Fritjof Capra, scientist, educator, activist, and accomplished author, presents the evolution of his thought over five decades in Patterns of Connection. First introduced in the late 1950s to the work of Werner Heisenberg, a founder of quantum mechanics, Capra quickly intuited the connections between the discoveries of quantum physics and the traditions of Eastern philosophy--resulting in his first book, the bestselling The Tao of Physics. This synthesis, representative of the change from the mechanistic worldview of Descartes and (...) Newton to a systemic, ecological one, went on to inform Capra's thinking about the life sciences, ecology, and environmental policy. (shrink)

After a quarter of a century in print, Capra's groundbreaking work still challenges and inspires. This updated edition of The Tao of Physics includes a new preface and afterword in which the author reviews the developments of the twenty-five years since the book's first publication, discusses criticisms the book has received, and examines future possibilities for a new scientific world.

"We are trying to apply the concepts of an outdated world view--the mechanistic world view of Cartesian-Newtonian science--to a reality that can no longer be understood in terms of these concepts.

During the last two decades, a new understanding of life emerged at the forefront of science.The development of complexity theory, technically known as nonlinear dynamics, has allowed scientists and mathematicians to model the complexities of living systems in new ways that have yielded many important discoveries. In this article, the author reviews the basic concepts, current achievements and status of complexity theory from the perspective of the new understanding of biological life. Models and theories discussed include the theory of dissipative (...) structures for nonlinear chemical systems, the application of bifurcation theory to genetic networks and cell differentiation, the study of the origin of biological form, a new approach to the understanding of developmental stability in embryology, and a model of the ‘origin of life’ and prebiotic evolution in tiny, membrane-bounded vesicles in the primeval oceans. (shrink)

The global environmental crisis and resulting disasters today have threatened life in general, especially human life. According to Fritjof Capra, one feasible solution to this global environmental crisis is to build sustainable human communities based on what he calls ecological literacy. Ecological literacy itself stands for our ability to understand the principles of organization common to all living systems and is used as a guideline for creating sustainable human communities. Capra underlines the need to redesign our communities, (...) including our educational communities, business communities, political communities and all aspects of our daily life, so that the principles of ecology become principles of all our human communities. For Capra, the implementation of such a sustainable society is possible to achieve through the so-called eco-design, which is both scientifically and technically feasible. Nonetheless, the success of the major project to develop a sustainable eco-literate society does not simply depend on the individual awareness of eco-literacy. It also depends on the political will of the government to issue public policies—including legislation—to force all stakeholders to act in accordance with, and based on, ecoliteracy. Keywords: Ecological literacy, ecological principles, sustainable human community, eco-design, sautopoesis dissipative systems, natural capital. Abstrak: Krisis dan bencana lingkungan hidup global telah mengancam kehidupan pada umumnya, termasuk kehidupan manusia. Menurut Fritjof Capra, salah satu solusi untuk mengatasi krisis dan bencana lingkungan hidup global itu adalah dengan membangun masyarakat manusia yang berkelanjutan berdasarkan apa yang disebutnya sebagai melek ekologi, yaitu kemampuan kita untuk memahami prinsip-prinsip pengorganisasi yang berlaku pada semua sistem kehidupan dan menggunakannya sebagai pedoman dalam menciptakan masyarakat yang berkelanjutan. Capra sangat menekankan perlunya merancang ulang komunitas-komunitas kita, termasuk komunitas pendidikan, komunitas bisnis, komunitas politik, dan seluruh kehidupan kita sehari-hari, agar prinsip-prinsip ekologis tersebut diwujudkan sebagai prinsip dari komunitas-komunitas tersebut. Bagi Capra, implementasi dari masyarakat berkelanjutan seperti itu dapat dicapai melalui apa yang disebutnya sebagai rancang bangun ekologis (eco-design) yang secara ilmiah dan teknis sangat layak diterapkan. Hanya saja, keberhasilan proyek besar membangun masyarakat berkelanjutan berdasarkan melek ekologi ini tidak hanya bergantung pada kesadaran moral individu akan melek ekologi di atas. Keberhasilan proyek besar itu juga sangat bergantung pada kemauan politik pemerintah untuk mengeluarkan kebijakan publik—termasuk undang-undang—guna memaksa semua pemangku kepentingan untuk bertindak sesuai dengan dan berdasarkan kesadaran ekologis tadi. Kata-kata Kunci: Melek ekologi, prinsip-prinsip ekologi, masyarakat berkelanjutan, rancang bangun ekologis, sistem autopoesis disipatif, modal alam. (shrink)

(2009). A Review of “The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance by Fritjof Capra”. World Futures: Vol. 65, No. 3, pp. 222-223.

Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics, one of several popularizations paralleling Eastern mysticism and modern physics, is critiqued, demonstrating that Capra gives little attention to the differing philosophies of physics he employs, utilizing whatever interpretation suits his purposes, without prior justification. The same critique is applied and similar conclusions drawn, about some recent attempts at relating theology and physics. In contrast, we propose the possibility of maintaining a cogent relationship between these disciplines by employing theological hypotheses to (...) account for aspects of physics that are free from interpretive difficulties, such as the ability to create mathematical structures with extraordinary predictive success. (shrink)

The paper offers a critical appreciation of sand in the Japanese tradition of karesansui 枯山水gardens. At first, sand is approached from a phenomenological standpoint, then described in relation to the Daoist ideals of “blandness” (dan 淡) and its original function in Shinto shrines. The following sections draw an East-West comparison between the sand garden at Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 and the sand sculptures by the Basque artist Andoni Bastarrika, and between the sand garden at Shisen-dō 詩仙堂 and the Renaissance garden at Villa (...) di Castello. The main purpose is to illustrate the philosophical significance of sand in respect to the aesthetic expression of such Buddhist-influenced notions as ku 空 (“emptiness”), yuge 遊戲(“play”), kire-tsuzuki 切れ続き(“cut-continuance” or “dis/continuity”) and the dialectic of conventional and ultimate reality. (shrink)

David Bohm's thinking has become widely publicized since the 1982 performance of a form of the Einstein‐Podolsky‐ Rosen (EPR) experiment. Bohm's holomovement theory, in particular, tries to explain the nonlocality that the experiment supports. Moreover, his theories are close to his metaphysical and religious thinking. Fritjof Capra's writings try something similar: supporting a theory (the bootstrap theory) because it is close to his religious beliefs. Both Bohm and Capra appear to use their religious ideas in their physics. (...) Religion, their source for physical hypotheses, provides the motivation to develop and uphold them. (shrink)

I consider the metaphysics of farts. I contrast the essential-bum-origin view with a phenomenological view, and I argue in favour of the latter.

Novel regulatory elements that enabled expression of pre‐existing immune genes in reproductive tissues and novel immune genes with pregnancy‐specific roles in eutherians have shaped the evolution of mammalian pregnancy by facilitating the emergence of novel mechanisms for immune regulation over its course. Trade‐offs arising from conflicting fitness effects on reproduction and host defenses have further influenced the patterns of genetic variation of these genes. These three mechanisms (novel regulatory elements, novel immune genes, and trade‐offs) played a pivotal role in refining (...) the regulation of maternal immune systems during pregnancy in eutherians, likely facilitating the establishment of prolonged direct maternal–fetal contact in eutherians without causing immunological rejection of the genetically distinct fetus. (shrink)

The article explores similarities between the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Aristippus, focusing in particular on play and eudaimonism. The main thesis is that both authors encourage the cultivation of a playful mindset, defined in the paper as the “ludic self”, which operates as a strategy for leading a flourishing life. By shaping a fluid, unstructured identity, the ludic self promotes negative subtraction from the structuring power of social nexus and proactive adaptation to shifting circumstances. Furthermore, some aspects of these philosophies (...) present an inter-disciplinary convergence with scientific findings from the psycho-biology of play, concerned with the mobilization of cathected energies and the prevention, or resolution, of addictive states. These promising connections with the fields of psychology and biology also represent an original contribution in respect to the existing debates within Zhuangzi studies, and scholarship on the Cyrenaics. From a methodological point of view, the article pursues what Rorty defines as a “rational reconstruction”, which involves a re-interpretation of past philosophies in light of present debates, ideas and vocabularies with the aim of engaging a trans-cultural, trans-historical dialogue. The value of this operation relies upon the universality of human experience, which always allows re-interpretation and re-actualization of past philosophies as a dialogical exercise of questioning otherness within a hermeneutic framework. (shrink)

Non una pacifica esplorazione ma un’avanscoperta bellicosa, in sardonica guerrilla con alcuni baluardi della tradizione filosofica occidentale: le leggi e il linguaggio della metafisica, la concezione stabile e unitaria dell'identità personale, il modello tragico della volontà, il pregiudizio antropocentrico e l’asservimento della natura al dominio della tecnica. Senza la pretesa di comporre un discorso esaustivo o sistematico, Capra recupera soprattutto Nietzsche e il Wittgenstein delle Ricerche Logiche in una (auto)critica comparativa, per mostrare in quali modi il pensiero correlativo delle (...) filosofie orientali possa integrare e talvolta superare le impasse del pensiero antitetico. (shrink)

Since the wide corpus of Chan 禪 literature includes a significant number and a consistent variety of ironic features such as puns, wordplay, extravagant acts, and so forth, a clarification of the role and functions of irony is especially relevant to this framework. The idea of the present essay is that irony works in Chan Buddhism as a functional strategy purposely employed in textual compositions and oral communication. Analysing the Blue Cliff Record, one of the most influential and significant texts (...) in the history of East Asian Buddhism, I individuated three functions of irony that clarify its role in the wider context of Chan rhetoric. Specifically, these functions consist in performing a rhetoric of self-desecration, inducing amusement, and instilling doubt. Upon defining the notion of irony, the current essay expounds on these functions with reference to the text, then the role of irony in the Blue Cliff Record is finally identified as a hermeneutic device. (shrink)

Abstract:This essay establishes a cross-cultural comparison between Kierkegaard's ironist and the figure of the Chan master, with specific reference to Kierkegaard's dissertation The Concept of Irony and the renowned gongan collection Blue Cliff Record (Biyan lu 碧巖錄). The main thesis is that the comparison makes explicit significant aspects of Chan orthopraxis, since Chan masters, as presented in the Blue Cliff Record, exemplify Kierkegaard's portrayal of the ironist. In particular, these aspects pertain to the progressive detachment from the discriminating action of (...) karmic consciousness and self-centered thinking, toward the cultivation of a selfless stance. The first section focuses on Kierkegaard's ironist. The following sections analyze relevant gongan narratives from the Blue Cliff Record with the purpose of expounding on the relation between performative irony and the discriminating mind, playfulness, and selflessness. The final section considers the major incommensurable differences that mark the present cross-cultural dialogue. (shrink)

Durant les années 1970 en Amérique latine, le « courant critique » est très actif dans la reformulation des méthodologies, des objets d'études et des objectifs de la recherche en communication. Dans ce contexte, il élabore le modèle de communication participative en rupture avec le diffusionnisme en prenant comme point de départ la théorie de la dépendance et du colonialisme interne. Ce modèle questionne les relations verticales dans une société donnée. En partant du cas de la radiodiffusion en Bolivie , (...) est-il possible de comprendre les pratiques communicationnelles populaires? Quels sont les conditions et les contextes qui favorisent leur émergence et jusqu'à quel point parviennent-elles à leurs objectifs de démocratisation?.During the 1970s in Latin America, the "critical current" is very active in the reformulation of the methodologies, objects of study and research objectives in communication. In this context, it develops the model of participatory communication break with diffusionism taking as starting point the theory of internal colonialism and dependency. This model asks vertical relationships in a given society. Starting from the case of broadcasting in Bolivia , is it possible to understand the communicative practices popular? What are the conditions and contexts in which they emerge and to what extent they succeed in their goals of democratization? (shrink)

Western philosophy has mainly developed in accordance with the three laws of identity, noncontradiction and excluded middle, also known as “laws of thought”. Since Zen Buddhism often violates these apparently indisputable logical principles, a superficial reading may induce the idea that Zen Buddhism is a completely irrational, illogical doctrine. In this essay, I argue that Zen Buddhism is not absurd or illogical. Conversely, it relies on a different logic, which is perfectly consonant with the Buddhist view of the world.

The present paper identifies creativity as a crucial component in the pedagogical process envisaged by Chan masters in the Song era. In particular, the paper considers ritual dialogues between masters and students involving questions and answers taken from the renowned collection known as the Blue Cliff Record. The first section is concerned with the definition of creativity and its role within the contextual framework of Chan pedagogy in the Song era. The second section analyses some significant ritual dialogues included in (...) the Blue Cliff Record with the aim of exploring a variety of different creative expressions in the considered Chan narratives. The third and last section illustrates how the ritualized performance of dialogical encounters, and by extension the use of gongan literature, entails and promotes the recourse to creativity as a functional strategy in Chan practice. (shrink)

The pedagogy of Chan Buddhism relies on a binary trend: on the one hand, it requires careful study and active participation in formalized rituals and ceremonies; on the other hand, it requires the simultaneous emancipation from such means and practices, since the transmission of the truth has the character of suddenness and immediacy. In other words, the subversion of standard doctrinal interpretations and ordinary pedagogical strategies is itself an essential part of Chan training. This chapter analyzes the fourth Case of (...) the Blue Cliff Record, which exemplifies in a bright fashion the self-negating dialectics of Chan pedagogy. First, the analysis focuses on the narrated event; second, it moves at the level of meta-narrative, focusing on glosses and commentary. The purpose is to show that the subversive hermeneutics of Chan take place at both levels, narrative and meta-narrative, demanding (and favoring) a proactive and critical progression toward understanding. (shrink)

This paper revisits Plato’s and Aristotle’s views on mimesis with a special emphasis on mythos as an integral part of it. I argue that the Republic ’s notorious “mirror argument” is in fact ad hominem : first, Plato likely has in mind Agathon’s mirror in Aristophanes’ Thesmoforiazusae, where tragedy is construed as mimesis ; second, the tongue-in-cheek claim that mirrors can reproduce invisible Hades, when read in combination with the following eschatological myth, suggests that Plato was not committed to a (...) mirror-like view of art; third, the very omission of mythos shows that the argument is a self-consciously one-sided one, designed to caricature the artists’ own pretensions of mirror-like realism. These points reinforce Stephen Halliwell’s claim that Western aesthetics has been haunted by a «ghostly misapprehension» of Plato’s mirror. Further evidence comes from Aristotle’s “literary” discussion: rather than to the “mirror argument”, the beginning of the Poetics points to the Phaedo as the best source of information about Plato’s views on poetry. (shrink)

This essay discusses Sloterdijk’s anthropotechnical framework as it relates to recent contributions that deal with the inherent opacities of digital technology and processes of blackboxing. I argue that Sloterdijk’s philosophy is a precious case of affirmative, non-nihilistic technophilic thinking that espouses the technogenic provenance of mankind, and leaves space for technologically engendered incomprehensibility while tracing a horizon for human beings’ resoluteness. In the first section of my essay I tackle Sloterdijk’s reflections on the philosophical transition from wonder to horror in (...) the twentieth century, and I put it in dialogue with his concept of the monstrous as defined by boundlessness, complexity, and excess. Here, I discuss how the human being shows both monster-slayer and monstrous tendencies. Secondly, after having revisited the question “what happened in the twentieth century” from this perspective, I discuss how Sloterdijk’s analysis of the monstrous provides a coherent genealogy for an assessment of the individual’s relation to current “monstrous” technologies, as they are tied to algorithmic processing. I conclude by arguing that Sloterdijk’s anthropotechnics and onto-anthropology allow for an acrobatic confrontation with the possibility of untethering technological advancement from illusory promises of absolute clarity, and promote the immunological value of darkness. (shrink)

The present study consists of a cross-cultural analysis of the role of irony in the Blue Cliff Record. The analysis is structured in four chapters, one devoted to methodological concerns and three to equivalent types and functions of irony within the text, a pivotal literary work of the Chan Buddhist tradition. In relation to Chan studies, a discussion of irony is particularly important since the wide corpus of Chan literature includes a significant number and a consistent variety of ironic features (...) such as puns, wordplay, extravagant acts, and so forth. The idea of the present paper is that the ironic temperament of Chan is not a contingent circumstance, but a functional strategy purposely employed in textual compositions and oral communication with soteriological purposes. (shrink)