Abstract

JULLIAN MONTANEZ, Alain Gabriel. The other as dissipative structure. Reflexiones [online]. 2015, vol.94, n.2, pp.142-151. ISSN 1659-2859.

The other has been pointed out, described and explained in many ways and from many perspectives. The effort to solve the problem of the other has been as wide that even second order explanations are showing up. That is to say, interpretations, comments and extensions about the work of some of the most quoted and recognized authors. Despite this, the intrinsic material foundation of this phenomenon hasn't been explained yet in any research work (except from the Merleau-Ponty's attempt to perceive the other as body, which was a very shallow approach). This article proposes starting from the physical systems far from equilibrium, generically named dissipative structures, to understand what the other is. Once the other has been considered and explained in these terms, some implications of the otherness phenomenon are outlined. The main implication has to do with "How does the other affect us?" establishing that the other doesn't only allow us to be self-defined. It is rather involved in our own construction, development and evolution. Thus, the value ascribed to the other might have been minimized through traditional explanations, which don't consider the material basis of otherness.

Keywords : other; otherness; energy; thermodynamics; dissipative structure; entropy; identity.

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