5. Concepts from thermodynamics have often been applied to situations outside of its normal range of application. One such application which attracted considerable interest about 70 years ago was to social science. In this application an increase in the complexity of a social system is related to a decrease in social entropy. This social entropy was assumed to obey the laws of thermodynamics. A. What does the second law of thermodynamics imply about social change over time? B. Suggest some historical situations that seem to fit this model. C. Speculate! What might the driving force be for social evolution? D. This application of thermodynamics to social science was controversial at the time and has fallen out of favor, probably never to be revived. Suggest some fundamental reasons for its disfavor.
