Chapter 14: Thermodynamic Necessity and the Origin of Life

Life is thermodynamically necessary, not accidental. The defect-thermodynamic argument shows that entropy production is maximized by self-maintaining structures, making life a thermodynamic attractor. Abiogenesis is recast as the first persistence event—the transition from non-persistent chemistry to self-maintaining distinction—and its speed (less than 500 My) serves as evidence of categorical inevitability.