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This chapter argues that nonequilibrium thermodynamics, informed by a general version of the second law that applies equally to open and closed systems, connects flow processes of life to nonlife in illuminating ways. Energy delocalizes or, in the words of Eric D. Schneider, “nature abhors a gradient.” Investigating how this version of the second law informs the natural organization of complex flow systems, we rethink the teleological status of systems, such as organisms and Gaia, usually covertly or overtly endowed with “purpose” or “mind.” This chapter’s conclusion is that teleology as found in purposeful organisms, including humans, derives from inanimate flow systems thermodynamically organized to reduce ambient gradients—this is their function, their prebiotic physiology, and their materialistic purpose.
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