Despite being based on very simple principles, Darwin’s theory of natural selection is immensely powerful and can explain how the wonderful diversity of complex life evolved. But is this theory fundamental, and if not, what are its fundamental roots? To answer these questions I first introduce a more general principle of evolution that itself encompasses Darwin’s theory. I then examine which properties of our “fundamental” laws are responsible for enabling complex structures, such as life, to emerge in our universe. Along the way I discuss the arrow of time and the meaning of the term fundamental; and I explain how increasingly complex structures from atoms to giraffes can emerge from the quarks of the early universe.
Paul Knott