Thermodynamics predicts that chemical compounds can self-organize into complex structures in order to dissipate a source of energy. Nature doesn't let freely av

Thermodynamics predicts that chemical compounds can self-organize into complex structures in order to dissipate a source of energy. Nature doesn't let freely available energy just sit around - time's arrow demands entropy! These dissipative structures consume the energy irreversibly and put it towards other uses (like oscillating reaction cycles). Combined with time and external energy, these systems exhibits feedback loops that could plausibly evolve into life. - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7712552/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7712552/ So it could be that life is a side effect of the second law of thermodynamics - life's "purpose" is to find new and better ways to consume the energy gradient. All the various forms and behaviors we see in the natural world are naturally-selected random variations on strategies to capture solar energy.