mechanism surrounding it, and over longer periods of time to geological processe

s that may have similar

effects. Thus, it can safely be predicted that if, for example, we consider a pe
riod of a hundred million
years, no particular specimen of a liquid will remain a liquid throughout the wh
ole of this time. Analysing
this problem further, we see that, as we consider broader contexts and longer pe
riods of time, there will be
more and more opportunities for conditions to change in such a way that any part
icular balance of processes
is fundamentally altered. This is because it will be able to come into reciproca
l relationships with more and
more relatively autonomous entities, domains, systems, etc., the motions of whic
h can come to influence the
processes in question. Indeed, if we go to the extreme of considering supergalac
tic regions of space and
corresponding epochs of time, we see that there is a possibility for such a broa
d range of changes of
conditions that every kind of entity, domain, system, or level will eventually b
e subject to fundamental
changes, even to destruction or extinction, while new kinds of entities, domains
, and levels will come into
existence in their place. For example, there is currently under discussion a the
ory in which it is assumed that
some five billion years ago or more the parts of the universe that are now visib
le to us were originally
concentrated in a comparatively small space having an extremely high temperature
, and a density so high
that neither atoms nor nuclei, nor electrons, nor protons, nor neutrons as we no
w know them could have
existed. (Matter would then have taken some other form about which We cannot hav
e much idea at the
present.) This particular section of the universe is then assumed to have explod
ed, and subsequently to have
cooled down to give rise ultimately to electrons, protons, neutrons, atoms, dust
, clouds, galaxies, stars,
planets, etc., by means of a series of processes into which we need not go furth
er here. The recession of the
stars, suggested by the so-called red shift,* would then be a residual effect of
the velocities imparted to
matter in this explosion. Now, it is very important to emphasize how speculative
and provisional large parts
of this theory are. Nevertheless, for our purposes here, it is interesting in tha
t it gives an example of how
widespread could be the effects of a breaking of the balance of opposing process
es within the previously
existing highly dense state of matter; for the resulting explosion would have gi
ven rise to everything that
exists in the part of the universe that is now visible to us.
In any case, whatever may have been the at present practically unknown earlier p
hase of the process of
evolution of this particular part of the universe, there exists by now a conside
rable amount of evidence
suggesting that the galaxies, the stars, and the earth come from some quite diff
erent previously existing state
of things. With regard to what happened on our planet after it came into existen
ce, we have of course much
better evidence coming from traces left in the rocks, fossils, etc. Then, coming
to the consideration of the
* The red shift of the spectral lines of stars has been interpreted as a Doppler s

hift due to a recessional motion. If this

interpretation is correct, then the stars are receding from each other with a ve
locity that is more or less proportional to
their distances. The most distant stars visible would have speeds as high as 10,
000 miles a second, and still more distant
stars would presumably have still higher velocities. However, there are many pos
sible explanations for the same
phenomenon; e.g. perhaps the behaviour of light over long distances is slightly
different from that predicted by
Maxwell s equations, in such a way that the frequency of light diminishes as it is
transmitted through space.
In the actually published forms of this theory, it is assumed that the whole uni
verse (and not just a part of it) was
originally concentrated into the small space referred to above. Even if we do no
t make this additional assumption, the
theory is already quite speculative. But this additional assumption is based on
Einstein s theory of general relativity,
which has been proved to a rather low level of approximation only in weak gravit
ational fields for low concentrations of
matter and over limited regions of space. A gigantic extrapolation is then made
to gravitational fields of fantastic
intensity, to unheard-of concentrations of matter, and to a region of space that
includes nothing less than the whole
universe. While this extrapolation cannot be proved to be wrong at present, it i
s in any case an example of extreme
mechanism. If we divest the theory of these irrelevant and unfounded extrapolati
ons, then the hypothesis is still,
however, interesting to consider.
MORE GENERAL CONCEPT OF NATURAL LAW 103
origin of life, we have the hypothesis of Opharin,* which gives at least the gen
eral outlines of how living
matter could have come into existence on the earth. Here we see the importance o
f the incomplete coordination and contradictory character of the various kinds o
f processes that took place on the earth at the
time in question; for storms, ocean currents, air currents, etc., would have led
to a chance mixing of various
organic compounds until at last a substance appeared that began to reproduce its
elf at the expense of the
surrounding organic material. As a result, the contradictory character of the mo
tions at the inorganic level
created the conditions in which a whole new level could come into existence, the
level of living matter. And
from here on, changes in the inanimate environment ceased to be the only causes
of development. For a
fundamental property of life is that the very processes that are necessary for i
ts existence will change it.
Thus, in the case of the individual living being, the balance of growth and deca
y is never perfect, so that in
the earlier phases of its life, the organism grows, then it reaches approximate
balance at maturity, and then
the processes of decay begin to win out, leading to death. With regard to the va
rious species of living beings
considered collectively, these provide each other with a mutual environment, bot
h through their competition
and through their co-operation. Thus as a result of the very development of many
kinds of living beings, the
environment is changed in such a way that the balance of the processes maintaini
ng the heredity of such
species is altered, and the result is the well-known evolution of the species.
In sum, then, we see that the very nature of the world is such that it contains

an enormous diversity of
semi-autonomous and conflicting motions, trends, and processes. Thus, if we cons
ider any particular thing,
either the motions taking place externally to it or those taking place internall
y and which are inherent
aspects of its mode of being will eventually alter or destroy the balance of pro
cesses that is necessary to
maintain that thing in existence in its present form and with its present charac
teristics. For this reason, any
given thing or aspect of that thing must necessarily be subjected to fundamental
modifications and
eventually to destruction or decay, to be replaced by new kinds of things.
In conclusion, the notion of the qualitative infinity of nature leads us to rega
rd the eternal but everchanging process of motion and development described abov
e as an inherent and essential aspect of what
matter is. I