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The notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts has a longtradition in science. This, of course, also applies to the Earth system. Withits myriad of processes, spanning from purely physical to life and humanactivity, the Earth is a vastly complex system. It may thus seem that there isnothing simple and general to say because of this overwhelming complexity. WhatI want to show here is that by formulating the Earth as a thermodynamic system,one can identify general directions and infer simple functioning becausethermodynamics imposes fundamental limits on the dynamics. At the center ofthis description are energy conversions and states of disequilibrium, which areat the core of the dynamics of Earth system processes, from convection cells toliving organisms and human societies. They are linked to each other andinteract by their exchanges of energy and mass, and ultimately affect how muchof the input of low entropy solar radiation from the Sun is converted into freeenergy, energy able to perform work, before the energy gets re-emitted by theEarth as high entropy terrestrial radiation. The emergent thermodynamicbehavior of the Earth then becomes simple because the dynamics evolve to andoperate at thermodynamic limits. Such behavior of Earth system processesoperating at the edge of their limit can then be linked to previously describedholistic theories, such as the Gaia hypothesis, with similarities in thedescribed emergent behavior. Such a thermodynamic view, however, can gofurther, as it can also be used to understand the role of human societies inthe Earth system and the potential pathways to a sustainable future.Thermodynamics taken together with the energy conversions and interactionswithin the Earth system can thus provide a basis to understand why the wholeEarth system is more, and simpler, than the sum of its spheres.

Understanding the Earth as a whole system: From the Gaia Hypothesis to Thermodynamic Optimality and Human Societies