In human thermodynamics, relatively closed system is term used by Henri Bergson (1907) and Carl Jung (1928) to extrapolate the thermodynamic definition of “closed system” to the solar system and the psyche, respectively; albeit used in an undefined way. [1] The following is one of Jung’s takes on the term: [2]
“Since our experience is confined to relatively closed systems, we are never in a position to observe an absolute psychological entropy; but the more the psychological system is closed off, the more clearly is the phenomenon of entropy manifest.”
In this sense, the idea of a relatively closed system is purely verbalized non-exact type of thermodynamics. This type of use can be found in books on family therapy: [3]
“Families vary in the extent to which they are open systems; relatively closed systems run the risk of entropy or decay and disorganization.”
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References
1. Bergson, Henri. (1911). Creative Evolution (relatively closed system, pgs. 241, 302), translsated by Arthur Mitchell. H.Holt and Co.
2. Jung, Carl. (1928). “On Psychic Energy” (subsection C: Entropy), in On the Nature of the Psyche (1960). Princeton University Press.
3. Goldenberg, Herbert and Goldenberg, Irene. (2007). Family Therapy: An Overview (entropy, pgs. 91, 98, 298). Brooks Cole.
