural evolution”, however, who first introduced thermodynamics into anthropology. [2] Another noted anthropologist to incorporate thermodynamics into anthropology was Hungarian-born American anthropologist Steven Polgar, noted for his use of American physicist Robert Lindsay’s thermodynamic imperative in anthropology as discussed in his 1961 article “Evolution and the Thermodynamic Imperative”. [3] A more recent anthropologist to incorporate thermodynamics into theory is American Eugene Ruyle.
References
1. Beekman, Christopher S. and Baden, William W. (2005). Nonlinear Models for Archaeology and Anthropology, (ch. 6: Modeling Prehistoric Maize Agriculture as a Dissipative Process, by William W. Baden, pgs. 95-122). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
2. (a) Author, (1987). “Article Title”, American Anthropologist, (pg. 552). Vol. 89, No. 3-4. American Anthropological Association.
(b) Erickson, Paul A., and Murphy, Liam, D. (2003). A History of Anthropological Theory, (section: Leslie White, pg. 118-19). Broadview Press.
3. Polgar, Steven. (1961). “Evolution and the Thermodynamic Imperative”, Human Biology, pgs. 99-109.
History
It was well known that, prior to the 1940s, the subject of anthropology, as a science, lacked well-developed laws with predictive powers. It was American anthropologist Leslie White, described as “anthropology’s most significant prophet of the second law”, especially found in his 1943, 1949, and 1959 publications, describing his “energy theory of cultural evolution”, however, who first introduced thermodynamics into anthropology. [2] Another noted anthropologist to incorporate thermodynamics into anthropology was Hungarian-born American anthropologist Steven Polgar, noted for his use of American physicist Robert Lindsay’s thermodynamic imperative in anthropology as discussed in his 1961 article “Evolution and the Thermodynamic Imperative”. [3] A more recent anthropologist to incorporate thermodynamics into theory is American Eugene Ruyle.
References
1. Beekman, Christopher S. and Baden, William W. (2005). Nonlinear Models for Archaeology and Anthropology, (ch. 6: Modeling Prehistoric Maize Agriculture as a Dissipative Process, by William W. Baden, pgs. 95-122). Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
2. (a) Author, (1987). “Article Title”, American Anthropologist, (pg. 552). Vol. 89, No. 3-4. American Anthropological Association.
(b) Erickson, Paul A., and Murphy, Liam, D. (2003). A History of Anthropological Theory, (section: Leslie White, pg. 118-19). Broadview Press.
3. Polgar, Steven. (1961). “Evolution and the Thermodynamic Imperative”, Human Biology, pgs. 99-109.
Sadi-Carnot |
Latest page update: made by Sadi-Carnot
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