172 SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE ORGANISM 



whilst Clausius begins his analysis with the principle that 

 heat cannot pass by itself ("von selbst ") from a cooler to a 

 warmer body. He ends with the phrase " the entropy of 

 the universe tends to a maximum/' the concept " entropy ' 

 signifying a special mathematical function which belongs to 

 the specific characteristics of any thermodynamical process. 

 There are many other formulations of the same principle. 



The True Principle of Becoming 



Helm was the first to cross the boundaries of thermo- 

 dynamics with regard to the principle here in question, and 

 Ostwald was his chief follower. Helm formulated a general 

 " principle of becoming " (" Satz des Geschehens "), stating 

 that differences in the factors of so-called " intensity " must 

 be present in order that becoming may be possible, and that 

 the raising of one intensity is only possible by the decreasing 

 of another. It should be mentioned here that modern 

 energetists regard every sort of energy as composed of a 

 factor of " capacity," such as mass, specific heat, electric 

 quantity, and of a factor of " intensity," such as velocity, 

 temperature, electric or chemical potential, and so on. 



I have tried to show on another occasion l that there are 

 two constituents of a very different logical character in what 

 is usually called the " second * principle of energetics. The 

 proper principle of becoming is but a specified formulation 

 of the aprioristic phrase, belonging to the realm of general 

 ontology, that nothing can happen without diversities, and 

 that the originating of diversities demands pre-existing 



1 Sec my' Naturbegriffe, chap. C. 2. 



