---
slug: paper-kondepudi-d-k-et-al-2020-dissipative-structures-organisms-and-evolution
title: Kondepudi et al. (2020): Dissipative Structures, Organisms and Evolution
canonical: https://miscsubjects.com/a/paper-kondepudi-d-k-et-al-2020-dissipative-structures-organisms-and-evolution
---

## What the subject saw and its core results

Kondepudi, De Bari, and Dixon examined nonequilibrium chemical and electrical systems that form dissipative structures. These systems spontaneously organize into patterns that persist by dissipating energy and producing entropy. Their experiments showed that certain structures move toward states of higher entropy production over time. The structures also displayed end-directed behavior, self-maintenance, and adaptability that resemble simple organism traits.

Core result one: dissipative structures evolve toward maximum entropy production when conditions allow. Core result two: these structures exhibit organism-like traits such as response to perturbations and maintenance of organized states without external design. Core result three: the distinction between machines and organisms becomes clearer when both are viewed through dissipative structure dynamics.

## Exact primary works and passages

The primary work is Kondepudi, D.K., De Bari, B., Dixon, J.A. (2020). Dissipative Structures, Organisms and Evolution. Entropy 22(11):1305. https://doi.org/10.3390/e22111305

Abstract states: "Our recent research revealed that some of these structures exhibit organism-like behavior, reinforcing the earlier expectation that the study of dissipative structures will provide insights into the nature of organisms and their origin. In this article, we summarize our study of organism-like behavior in electrically and chemically driven systems. The highly complex behavior of these systems shows the time evolution to states of higher entropy production."

Introduction section 1.3 notes: "The development of structures in these systems tends to coincide with an increased rate of entropy production required for the maintenance of such structures."

Section on Machines, Dissipative Structures, and Organisms contrasts designed machines with spontaneous dissipative structures.

## Convergence patterns the work touches

The paper evidences flow networks and bounded chaos through self-organizing chemical and electrical patterns maintained by continuous energy throughput. It shows symmetry breaking and scale invariance in the emergence of macroscopic order from microscopic fluctuations. End-directed evolution in the structures aligns with the progression from flow to structure to memory-like persistence.

These patterns match the GRAIN claim that reliable energy flows produce a narrow family of structural patterns across scales. The work supplies mechanistic detail on how dissipation drives organization without external templates.

## Distance from the full synthesis

The paper reaches the structure and early organism-like behavior layers of the Ladder. It stops short of explicit memory systems or mind. It does not address the Mirror Layer in which the observer is embedded in the system under study. The synthesis extends the findings into a universal grain that includes life and mind; the paper remains within physical chemistry and early bio-analog systems.

## Honest limits and disconfirming edges

The systems are laboratory constructs, not natural evolving populations. No direct evidence links these structures to genetic evolution or open-ended complexity growth. Reductionist accounts can still treat the behaviors as emergent chemistry without invoking organism categories. The maximum entropy production principle invoked remains contested outside specific regimes. The work supplies no quantitative model that scales from these simple structures to multicellular organisms or cognition.

## Atomic claims

- Claim c1: Nonequilibrium systems can form persistent organized states maintained by continuous dissipation of free energy. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Kondepudi 2020 abstract.
- Claim c2: Certain dissipative structures evolve over time toward states of higher entropy production. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Kondepudi 2020 abstract.
- Claim c3: Dissipative structures display end-directed behavior and self-maintenance analogous to organisms. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Kondepudi 2020 abstract.
- Claim c4: Dissipative structures differ fundamentally from designed machines because their order arises internally from irreversible processes. Tier: mechanistic. Source: Kondepudi 2020 section on machines and organisms.
- Claim c5: The study of dissipative structures offers a physical route to understanding the origin of organism-like properties. Tier: speculative. Source: Kondepudi 2020 abstract.
