In 1884 a Dutch chemist named Jacobus Henricus van’t Hoff (d. 1911) proposed a principle about equilibrium that might help us to understand our angry world. Van’t Hoff’s chemical principle describes a shift in equilibrium produced by changes in temperature. When temperature increases, equilibrium shifts toward the more endothermic substance and away from the more exothermic substance. Just the opposite happens when temperature decreases. In either case, changes in temperature alter the equilibrium.
Endothermic substances absorb heat, whereas exothermic ones evolve it. Human bodies are essentially bags of chemicals, so let’s draw an analogy. In an ethical interplay between two humans, equilibrium is a coveted endgame. “We balance each other. I’m glad we got together. We have so much in common.” Equilibrium.
Of course, any equilibrium is fleeting in a universe of process. Something is going to disrupt every balance. Things happen that way in a constantly moving, finite cosmos, and nowhere is this more evident than in the tenuous balance between two individuals, particularly when one is relatively more endothermic and the other is relatively more exothermic. Some people are just a bit more imbued with heat-generating potential. Some are a bit more imbued with absorption potential. If everyone were endothermic, relationships would probably be a little colder; if everyone were exothermic, relationships would be hotter. Typically, someone gives off more heat; the other absorbs it.
I wish Jacobus Henricus could apply his principle to the current human substances. Seems that there are too many exothermic ones out there, throwing off heat. At times, the heat is too great for even an endothermic body to absorb. There goes the equilibrium.
Let’s try the principle on individuals in relationships before we apply it to the world as a new anger therapy. “Okay, you two seem to have a problem. Which one of you is giving off? Which one of you is absorbing? Wouldn’t a balance be better for the both of you?” Maybe the van’t Hoff principle does apply to people.
Endothermic substances absorb heat, whereas exothermic ones evolve it. Human bodies are essentially bags of chemicals, so let’s draw an analogy. In an ethical interplay between two humans, equilibrium is a coveted endgame. “We balance each other. I’m glad we got together. We have so much in common.” Equilibrium.
Of course, any equilibrium is fleeting in a universe of process. Something is going to disrupt every balance. Things happen that way in a constantly moving, finite cosmos, and nowhere is this more evident than in the tenuous balance between two individuals, particularly when one is relatively more endothermic and the other is relatively more exothermic. Some people are just a bit more imbued with heat-generating potential. Some are a bit more imbued with absorption potential. If everyone were endothermic, relationships would probably be a little colder; if everyone were exothermic, relationships would be hotter. Typically, someone gives off more heat; the other absorbs it.
I wish Jacobus Henricus could apply his principle to the current human substances. Seems that there are too many exothermic ones out there, throwing off heat. At times, the heat is too great for even an endothermic body to absorb. There goes the equilibrium.
Let’s try the principle on individuals in relationships before we apply it to the world as a new anger therapy. “Okay, you two seem to have a problem. Which one of you is giving off? Which one of you is absorbing? Wouldn’t a balance be better for the both of you?” Maybe the van’t Hoff principle does apply to people.
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