"This essay is an attempt to reconcile the disturbing contradiction between the striving for order in nature and in man and the principle of entropy implicit in the second law of thermodynamics; between the tendency toward greater organization and the general trend of the material universe toward death and disorder. Viewing the problem cosmically, Arnheim discusses the operation of these conflicting forces in physics, philosophy and physiology, and in two diametrically opposed tendencies in modern art: one towards extreme simplicity of structure, the other towards dissolution and disorder . . . The application of Arnheim's formulation to the area of artistic creation ay become a stabilizing positive influence in the present state of confusion."—Library Journal
