International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

Entropy establishes the principle of time irreversibility. Moreover, it links downgrading of energy and growth of statistical disorder (BOLTZMANN).

But, what about the reverse phenomenon of differentiation and growing organization? This subject is thus discussed by J.de ROSNAY: "The time of observation is indeed arrowed in the direction of growing entropy: thus in keeping with the arrow of conventional time, But what about the time of creative action? It seems to be related to a qualitatively different time, apparently reversed by conciousness and aiming towards a direction opposed to a entropy's one: the one of growing complexity How to distinguish this direction from the one of conventional physical time?…

"The 'chronocentric' attitude is quite intransigent. It rejects any consideration about complementary between two 'qualities' of time in the way former physicists would accept only evolution leading to growing entropy and denied any possible integration of biological evolution in their theories.

"Chronocentrism adopts an exclusive logic, Either it accept only causal-type explanations and in this case it relies on the principle of sufficient reason and the objectivity postulate. Or, conversely, it accepts only finalist explanations based on a act of faith and a subjective approach.

"The critical difference between these two extreme attitudes is that the causal explanation is strongly privileged in our education and our culture, because it allows for demonstration and scientific proof, while finalized explanation does not permit irrefutable demonstrations, nor scientific proofs" (1990, p.210).

If the polarity between information and entropy holds and considering PRIGOGINE and his school's research, there is only one "arrow of time", forthgoing. But it has two different and opposed effects, growing local organization, combined by a quickening of the global pace of entropization.

Furthermore, the emergence of an high level mentalization in man curiously includes he acquisition of consciousness of time and f its irreversibility.

And finally, time conciousness, while a characteristic of individual brain-minds, seems to acquire its total dimension only through social continuity, as the individual consciousness of time disappears with death.