The evolution of life, so far, appears to be a groping towards complexity. In the face of that pessimistic law called entropy (where everything in the universe slows up and breaks down, cooling off into lifeless, motionless particles) "life" toils to achieve higher states of order through combining smaller parts into larger, networked wholes. Atoms organized themselves into molecules, molecules into more complex, organic chains, which themselves developed into the first single-celled lifeforms. These lifeforms became the component parts (mitochondria, chloroplasts) of more complex cells, which in turn combined to form organelles that grouped together into organisms. Organisms developed into flocks, herds, and, it can be argued in the case of human beings, into societies and civilizations. The objective, in each case of evolution, was to preserve the organizational state already achieved. The cell preserves the organic chain of molecules, and the herd protects each member.
