Maxwell’s demon and interactionism

Abstract

Maxwell's demon is an imaginary being invented a century and a half ago by James Clarke Maxwell in order to illustrate the statistical nature of the Second Law of thermodynamics. It helped us reach a better understanding not only of that law but also of the relationship between statistical physics and thermodynamics. Since the 1910?s it has caused a flood of papers of scientists who have tried to save the Second Law from the threat of the demon and hence preclude the possibility of perpetuum mobile of the second kind. Nowadays, it helps us better understand the possibility of constructing an interactionist model of mental causation manifested through the violation of the Second Law by the mind.