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In his widely acclaimed best seller The Tao of Physics, Fritjof
Capra challenged much of conventional wisdom by demonstrating the striking parallels
between ancient mystical traditions and the discoveries of twentieth-century physics.
Now, in The Turning Point, the distinguished University of California, Berkeley,
physicist expands his focus. He shows how the revolution in modern physics foreshadows
an imminent revolution in all the sciences and a transformation of our world view
and values. "The major problems of our time are
all different facets of one and the same crisis, which is essentially a crisis
of perception," says Capra. "Like the crisis in physics in the 1920s,
it derives from the fact that we are trying to apply the concepts of an outdated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." In
a stunning critique of Cartesian thinking in biology, medicine, psychology and
economics, Capra explains how our reductionist approach to systemic problems has
brought us to a perilous impasse. But Capra sees a future
that works, and he presents new vision of reality involving fundamental changes
in our thoughts, perceptions and values. This new vision includes new concepts
of space, time and matter developed in sub-atomic physics; the emerging systems
view of life, mind, consciousness and evolution; the corresponding holistic approach
to health and healing; the integration of Western and Eastern approaches to psychology
and psychotherapy; a new conceptual framework for economics and technology; and
an ecological and feminist perspective. Quoting from
the ancient I Ching: "After a time of decay comes the turning point,"
Capra argues that the social movements of the 1960s and '70s represent a new rising
culture, which is destined to replace our rigid institutions and their obsolete
technologies. By outlining in detail for the first time a new vision of reality,
Capra hopes to provide the various movements with a common conceptual framework
that will allow them to flow together to form a powerful force for social change.
Fritjof Capra received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna
and has done research in high-energy physics at several European and American
universities. In addition to his many technical research papers, Dr. Capra has
written and lectured extensively about the philosophical implications of modern
science. He is the author of The Tao of Physics,
an international best seller that has sold a half a million copies and has been
translated into a dozen languages. |
