CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Fritjof Capra - Wikiquote</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikiquotemwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat": "dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"7509fa03-6662-4851-97a8-e55a999f2251","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Fritjof_Capra","wgTitle":"Fritjof Capra","wgCurRevisionId":3490275,"wgRevisionId":3490275,"wgArticleId":11862,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["1939 births","Living people","Monists","Physicists from Austria","Physicists from the United States","Taoists","Systems scientists","American science writers","Non-fiction authors from the United States","People from Vienna","University of California, Berkeley faculty"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Fritjof_Capra","wgRelevantArticleId":11862,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true ,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikiquote","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":true,"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":true,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":20000,"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q84258","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"wgSiteNoticeId":"2.3"};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options": "loading","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready","ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","wikibase.sidebar.tracking","ext.dismissableSiteNotice"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1548"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1032"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="825"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Fritjof Capra - Wikiquote"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikiquote.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikiquote (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikiquote.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikiquote Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Fritjof_Capra rootpage-Fritjof_Capra skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Community_Portal" title="About the project, what you can do, where to find things"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-Village-pump" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Village_pump"><span>Village pump</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random page [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random page</span></a></li><li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="The place to find out"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-Contact-Wikiquote" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Contact_us"><span>Contact Wikiquote</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-Wikiquote_links" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-Wikiquote_links" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Wikiquote links </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-People" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_by_name"><span>People</span></a></li><li id="n-Literary-works" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_works"><span>Literary works</span></a></li><li id="n-Proverbs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Proverbs"><span>Proverbs</span></a></li><li id="n-Films" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_films"><span>Films</span></a></li><li id="n-TV-shows" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_television_shows"><span>TV shows</span></a></li><li id="n-Themes" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Themes"><span>Themes</span></a></li><li id="n-Categories" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Categories"><span>Categories</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikiquote.svg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikiquote" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikiquote-wordmark-fr.svg" style="width: 4.8125em; height: 2.5em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikiquote" aria-label="Search Wikiquote" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Fritjof+Capra" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Fritjof+Capra" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="More options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Fritjof+Capra" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Fritjof+Capra" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"><div id="mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace"></div><script>(function(){var node=document.getElementById("mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace");if(node){node.outerHTML="\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-close\"\u003E[\u003Ca tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"\u003Ehide\u003C/a\u003E]\u003C/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-body\"\u003E\u003C!-- CentralNotice --\u003E\u003Cdiv id=\"localNotice\" data-nosnippet=\"\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"anonnotice\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"position:absolute; z-index:100; right:100px; top:-0px;\" class=\"metadata\" id=\"donate\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align:right; font-size:80%\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EYour \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising\" class=\"extiw\" title=\"wikimedia:Fundraising\"\u003Econtinued donations\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E keep Wikiquote running!\u003C/i\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E";}}());</script></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">Beginning</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Quotes</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Quotes-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Quotes subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Quotes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_Tao_of_Physics_(1975)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Tao_of_Physics_(1975)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span><i>The Tao of Physics</i> (1975)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Tao_of_Physics_(1975)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Turning_Point_(1982)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Turning_Point_(1982)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span><i>The Turning Point</i> (1982)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Turning_Point_(1982)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Uncommon_Wisdom_(1988)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Uncommon_Wisdom_(1988)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span><i>Uncommon Wisdom</i> (1988)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Uncommon_Wisdom_(1988)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Web_of_Life_(1996)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Web_of_Life_(1996)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span><i>The Web of Life</i> (1996)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Web_of_Life_(1996)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Hidden_Connections_(2002)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Hidden_Connections_(2002)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.5</span> <span><i>The Hidden Connections</i> (2002)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Hidden_Connections_(2002)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes_about_Fritjof_Capra" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes_about_Fritjof_Capra"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Quotes about Fritjof Capra</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quotes_about_Fritjof_Capra-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritjof Capra</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 3 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-3" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">3 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" title="Fritjof Capra – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Fritjof Capra" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" title="Fritjof Capra – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Fritjof Capra" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" title="Fritjof Capra – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Fritjof Capra" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q84258#sitelinks-wikiquote" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Fritjof_Capra" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Fritjof_Capra"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Fritjof_Capra"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Fritjof_Capra" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Fritjof_Capra" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&oldid=3490275" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Fritjof_Capra&id=3490275&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FFritjof_Capra"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FFritjof_Capra"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-create_a_book" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator&referer=Fritjof+Capra"><span>Create a book</span></a></li><li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Fritjof_Capra&action=show-download-screen"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fritjof_Capra" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikipedia mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" hreflang="en"><span>Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q84258" title="Link to connected data repository item [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikiquote</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fritjof_Capra.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg/220px-Fritjof_Capra.jpeg" decoding="async" width="220" height="284" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg/330px-Fritjof_Capra.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg/440px-Fritjof_Capra.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="480" data-file-height="619" /></a><figcaption>Fritjof Capra in 2010</figcaption></figure> <p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" class="extiw" title="w:Fritjof Capra">Fritjof Capra</a></b> (born <a href="/wiki/February_1" title="February 1">February 1</a>, <a href="/wiki/1939" class="mw-disambig" title="1939">1939</a>) is an Austrian-born American <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physicist" class="extiw" title="w:Physicist">physicist</a>, author and founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes">Quotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Quotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The new paradigm may be called a <a href="/wiki/Holism" title="Holism">holistic</a> <a href="/wiki/World_view" title="World view">world view</a>, seeing the world as an integrated whole rather than a dissociated collection of parts. It may also be called an ecological view, if the term "ecological" is used in a much broader and deeper sense than usual. Deep ecological awareness recognizes the fundamental interdependence of all phenomena and the fact that, as individuals and societies we are all embedded in (and ultimately dependent on) the cyclical process of nature. <ul><li>Fritjof Capra, Gunter A. Pauli (1995) <i>Steering business toward sustainability</i>. p. 3 cited in: Elmer Kennedy-Andrews (2008) <i>Writing Home</i>. p. 13.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>What I am trying to do is to present a unified scientific view of life; that is, a view integrating life's biological, cognitive, and social dimensions. I have had many discussions with social scientists, cognitive scientists, physicists and biologist who question that task, who said that this would not be possible. They ask, why do I believe that I can do that? My belief is based largely on our knowledge of evolution. When you study evolution, you see that there was, first of all, evolution before the appearance of life, there was a molecular type of evolution where structures of greater and greater complexity evolved out of simple molecules. Biochemist who study that have made tremendous progress in understanding that process of molecular evolution. Then we had the appearance of the first cell which was a bacterium. Bacteria evolved for about 2 billion years and in doing so invented, if you want to use the term, or created most of the life processes that we know today. Biochemical processes like fermentation, oxygen breathing, photosynthesis, also rapid motion, were developed by bacteria in evolution. And what happened then was that bacteria combined with one another to produce larger cells — the so-called eukaryotic cells, which have a nucleus, chromosomes, organelles, and so on. This symbiosis that led to new forms is called symbiogenesis. <ul><li>Capra (2007) in: Francis Pisani "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/69/25">An Interview with Fritjof Capra</a>" in: <i>International Journal of Communication</i> Vol 1 (2007).</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Tao_of_Physics_(1975)"><span id="The_Tao_of_Physics_.281975.29"></span><i>The Tao of Physics</i> (1975)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The Tao of Physics (1975)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dd>Fritjof Capra (1975) <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Physics" class="extiw" title="w:The Tao of Physics">The Tao of Physics</a></i>. Shambhala Publications.</dd></dl> <ul><li>The influence of modern physics goes beyond technology. It extends to the realm of thought and culture where it has led to a deep revision in man's conception of the universe and his relation to it. <ul><li>Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 17.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>If physics leads us today to a <a href="/wiki/World_view" title="World view">world view</a> which is essentially mystical, it returns, in a way, to its beginning, 2,500 years ago. [...] This time, however, it is not only based on intuition, but also on experiments of great precision and sophistication, and on a rigorous and consistent mathematical formalism. <ul><li>Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 19.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>A page from a journal of modern experimental physics will be as mysterious to the uninitiated as a Tibetan mandala. Both are records of enquiries into the nature of the universe. <ul><li>Ch. 2, Knowing and Seeing, p. 36.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Both the physicist and the mystic want to communicate their knowledge, and when they do so with words their statements are paradoxical and full of logical contradictions. <ul><li>Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 46.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Whenever the essential nature of things is analysed by the intellect, it must seem absurd or paradoxical. This has always been recognized by the mystics, but has become a problem in science only very recently. <ul><li>Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 50.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The mathematical framework of quantum theory has passed countless successful tests and is now universally accepted as a consistent and accurate description of all atomic phenomena. The verbal interpretation, on the other hand – i.e., the metaphysics of quantum theory – is on far less solid ground. In fact, in more than forty years physicists have not been able to provide a clear metaphysical model. <ul><li>Ch. 10, The Unity of All Things, p. 132.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction. The dance of Shiva is the dancing universe, the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another. For the modern physicists, then Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomenon. Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our times, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance. <ul><li>p. 244.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that <i>Brahman</i>, the ultimate reality without, is identical to <i>Atman</i>, the reality within. <ul><li>Epilogue, p. 305.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Mystics understand the roots of the <i>Tao</i> but not its branches; scientists understand its branches but not its roots. Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science; but man needs both. <ul><li>Epilogue, p. 306.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>We shall see how the two foundations of twentieth-century physics - quantum theory and relativity - both force us to see the world very much in the way a Hindu, Buddhist or Taoist sees it ..</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Turning_Point_(1982)"><span id="The_Turning_Point_.281982.29"></span><i>The Turning Point</i> (1982)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The Turning Point (1982)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dd>Fritjof Capra (1982) <i>The Turning Point</i> (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.wplus.net/pp/Julia/Capra/CONTENTS.htm">online</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li>My main professional interest during the 1970s has been in the dramatic change of concepts and ideas that has occurred in physics during the first three decades of the century, and that is still being elaborated in our current theories of matter. The new concepts in physics have brought about a profound change in our world view; from the mechanistic conception of Descartes and Newton to a holistic and ecological view, a view which I have found to be similar to the views of mystics of all ages and traditions. <ul><li>Preface.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>What we need, then, is a new 'paradigm' – a new vision of reality; a fundamental change in our thoughts, perceptions, and values. The beginnings of this change, of the shift from the mechanistic to the holistic conception of reality, are already visible in all fields and are likely to dominate the present decade. The various manifestations and implications of this '<a href="/wiki/Paradigm_shift" title="Paradigm shift">paradigm shift</a>' are the subject of this book. The sixties and seventies have generated a whole series of social movements that all seem to go in the same direction, emphasizing different aspects of the new vision of reality. So far, most of these movements still operate separately and have not yet recognized how their intentions interrelate. The purpose of this book is to provide a coherent <a href="/wiki/Conceptual_framework" class="mw-redirect" title="Conceptual framework">conceptual framework</a> that will help them recognize the communality of their aims. Once this happens, we can expect the various movements to flow together and form a powerful force for social change. The gravity and global extent of our current crisis indicate that this change is likely to result in a transformation of unprecedented dimensions, a turning point for the planet as a whole. <ul><li>Preface.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>At the beginning of the last two decades of our century, we find ourselves in a state of profound, world-wide crisis. It is a complex, multi-dimensional crisis whose facets touch every aspect of our lives – our health and livelihood, the quality of our environment and our social relationships, our economy, technology, and politics. It is a crisis of intellectual, moral, and spiritual dimensions; a crisis of a scale and urgency unprecedented in recorded human history. For the first time we have to face the very real threat of extinction of the human race and of all life on this planet. <ul><li>Ch. 1. The Turning of the Tide.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In biology the Cartesian view of living organisms as machines, constructed from separate parts, still provides the dominant <a href="/wiki/Conceptual_framework" class="mw-redirect" title="Conceptual framework">conceptual framework</a>. Although Descartes' simple mechanistic biology could not be carried very far and had to be modified considerably during the subsequent three hundred years, the belief that all aspects of living organisms can be understood by reducing them to their smallest constituents, and by studying the mechanisms through which these interact, lies at the very basis of most contemporary biological thinking. This passage from a current textbook on modern biology is a clear expression of the reductionist credo: 'One of the acid tests of understanding an object is the ability to put it together from its component parts. Ultimately, molecular biologists will attempt to subject their understanding of cell structure and function to this sort of test by trying to synthesize a cell. <ul><li>Ch. 4. The Mechanistic View of Life.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>As Eastern thought has begun to interest a significant number of people, and meditation is no longer viewed with ridicule or suspicion, mysticism is being taken seriously even within the scientific community An increasing number of scientists are aware that mystical thought provides a consistent and <a href="/wiki/Relevant" class="mw-redirect" title="Relevant">relevant</a> philosophical back ground to the theories of Contemporary science, a conception of the world in which the scientific discoveries of men and women can be in perfect harmony with their SpirItual aims and religious beliefs. <ul><li>p. 78.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>At the subatomic level, matter does not exist with certainty at definite places, but rather shows "tendencies to exist," and atomic events do not occur with certainty at definite times and in definite ways, but rather show "tendencies to occur." <ul><li>p. 82.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>While the new physics was developing in the 20th century, the mechanistic Cartesian <a href="/wiki/World_view" title="World view">world view</a> and the principles of Newtonian physics maintained their strong influence on Western scientific thinking, and even today many scientists still hold to the mechanistic paradigm, although physicists themselves have gone beyond it. <br />However, the new conception of the universe that has emerged from modern physics does not mean that Newtonian physics is wrong, or that quantum theory, or relativity theory, is right. Modern science has come to realize that all scientific theories are approximations to the true nature of reality; and that each theory is valid for a certain range of phenomena. <ul><li>p. 93.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Uncommon_Wisdom_(1988)"><span id="Uncommon_Wisdom_.281988.29"></span><i>Uncommon Wisdom</i> (1988)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Uncommon Wisdom (1988)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>The term "paradigm," from the Greek paradeigma ("pattern"), was used by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Samuel_Kuhn" class="mw-redirect" title="Thomas Samuel Kuhn">Kuhn</a> to denote a <a href="/wiki/Conceptual_framework" class="mw-redirect" title="Conceptual framework">conceptual framework</a> shared by a community of scientists and providing them with model problems and solutions <ul><li>p. 22.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>[Capra for instance, uses the term "Paradigm" to mean] the totality of thoughts, perceptions, and values that form a particular vision of reality, a vision that is the basis of the way a society organizes itself <ul><li>p. 22 as cited in: Patrick Fitzgerald et al. (1995) <i>Managing sustainable development in South Africa</i>. p. 302.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In 1929, Heisenberg spent some time in India as the guest of the celebrated Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, with whom he had long conversations about science and Indian philosophy. This introduction to Indian thought brought Heisenberg great comfort, he told me. He began to see that the recognition of relativity, interconnectedness, and impermanence as fundamental aspects of physical reality, which had been so difficult for himself and his fellow physicists, was the very basis of the Indian spiritual traditions. “After these conversations with Tagore,” he said, “some of the ideas that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense. That was a great help for me.” <ul><li>Fritjof Capra, Uncommon Wisdom, 1988, p.43.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Web_of_Life_(1996)"><span id="The_Web_of_Life_.281996.29"></span><i>The Web of Life</i> (1996)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: The Web of Life (1996)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dd>Fritjof Capra, <i>The Web of Life</i> (1996)</dd></dl> <ul><li>The more we study the major problems of our time, the more we come to realise that they cannot be understood in isolation. They are systemic problems, which means that they are interconnected and interdependent. <ul><li>p. 3; As cited in: <a href="/wiki/Michael_C._Jackson" title="Michael C. Jackson">Michael C. Jackson</a> (2000) <i>Systems Approaches to Management</i>. p. 5.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The ideas set forth by organismic biologists during the first half of the twentieth century helped to give birth to a new way of thinking — "<a href="/wiki/Systems_thinking" title="Systems thinking">systems thinking</a>" — in terms of connectedness, relationships, context. According to the systems view, the essential properties of an organism, or living system, are properties of the whole, which none of the parts have. They arise from the interactions and relationships among the parts. These properties are destroyed when the system is dissected, either physically or theoretically, into isolated elements. Although we can discern individual parts in any system, these parts are not isolated, and the nature of the whole is always different from the mere sum of its parts. The systems view of life is illustrated beautifully and abundantly in the writings of Paul Weiss, who brought systems concepts to the life sciences from his earlier studies of engineering and spent his whole life exploring and advocating a full organismic conception of biology. <ul><li>p. 29.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The realization that systems are integrated wholes that cannot be understood by analysis was even more shocking in <a href="/wiki/Physics" title="Physics">physics</a> than in <a href="/wiki/Biology" title="Biology">biology</a>. Ever since Newton, physicists had believed that all physical phenomena could be reduced to the properties of hard and solid material particles. In the 1920s, however, quantum theory forced them to accept the fact that the solid material objects of classical physics dissolve at the subatomic level into wavelike patterns of probabilities. These patterns, moreover, do not represent probabilities of things, but rather probabilities of interconnections. The subatomic particles have no meaning as isolated entities but can be understood only as interconnections, or correlations, among various processes of observation and measurement. In other words, subatomic particles are not “things” but interconnections among things, and these, in turn, are interconnections among other things, and so on. In quantum theory we never end up with any “things”; we always deal with interconnections. <ul><li>p. 30.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In the Germany of the 1920s, the Weimar Republic, both organismic biology and <a href="/wiki/Gestalt_psychology" title="Gestalt psychology">Gestalt psychology</a> were part of a larger intellectual trend that saw itself as a protest movement against the increasing fragmentation and alienation of human nature. The entire Weimar culture was characterized by an antimechanistic outlook, a "hunger for wholeness". Organismic biology, Gestalt psychology, ecology, and, later on, general systems theory all grew out of this holistic zeitgeist. <ul><li>p. 32.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Tektology was the first attempt in the history of science to arrive at a systematic formulation of the <a href="/wiki/Principles_of_organization" title="Principles of organization">principles of organization</a> operating in living and nonliving systems. <ul><li>p. 43-44.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Before the 1940s the terms "system" and "<a href="/wiki/Systems_thinking" title="Systems thinking">systems thinking</a>" had been used by several scientists, but it was Bertalanffy's concepts of an open system and a general systems theory that established systems thinking as a major scientific movement <ul><li>p. 46.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>With the subsequent strong support from <a href="/wiki/Cybernetics" title="Cybernetics">cybernetics</a>, the concepts of <a href="/wiki/Systems_thinking" title="Systems thinking">systems thinking</a> and systems theory became integral parts of the established scientific language, and led to numerous new methodologies and applications - systems engineering, systems analysis, systems dynamics, and so on. <ul><li>p. 46.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a> doctrine of impermanence includes the notion that there is no self... It holds that the idea of a separate, individual self is an illusion, just another form of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_(illusion)" class="extiw" title="w:Maya (illusion)">maya</a></i>, an intellectual concept that has no reality. To cling to this idea of a separate self leads to the same pain and suffering (<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha" class="extiw" title="w:Dukkha">duhkha</a></i>) as the adherence to any other fixed category of thought. <ul><li>Ch.12 Knowing that We Know (p.295)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>There is no self-awareness in ecosystems, no language, no consciousness, and no culture; and therefore no justice and democracy; but also no greed or dishonesty. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.298)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Understanding ecological interdependence means understanding relationships. It requires the shifts of perception that are characteristic of systems thinking—from the parts to the whole, from objects to relationships, from contents to patterns. ...Nourishing the community means nourishing those relationships. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.298)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>A major clash between economics and ecology derives from the fact that nature is cyclical, whereas our industrial systems are linear. Our businesses take resources, transform them into products plus waste, and sell the products to consumers, who discard more waste... <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.299)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The so-called free market does not provide consumers with proper information, because the social and environmental costs of production are not part of the current <a href="/wiki/Economic_models" class="mw-redirect" title="Economic models">economic models</a>. ...an ecological tax reform would be strictly revenue neutral, shifting the tax burden from income taxes to "eco-taxes." …the taxes would be added to existing products, forms of energy, services, and materials, so that prices would better reflect true costs. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.300)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Partnership—the tendency to associate, establish links, live inside one another, and cooperate—is one of the hallmarks of life. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.300)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Economics emphasizes competition, expansion, and domination; ecology emphasizes cooperation, conservation, and partnership. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.301)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Lack of flexibility manifests itself as stress. ...stress will occur when one or more variables of the system are pushed to their extreme values, which induces increased rigidity throughout the system. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.302)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The principle of flexibility... suggests a corresponding strategy of conflict resolution. ...the community will need stability <i>and</i> change, order <i>and</i> freedom, tradition <i>and</i> innovation. ...these unavoidable conflicts are much better resolved by establishing a dynamic balance. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.303)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>A diverse community is a resilient community, capable of adapting to changing situations. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.303)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>These, then, are some of the basic principles of ecology—interdependence, recycling, partnership, flexibiility, diversity, and, as a consequence of all those, <a href="/wiki/Sustainability" title="Sustainability">sustainability</a> ...the survival of humanity will depend on our ecological literacy, on our ability to understand these principles of ecology and live accordingly. <ul><li>Epilogue: Ecological Literacy (p.304)</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Hidden_Connections_(2002)"><span id="The_Hidden_Connections_.282002.29"></span><i>The Hidden Connections</i> (2002)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: The Hidden Connections (2002)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dd>Fritjof Capra (2002) <i>The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living</i>. Anchor. (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385494724&view=excerpt">Excerpt</a>).</dd></dl> <ul><li>One of the key insights of the systems approach has been the realization that the network is a pattern that is common to all life. Wherever we see life, we see networks. <ul><li>p. 8.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Organizations need to undergo fundamental changes, both in order to adapt to the new business environment and to become ecologically sustainable. <ul><li>p. 86 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://beahrselp.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Capra-Hidden-Connections-Ch-4.pdf">Ch. 4 Life and Leadership in Organizations</a>.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes_about_Fritjof_Capra">Quotes about Fritjof Capra</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Quotes about Fritjof Capra"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Peter_Senge" title="Peter Senge">Peter Senge</a> (1990), Fritjof Capra (1996), <a href="/wiki/Peter_Checkland" title="Peter Checkland">Peter Checkland</a> (1999), and other researchers have transferred systems thinking principles and theories into practice by applying them to real-world organizational-wide issues, thus encouraging the creation and development of <a href="/wiki/Learning_organizations" class="mw-redirect" title="Learning organizations">learning organizations</a>. <ul><li>Cyndy Jones (2006) "Is your information at risk?" <i>The review of business information systems</i>, Vol 10 (2), p. 7.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="noprint" style="clear: right; border: solid #aaa 1px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 90%; background: #f9f9f9; width: 250px; padding: 4px; spacing: 0px; text-align: left; float: right;"> <div style="float: left;"><figure class="mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wikipedia"><img alt="Wikipedia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/50px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="46" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/75px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/100px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="103" data-file-height="94" /></a><figcaption>Wikipedia</figcaption></figure></div> <div style="margin-left: 60px;"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> has an article about: <div style="margin-left: 10px;"><i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritjof_Capra" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Fritjof Capra">Fritjof Capra</a></b></i></div> </div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fritjofcapra.net">Capra's homepage</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/">Center for Ecoliteracy</a> Homepage</li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&oldid=3490275">https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&oldid=3490275</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1939_births" title="Category:1939 births">1939 births</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people">Living people</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Monists" title="Category:Monists">Monists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Physicists_from_Austria" title="Category:Physicists from Austria">Physicists from Austria</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Physicists_from_the_United_States" title="Category:Physicists from the United States">Physicists from the United States</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Taoists" title="Category:Taoists">Taoists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Systems_scientists" title="Category:Systems scientists">Systems scientists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:American_science_writers" title="Category:American science writers">American science writers</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Non-fiction_authors_from_the_United_States" title="Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States">Non-fiction authors from the United States</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:People_from_Vienna" title="Category:People from Vienna">People from Vienna</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:University_of_California,_Berkeley_faculty" title="Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty">University of California, Berkeley faculty</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 29 March 2024, at 17:45.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy Policy.</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:About">About Wikiquote</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikiquote.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Fritjof_Capra&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-99kdj","wgBackendResponseTime":196,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.027","walltime":"0.039","ppvisitednodes":{"value":85,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":937,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":100,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":5,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":0,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 4.093 1 -total","100.00% 4.093 1 Template:Wikipedia"," 48.37% 1.980 1 Template:Sisterproject"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-74dc4d995d-48xtj","timestamp":"20241102195051","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Fritjof Capra","url":"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Fritjof_Capra","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q84258","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q84258","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2005-08-02T15:32:05Z","dateModified":"2024-03-29T17:45:56Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/b\/bc\/Fritjof_Capra.jpeg","headline":"American physicist (1939-)"}</script> </body> </html>