Fritjof Capra is a physicist whose work explores the profound connections between science and spirituality. His writing delves into the deep patterns found within nature, examining how these principles can inform new ways of thinking and living. Capra focuses on bringing holistic perspectives to our understanding of the world, championing the idea that we are part of an interconnected web of life. His work encourages readers to consider the complexities of ecological systems and our place within them.
Features Capra in conversation with two Benedictine monks about new parallel thinking in both science and religion, and the parallels between the two subjects.
Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions - from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.
Capra argues that at the end of the 20th century we are shifting away from the
mechanistic world of Descartes and Newton to a holistic, ecological view. He
establishes patterns between ideas from such diverse fields as Buddhism and
quantum physics.
"We are trying to apply the concepts of an outdated world view--the mechanistic world view of Cartesian-Newtonian science--to a reality that can no longer be understood in terms of these concepts ... To describe this world appropriately, we need an ecological perspective that the Cartesian world view does not offer." (Preface 15,16)
Fritjof Capra, scientist, educator, activist, and accomplished author,
presents the evolution of his thought over five decades in Patterns of
Connection. Organised thematically and chronologically, these essays document
the revolutionary and far-reaching intellectual journey of one of the major
public thinkers of the last half-century.
Leonardo da Vinci's scientific explorations were virtually unknown during his lifetime, despite their extraordinarily wide range. He studied the flight patterns of birds to create some of the first human flying machines; designed military weapons and defenses; studied optics, hydraulics, and the workings of the human circulatory system; and created designs for rebuilding Milan, employing principles still used by city planners today. Perhaps most importantly, Leonardo pioneered an empirical, systematic approach to the observation of nature-what is known today as the scientific method.Drawing on over 6,000 pages of Leonardo's surviving notebooks, acclaimed scientist and bestselling author Fritjof Capra reveals Leonardo's artistic approach to scientific knowledge and his organic and ecological worldview. In this fascinating portrait of a thinker centuries ahead of his time, Leonardo singularly emerges as the unacknowledged “father of modern science.”
This text demonstrates how tightly humans are connected with the fabric of life and suggests that it is imperative to organize the world according to a different set of values and beliefs, not only for the well-being of human organizations, but for the survival of humanity as a whole.
An exploration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism
366 pages
13 hours of reading
A special edition of the “brilliant” best-selling classic on the paradoxes of modern physics and their relationship to concepts of Eastern mysticism (New York Magazine) The Tao of Physics brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time. Many books have been written in the ensuing years about the connections between quantum theory and the ideas of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, but Fritjof Capra’s text serves as the foundation on which the others have been built—and its wisdom has stood the test of time. Its publication in more than twenty-three languages stands as testimony to its universal applicability and its enduring significance. This special edition celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of this early Shambhala best seller that has gone on to become a true classic. It includes a fresh cover design and a new preface by the author reflecting on further discoveries and developments in the years since the book’s original publication. “Physicists do not need mysticism,” Dr. Capra says, “and mystics do not need physics, but humanity needs both.” It is a message of timeless importance.