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Summary: ...or how the essence of man is immutable
Review: Man has two components: his essence and his social/cultural context. What the author tries to convey is, no matter the surroundings, the nature of his thoughts are always the same. It is unescapable. Simply put, regardless of when and where, his substance remains unchanged.
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Summary: slightly dated but interesting
Review: This is a good book, could use some more chapters on very cutting edge material on the year 2000 discoveries or rather expansions of science.
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Summary: A Very good book
Review: I learned A LOT from this book. Very readable.
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Summary: This book is a classic
Review: From the back cover: "A brilliant best-seller... Lucidly analyzes the tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism to show their striking parallels with the latest discoveries in cyclotrons."
--New York magazine "Fritjof Capra, in The Tao of Physics, seeks...an integration of the mathematical world view of modern physics and the mystical visions of Buddha and Krishna. Where others have failed miserably in trying to unite these seemingly different world views, Capra, a high-energy theorist, has succeeded admirably...I strongly recommend the book to both layman and scientist."
--V.N. Mansfield, Physics Today Truly a worthwhile book. The man who wrote the Foreword to my own book, THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS, John Cantwell Kiley, M.D., Ph.D., attempted a similar feat in his doctoral dissertation to that attempted here by Capra--to compare the worlds of high energy physics and that of Eastern mysticism. His effort did not have the popular circulation of Capra's book, of course, and was far more abstruse, though no less insightful, perhaps. Kiley's dissertation was made into a hard-cover book (no longer available), EINSTEIN AND AQUINAS: A RAPPROCHEMENT, and is an attempt to compare Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist, with Saint Thomas Aquinas, although they would seem to have little in common. Kiley studied at Princeton when Einstein was there, and so had a close up view of him, and he knew Aquinas from his studies of the Saint. He found the rapprochement he sought in their respective epistemologies. Capra's book is much easier for the layman to grasp, and is a delight to read. I recommend this book highly. It brings together the world of the spirit and the world of science very effectively.
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Summary: Mysticisim de-mystified
Review: Neither was I a fan of physics, nor had I any inclination towards learning physics. This book changed my understanding as wells as my perspective of physics.After reading this book, Quantum physics and Relativity theory are beginning to make more sense than earlier. This book is not a "quick" read, instead it demands of the reader a good thought process which makes reading all the more lucrative. While there are a few misplaced facts, the book as a whole is an eye-opener for those who ponder the relation between philosophy, science and religion.
One of the best books I have read in a long long time.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a classic
Review: From the back cover: "A brilliant best-seller... Lucidly analyzes the tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism to show their striking parallels with the latest discoveries in cyclotrons."
--New York magazine "Fritjof Capra, in The Tao of Physics, seeks...an integration of the mathematical world view of modern physics and the mystical visions of Buddha and Krishna. Where others have failed miserably in trying to unite these seemingly different world views, Capra, a high-energy theorist, has succeeded admirably...I strongly recommend the book to both layman and scientist."
--V.N. Mansfield, Physics Today Truly a worthwhile book. The man who wrote the Foreword to my own book, THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS, John Cantwell Kiley, M.D., Ph.D., attempted a similar feat in his doctoral dissertation, which did not have the popular circulation of Capra's book, of course, and was far more abstruse. Kiley's book, EINSTEIN AND AQUINAS: A RAPPROCHEMENT, is an attempt to compare Albert Einstein, the theoretical physicist, with Saint Thomas Aquinas, although they would seem to have little in common. Kiley studied at Princeton when Einstein was there, and so had a close up view of him, and he knew Aquinas from his studies of the Saint. He found the rapprochement he sought in their respective epistemologies. Kiley says he is seeking to bring his book back into print, but it is a harder read than Capra's. I recommend Capra's book. Joseph Pierre,
author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS
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Summary: Dated, but still Groundbreaking
Review: Granted, the 'Bootstrap' theory is passe, so critics often allege so is the thesis of the book. Yet, it seems to me, many parallels have strengthened in the intervening years, such as the notion of bidirectional time, and the multiverse solution to EPR. It seems to me, the common denominator of mysticism is access to an orthogonal dimension of 'time' from the point of view of which, our linear time is 'stationary'. At any rate, it seems to me that prof. Victor Mansfield's 'Science Synchronicity and Soul Making' is the best update to Capra's thesis. Also 'Quantum Questions' is a good sourcebook complement, as another reviewer mentioned, though Wilber seems to have some professional jealousy towards Capra. Schrodinger's own 'My View of the World' is also important. Even though Schrodinger himself dismisses the attempts to 'prove' mysticism via physics, it is clear his mystical view of the world finds noo contradiction in his view of physics.
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Summary: Overrated.
Review: The subject matter is fine, but _The Tao of Physics_ is dull, repetitive, and superficial. Many of the physicists who developed quantum mechanics had their own highly developed views on metaphysics; it's ironic that so few readers are aware of their writings and that a lightweight book like Capra's is so popular. Read _Quantum Questions_, edited by Ken Wilber, and you'll understand why _The Tao of Physics_ is a weak book.
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Summary: RELATIVISTIC METAPHYSICS !
Review: Despite the fact that this book was written more than a decade ago..it still continues to be the the most sought after book for anyone who in intrested in the intrincically interwoven relationship between Modern Science and Mysticism. This is primarily so because over the ages ,as science advanced bringing forth the most sophisticated tools to observe and explore the physical world,mankind not only became aware of the complexity of the physical world but also of the limitations of the scientific method itself as one approaches some of the deep and fundamental questions of our very existence!This is so because we observe the universe through the eyes of what is known..which eventually leads us to the realm of the unknown!Here the scientest stands baffled at the marvel of creation...and it is this feeling of awe and wonder(as Einstein put it)that eventually leads to deep contemplation of metaphysical reality...which can only be perceived at the experiential level.No wonder the Nobel Prize winning Physicist John Wheeler coined the term"The Participatory Universe"!This forms the very foundation of Dr.Capra's work! Delving deep into the latest advances of modern Physics and ancient Eastern scriptures/Mysticism Dr.Capra brings forth startling parallels between the revelations of the Sage rooted in the Realization of the underlying reality of our physical universe and the the Scientest's rationalisation of the obsevable universe!This is the point where Physics gets metamorphosised into Metaphysics..."What the Scientest experiments outside...the Sage experiences within....Both encounter the same reality criscrossed"! Religions of the east were rooted more in Spirituality...and precisely because of this reason the Sages of the yore realised the Universe within as well!They saw the Universe as a Whole.. in it's entiriety!..Modern Physics now talks of the "Systems world view,Chaos theory,Bootstrap theory"..and a whole lot of so called new theories which are nothing but the limited verbal expressions of the Vision of reality experienced by the Sages!This is clearly reflected in a beautiful Vedic hymn chanted honouring one's master..one's Spiritual Perceptor(Guru): "The vision of the truth an indivisible whole encompassing the static and the dynamic living and the nonliving... to that master my Salutations"! The Tao(way)of Physics this vision of Life as seen from the Scientific perspective!
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Summary: Fusing eastern thought with science
Review: Capra takes a step backwards to get everything into the picture and shows how a selection of eastern schools of thought and modern physics think so much alike. He manages this without shoving religious dogma down your throat or losing you in mathematics. As a physicist, I was sceptical about this book as often modern physics has been taken completely out of its context and misinterpreted. Capra shows a thorough understanding of the quantum mechanical and relativistic principles illustrated in this book. For the non-physicist I would advise reading up some material on introductory relativity and quantum physics beforehand, just as I felt disadvantaged not having a good background in eastern philosophy. This book strengthens my belief that an understanding of the human situation comes not from a single spiritual or intellectual paradigm, but from a unification of the fruits of all human endeavours.
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