Vitology and Thermodynamics of Open Systems: Energy, Entropy, Dissipation, and Viability
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article compares Vitology with thermodynamics of open systems in order to separate established physical knowledge from any residual scientific contribution of the Vitological research program. Conservation of energy, the second law of thermodynamics, entropy production, energy and matter flows, nonequilibrium states, dissipative structures, thermodynamic constraints on information processing, the physics of self-replication, and trajectory-based descriptions of nonequilibrium systems are treated as established scientific content rather than independent Vitological novelty. Vitological viability V is not introduced as a new fundamental physical quantity, a new form of energy, entropy, free energy, exergy, thermodynamic potential, conserved quantity, field, or force. At the same time, H6 distinguishes the thermodynamic admissibility of a process from its system-level consequence for the viability of a specified carrier. The article further develops the philosophical–methodological proposition that physical regularities may be viewed within Vitology as particular manifestations of a broader space of regularities in the Reality of the Field of Life, conceptually related to the Source of Life. Observation of a regularity, however, is not treated as empirical proof of its metaphysical origin. A distinction is introduced between the ontological direction of manifestation and the epistemic direction of scientific reconstruction. The role of the observer is specified through a Viability Observation Frame: viability must be evaluated relative to a defined system, boundary, level of organization, critical functions, environment, temporal horizon, and measurement procedure. The observer’s attention selects the domain of investigation but does not create the physical regularity under study. For systems possessing mechanisms of selection or prioritization, the earlier practical chain “Values — Attention — Energy — Action — Result” is scientifically refined. Attention is interpreted not as energy itself, but as a possible mechanism for allocating limited resources. Candidate constructs of Thermodynamic–Viability Coupling, the Viability Observation Frame, Resource-Directed Action, and the Thermodynamic–Viability Coupling Profile are proposed. Eight principal testable hypotheses H6-1–H6-8 are formulated. The strongest hypothesis requires that prospectively operationalized Vitological variables improve prediction beyond the strongest available thermodynamic and domain-specific model on independent data. Keywords Vitology; viability; thermodynamics; open systems; energy; entropy; entropy production; dissipation; nonequilibrium thermodynamics; dissipative structures; free energy; exergy; observer; attention; resource allocation; Reality of the Field of Life; Source of Life; Norm of Harmony; regeneration; viability trajectory; cross-domain metrology.
Author: Hostiunin, Serhii
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204449320
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