Conceptual Differentiation of Heat: The Entropic Promise of a Post-Pyrocene World

Thermodynamics is thought to result from the conceptual differentiation (CD) of heat into energy, entropy, and heat. The form of CD that took place in the 19th century will be referred to as the CD of the “_energy-centric conception of entropy_” project. The conception is otherwise known as the concept of available energy (also, free energy, or exergy). The defining goal of the project is the harvesting of free energy for the maintenance of all living organisms and all human institutions. This leads to a fundamental “free energy” conundrum of human existence: to thrive in style, we need abundant free energy; such pursuit of individual wellness increases the _speed_ of the whole (of which individuals and their environment are parts) falling into the abyss of chaos. We argue that the free energy conundrum results from _imperfection_ in the CD of the energy-centric project. This paper and a previous one carry out CD to its logical conclusion; with that, it articulates a new thermodynamics (referred to as Unified Classical Thermodynamics [UCT]) under the masthead of “_entropy-centric conception of entropy_,” i.e., "entropy growth drives all macroscopic processes," including reversible processes in-deterministically, suggesting solutions to the fundamental conundrum of human existence.