Abstract
Because of the fundamental link between thermodynamics and life, many attempts have been made to develop analytical theories based on the principle of thermodynamics and apply them to living systems and human society. Two of the influential theories are Lorenz’ chaos theory and Prigogine’s far from equilibrium thermodynamic theory. Lorenz, a meteorologist, simplified weather equations, which are thermodynamic equations, into ordinary differential equations. He found chaos properties from these equations. Prigogine developed the theory from some chemical reactions. Ping Chen has written extensively to apply Prigogine’s theory to social sciences, offering great insights into many social problems (Chen 2010). The theories of Lorenz and Prigogine greatly influenced the thinking in biology and social sciences. However, these theories, as well as other related mathematical theories, do not model life process or social activities directly.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chen, J. (2016). Production: A Mathematical Theory. In: The Unity of Science and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3466-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3466-9_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3464-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3466-9
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)