October 2023
Evolution is generally accepted as a natural process, but the big remaining question is whether it is random or purposeful. Scientists struggle to explain how complex life and order emerge from non-complex matter and chaos.
Nine scientists and philosophers have made an attempt to enhance Darwin’s and Wallace’s theory of the evolution of species by natural selection. In a joint scientific article, they introduce a new universal law that purportedly has been missing, “the law of increasing functional information”.
The proposed theory bridges microscopic and macroscopic physical laws. It regards evolution not only of life forms, as we know them, but of minerals, galaxies and every other aspect of the universe.
The basis for nature’s selection is wider than previously understood, according to the theory. It suggests that three universal concepts of selection drive systems to evolve: static persistence, dynamic persistence and “novelty generation”.
For example, cells are selected for their ability to metabolize and reproduce, and organisms are selected for their ability to adapt. Novelty generation means the selection of structures that can create new functions or improve existing ones.
