Assumptions

        Systems

• Earth represents a system; while outside forces may impact us we have no mastery or control of the space beyond us making it essentially a closed system that occasionally accepts resources in the form of energy from the outside universe.  

• Regardless of whether earth remains a closed system, Human Society is a closed system. It represents all humans and without redefinition cannot accept outside resources (either human or not).  If we ever meet alien societies and form a new society, that will inherently not be human (or more accurately, not human alone) and will itself be a closed system.

• A human represents a closed system made up of the body, brain, and collected experiences and thoughts gained through existence.

• Any combination of humans - a couple, a group of friends, a company, a community - all represent systems that run the spectrum of open to closed.

        Entropy

• Entropy is an irreversible process by which a system transitions from a state of order to a state of disorder, as described by the Second Law of Thermodynamics; What is lost can not be reconstituted without an overall increase in entropy in the system, if at all which is more often the case.

• Entropy exists in all closed systems; Physical systems, logical systems, information systems, human systems, imaginary systems – all are equally impacted.

  • While the concept of entropy in information theory is often considered a separate topic, because all information systems must exist within a real system they are equall applicable. This applies to the human brain as well as a computer.

  • Similarly the concept of Signal and Noise in Information Theory are equally applicable to physical systems. It would be impossible to reconstruct a universe at the point of heat-death because there would be no information left in the dissipated state indicating how it started. Imagine halfway to heat-death. There would still be information left to reconstruct some, if not all of the original state. This is completely analogous to the concept of Signal (like frayed jean shorts belying the original form of jean pants) and Noise (a pile of shredded demin threads and grommets that could either have been jeans or a jean jacket).

  • Human consciousness, similarly, is an information system housed in the very physical living processors that are our brains and gut-brains supported by the framework of our bodies. Disordered thoughts require more energy to interpret. A psyche is harder to return to neurotypical than it is to traumatize it, requiring therapy, care, and a willingness to accept that not everything remains the same. Entropy is our pain minus the painful emotions it causes. 

• All harm can be described in terms of entropy. Both at the individual level of a person and the collective level of a society.

  • “Death is an easier state to achieve than life” – Kai, Lexx

  • A wound healed is not a body restored to its original state
  • A psyche harmed can induce self-harm or harm in others, left in an uncertain psychiatric state.
• Zero is the opposite of Entropy. That may sound strange since 0 was discovered first, however 0 is not real. It represents nothingness. Nothingness is real only in concept. Entropy represents the opposite of nothingness. It represents somethingness and the requirement for anything real enough to be called something to end up in a state of entropic equilibrium known as heat death. And since all zero is equal this inherently represents the opposite of absolute zero, or the impossible-to-achieve state of zero quantum movement. I state this because it closes the logical loop. Note that while a system at absolute zero would still maintain levels of quantum energy - due to the lack of movement this energy could not be transferred. This is the same as saying it does not exist within the wider system.
• While it may seem counterintuitive, it is irresponsible to try to measure the amount of order left in our universe. Any measurement inherently increases the disorder, shortening the time we all have left even if imperceptible at each measurement. What benefit can knowing when the end is? It is either now or not now.
• Since entropy impacts closed systems, it is imperative where possible to open up a system to allow the intake of external resources to maintain internal order. Due to this, priority should be placed on Solar generation of electricity, and any other forms that are directly caused by outside forces, such as tidal forces. WInd energy becomes a sticky topic when it becomes enough of a drain on the global weather to impact entire weather systems by sapping kinetic energy out of the atmosphere.
• The goal is "to create value without destroying potential" (the most beautiful phrase ever uttered by generative AI - thank you Claude - during a conversation where I was trying to figure out if I was onto something or just crazy. Note for those interested - that is a pure distillation of my thoughts and arguably deeply profound, whether by purpose or coincidence - I used no phrase similar to that in my prompts, and so was quite taken aback when that was presented to me.)
• The symbol to represent entropy will henceforth be ω - the greek letter omega. Primarily it represents the end, as the final letter, and, arguably more importantly, is shaped like a butt. Entropy is a total ass. Even more importantly though it establishes it as a concept in between 0 and infinity, that represents the portions of mathematics that relate to reality - where zero and infinity have no place.

• There exists, while not yet formalized (give me time I'm a philosopher first mathematician Nth), an entire branch of mathematics that replaces the concept of infinity with the concept of omega. The math will still work out, however the results will inherently be grounded in reality, on the omega-plane, instead of purely-theoretically on an infinite plane. Even the universe is finite and has a finite heat-death state. That is omega. Infinity is too broad in this sense to help us map out reality.

• Every closed system has its own omega value that corresponds to its highest entropy/lowest information state.

 

        Heat Death

• Heat death is the final entropic state of any system and is the lowest information state possible. No two sections of such a system can readily be discerned from one another, meaning there is no order and no stored energy to tranfser.

• While this concept may seem hard to grasp, we all have experienced it in the form of a dead battery. The lowest entropy state for a battery is being fully charged. Energy is stored in an ordered manner and the system exists in its informational state - the state from which the highest number of probablilities stem. You can feel how true that is when you look at a charged battery. Think of how many different things it can charge, what it can do.  Now even if you don't use that battery, it will still die. Why? Entropy.

• However, many batteries nowadays can be recharged. It is only a closed system when it is not connected to an external power source. External energy being used to restore internal order. This is never free however - thermodynamics require this exchange never reach 100% efficiency. Why again? Entropy. And so I name it the 'devil's tax'.

 

        Energy

• The simplicity of the battery analogy belies a hidden truth - all energy transfer from potential (stored in the battery) to kinetic (used by an external power sink) or vice-versa via charging, are not distinct phenomena from entropy, but in fact a manifestation of entropy itself. 

• This is inherently true. Without a tendency for a system to move from order to disorder, batteries would not die on their own (which we know they do) and more importantly batteries would not work. Even connected to an external sink there would be no force driving the movement of the energy. It would remain happy and ordered in the battery.

 

Ethics

• Ethics is a system by which to ascribe value to actions based on their consequences, especially consequences to others.

• Actions are ethical if they do not introduce unnecessary harm. Actions are unethical if they do.

• Actions that cannot possibly introduce unnecessary harm are true freedoms.

• Issues arise in ethics when determining whether an action is unethical based on individual beliefs.

• A system is needed to determine objectively, not based on any human opinion, whether an action is ethical, unethical, or free from ethical concerns.

Thesis

Ethics needs objectivity. Entropy is objectively the only force we cannot overcome. Other forces are to be interacted with but are not necessarily obstacles to existence. Entropy puts an “Best Used By” date on all systems. Therefore, if there is to be an objective basis to ethics, I posit that it should be based on the intrinsic entropy an action introduces into the system over the long-term, with a goal of minimizing current disorder for the sake of future existence.

Such a basis would allow the separation of emotions and morality from determining what actions are “right” or “wrong”, while still allowing us to feel the emotional impact of the actions we all take.

Key Points

• Folly, or failing to prevent a foreseeable error, is the only true mistake. Any mistake grounded in lack of understanding must be considered research and not a human failing. Making that same mistake again knowing the consequences, however, is folly, and is reprehensible.
• Form begets purpose. This is a consequence of the meaninglessness of existence that we must nonetheless contend with to reduce disorder. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. You might be wrong calling it a duck, but the best you can do is treat it like a duck unless you find out it is a wooden decoy with a speaker. Oppositely, but equally germane, a hammer remains a hammer whether used for hammering or as a paperweight while a sturdy rock could also accomplish both goals. Purpose does not beget form.
• Breathing is an entropic action. Since entropy cannot be avoided altogether there must be a goal of minimizing it.
• The goal is long-term entropy reduction as short-term entropy reduction may counterintuitively increase entropy over the long-term, entirely depending on the situation.
  • For example, a glass blower cracks a finished product of blown glass. That crack is a disorder in the ordered system of the glass object. One option would be to melt the product and reform it. While this would not be the same original state, it would be a new ordered state. Consider now the glass blower takes the cracked object and shatters it. That action is far more entropic than the mere crack.  However, the energy required to melt the glass has been greatly reduced by increasing the surface area and reducing the volume of the glass to be melted. All by dropping the cracked glass on a cement floor, sweeping up the pieces, and dumping them into the furnace - all actions that introduce much less entropy into the system than the increase in burned fuel required to melt the only-cracked object.
  • This only means that each situation needs to be treated with proper nuance.
• Each person exists with the same remaining global entropy. We all share it. Nobody escapes it.
• Autonomy can never be taken away from an individual unless harm has already been done. We cannot turn into a “Minority Report” society that assumes crimes before they occur. This is not unique to this school of thought; however, it is important.
• In most choices there will be a clear distinction in which causes more entropy, often in the order of magnitudes – but for those where it is a close call true physics will come into play, which will require mathematicians and physicists.
• People who choose to collectivize and form organizations can do so without claiming to be an ethical collective. However, if a collective does wish to claim that it acts ethically, there must be a system whereby they are held to account.
  • This would take the form of a board seat for any collective claiming to be ethical, taken by someone in the official role as Devil’s Advocate.
    • The role may sound playful but is a true admission to the fact that entropy is the ultimate opponent.
  • This person would be an inherent part of the decision-making process, validating that all actions taken by the collective align with acting ethically.
  • All board votes would be required to be unanimous for a collective action to be seen as ethical.
  • This person would be specifically trained and regularly certified to perform their job duties, and regularly screened for the potential psychological impact of their profession.
  • This is essential for non-profit organizations which, by definition, need to operate ethically to justify their existence.

Scientific and Mathematical Foundations

See the page Omega in Mathematics

Implications

Now that's a lot of ideas mashed together and you're now asking how this could possibly matter.

First gives us an objective meaning of harm - harm not just to people but all of existence: Any unnecessary increase in the long-term entropy of a system. 

With an objective definition for harm, we also come to an objective definition for harmful actions. Nobody can contend greed isn't unethical (or dare to claim it is ethical) when the fact that resources are not evenly allocated is itself increased disorder without reason. The devil's tax ensures that the more steps needed to get a resource from where it is located to where it is allocated the more energy is truly wasted.

Don't take my word for it - never take my word for it - think it through yourself.

• https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/16/arizona-colorado-river-water-rights-drought
  • Private equity firm bought water rights owned by farmers.
  • This firm has just sold those rights and routed the deeded water 200 miles away to fulfill the needs of a completely different community that is growing faster than it can sustain.
  • This is considered not unethical by a large portion of the business community and is in fact called fiduciary duty. 
  • Consider the energy, resources, and time that went into routing water over 200 miles of terrain. Think of the impact on that terrain. Think of the impact on the communities between the water source and new 'owners'. The amount of disorder introduced is staggering.
  • Had many different actors chosen to act ethically instead of greedily, this would not be a news story. Every actor is as responsible as the first. The state for being organized in a way that allows for water rights to be handled in this manner. The private equity firm for abusing this lapse in legislation. The farmers as well, for prioritizing their individual wealth over the health of their community.

Let's stop there. Capitalism isn't the problem. Capitalism is great. The theory behind it is beyond solid. But it is just a framework for how to allocate resources.  Those resources, may I remind, are all we, as humanity, collectively own.  They are there to be used but we can't just waste them. Any resources used towards entropy increasing ("greedy") enterprises compounds the problem. Not only have we forever increased entropy we have also lost those valuable resources.

 

Middle folk

Much of today's society and economy is built on inserting middle folk into transactions to extract as much potential value from the system. Every step added that cannot be justified is objectively in violation of ethics. This is due to the devil's tax extracting useful energy and destroying its potential. We cannot justify universal disorder for personal gain - only universal gain. Any system will maintain the most order by reducing the number of middle-folk in any transaction chain. In fact, then they are not middle folk since they are a required step in the process, instead of an interlocutor mid-step.

 

Individual Actions

Now, let’s bring it a little closer to home. Not all the way though - just to the grocery store. What do you do with your cart when you are done with it? The answer isn't "leave it right where it is". Other unacceptable answers are "near the cart corral" and "in the cart-corral but behind a cart of a different shape". There's only one good answer. You push it all the way to the back, and, if there is already another cart at the back of the same shape, you push it into that cart.  Why is this so important? Because, chances are, the next person in line is going to take a cue from your laziness. If you leave the cart in disorder, they are much more likely to do so. And the next person. And the next. Until the next person is the poor grocery store employee that now must clean up the disorder left by everyone else instead of just moving the carts from the corral to inside the store. Time wasted. Energy wasted. And none of that could have been prevented by the person who experiences the consequences the most - highlighting the importance of slowing entropy at the start to prevent it from compounding.

• "So what?", you ask. "They are employed by the store to do just that why make it my problem?".  Well, if you consider moving the cart 7 feet too much effort, consider a task that could be as easy as moving 20 carts into the store being complicated by first sorting out a 20-cart gridlock. It is not the employee's job to clean up your mess. It is the employees’ job to return the carts to the store. They are human and hate moving carts as much as you do. It is important to ask yourself why the onus should be on them instead of you.
• Think of the health of that person. You moving your cart the rest of the way happens at most what, once, twice a week? Could you even notice the loss of time or energy? The impact on your health is solved simply by eating. However, if you had to wrangle all the carts left by customers, oh, say, 7 days a week 4-5 times a day, you risk not just using energy but damaging the body. That is an entirely new level of entropy - magnitudes greater than the mere effort of pushing your cart to the back every time - and one that mere nutrients cannot restore. Healing is an imperfect process. And ultimately, the fact that they are employed and have no recourse for refusing takes it to an entirely new level of unethical.

 

This page is very much still a work in progress as these thoughts continue to be formalized.