The Evolution of Physical Laws and the Entropic Measure of Time

The traditional paradigm of natural science treats the laws of nature as eternal and immutable. This review examines a powerful alternative tradition that views these laws as historically evolving and constructed entities, tracing this shift from ancient roots to evolutionary epistemology, radical constructivism and physics. Specifically, it provides a chronological analysis of how ideas about the variability of laws developed from ancient Greek philosophy through Enlightenment thinkers to contemporary physicists like Ilya Prigogine and Lee Smolin. We address the resulting methodological crisis—where different branches of science optimize their own laws and isolate from one another—by proposing a strict hierarchical framework. Under this method, invariant basic concepts are strictly separated from flexible models. Crucially, the Entropic Measure of Time (EMT) is presented as the central operational tool. By defining time through entropy production, EMT enables the deductive derivation of physical laws from specific models, restoring a unified, cohesive structure to modern science and offering a robust strategy to counteract the fragmentation of scientific disciplines.