Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores the asymmetry between the positive and negative impacts of human actions, analyzing how physical, psychological, and social forces contribute to the ease with which evil spreads, while good requires substantial effort to create transformation. Entropy, a fundamental principle of thermodynamics, explains how systems naturally tend towards disorder, making destruction a spontaneous process and construction something that demands continuous energy. However, as demonstrated by Prigogine and Schneider & Sagan, open systems can utilize energy flows to generate order, allowing life and complexity to sustain themselves despite the entropic tendency. Beyond physics, cognitive psychology reveals another critical factor: the negativity bias. Studies indicate that humans pay more attention to negative events than to positive ones, which amplifies the impact of bad news and hinders the dissemination of good practices. This predisposition is reinforced by the dynamics of media and social networks, which favor alarming and sensational content, accelerating the spread of destructive information. The maintenance of social order also faces similar challenges. As argued by Guimarães (2016), social norms need to be constantly renewed and monitored to prevent collapse in the face of disruptive forces. Thermodynamics suggests a paradox: although entropy drives chaos, the same physical principles enable the emergence of order. Thus, reversing negative trends requires understanding and utilizing available organizational mechanisms, ensuring that energy flows, in the form of education, culture, or innovation, sustain continuous progress.
Author: Abdon Baptista de Paula Filho
Language: English
Subfield: Computational Theory and Mathematics
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409143241