Fritjof Capra (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist,

systems theorist Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structu ...

and

deep ecologist Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. Deep ecolo ...

. In 1995, he became a founding director of the

Center for Ecoliteracy The Center for Ecoliteracy (CEL) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education for sustainable living. About Located in Berkeley, California, the Center for Ecoliteracy's stated mission is to support and advance education for sustainable liv ...

in Berkeley, California. He is on the faculty of

Schumacher College Schumacher College is a college near Totnes, Devon, England which offers ecology-centred degree programmes, short courses and horticultural programmes. The College is internationally renowned for its experiential approach to learning, encouragin ...

. Capra is the author of several books, including ''

The Tao of Physics ''The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism'' is a 1975 book by physicist Fritjof Capra. A bestseller in the United States, it has been translated into 23 languages. Capra summarized his mot ...

'' (1975), '' The Turning Point'' (1982), ''Uncommon Wisdom'' (1988), ''The Web of Life'' (1996), and ''

The Hidden Connections ''The Hidden Connections'' is a 2002 book by Fritjof Capra, in which the author proposes a holistic alternative to linear and reductionist world views. He aims to extend system dynamics and complexity theory to the social domain and presents "a ...

'' (2002), and co-author of ''The Systems View of Life'' (2014).

Life and work

Born in Vienna, Austria, Capra attended the University of Vienna, where he earned his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in theoretical physics in 1966. He conducted research in particle physics and systems theory at the University of Paris (1966–1968), the University of California, Santa Cruz (1968–1970), the

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S. Departme ...

(1970), Imperial College, London (1971–1974) and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1975–1988). While at Berkeley, he was a member of the Fundamental Fysiks Group, founded in May 1975 by

Elizabeth Rauscher Elizabeth A. Rauscher (1937-2019) was an American physicist and parapsychologist. She was born in Berkeley, California on March 18, 1937. She died on July 3, 2019 (aged 82). She was a former researcher with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laborat ...

and

George Weissmann George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, which met weekly to discuss

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

. Kaiser, David. ''How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture and the Quantum Revival''. W. W. Norton & Company, 2011, pp. xv–xvii, xxiii. He also taught at U.C. Santa Cruz,

U.C. Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, and San Francisco State University. He has written popular books on the implications of science, notably ''The Tao of Physics'', subtitled ''An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism''. ''The Tao of Physics'' asserts that both physics and metaphysics lead inexorably to the same knowledge. After touring Germany in the early 1980s, Capra co-wrote ''Green Politics'' with author Charlene Spretnak in 1984. He is fluent in German, English, French and Italian. Capra contributed to the screenplay for the 1990 movie '' Mindwalk'', starring

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

, Sam Waterston and John Heard. The film is loosely based on his book, ''The Turning Point''. In 1991 Capra co-authored ''

Belonging to the Universe Belonging may refer to: * Belongingness, the need to belong * ''Belonging'' (TV series), a Welsh television drama series * "Belonging" (''Angel''), a 2001 episode of the television series ''Angel'' * "Belonging" (''Dollhouse''), a 2009 episode ...

'' with David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk. Using Thomas Kuhn's '' The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' as a stepping stone, the book explores parallels between

new paradigm New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

thinking in science and in religion; the authors posit that, together, these new paradigms offer remarkably compatible views about the universe. Capra advocates that Western culture abandon conventional linear thought and the

mechanistic The mechanical philosophy is a form of natural philosophy which compares the universe to a large-scale mechanism (i.e. a machine). The mechanical philosophy is associated with the scientific revolution of early modern Europe. One of the first expos ...

views of Descartes. Critiquing the reductionistic Cartesian view that everything can be studied in parts to understand the whole, he encourages a holistic approach. In ''The Web of Life'', Capra focuses on systemic information generated by the ''relationships'' among all parts as a significant additional factor in understanding the character of the whole, emphasizing the web-like structure of all systems and the interconnectedness of all parts. He is a founding director of the

located in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, California, which promotes ecology and

systems thinking Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective actio ...

in primary and secondary education. Capra is an Earth Charter International Council member.

Bibliography

* '' The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism'' (1975), Capra's first book, challenges conventional wisdom by demonstrating striking parallels between Vedic and Oriental mystical traditions and the discoveries of 20th century physics. Originally published by a small publisher with no budget for promotion, the book became a bestseller by word of mouth until it was picked up by a major American publishing house. It has now been published in 43 editions in 23 languages. * '' The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture'' (1982) explains perceived scientific and economic crises. It begins by outlining and tracing the history of science and economics, highlighting the flaws in the

Cartesian Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to: Mathematics *Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory *Cartesian coordinate system, modern ...

, Newtonian, and

reductionist Reductionism is any of several related philosophical ideas regarding the associations between phenomena which can be described in terms of other simpler or more fundamental phenomena. It is also described as an intellectual and philosophical pos ...

paradigms. It explains how such viewpoints have grown inadequate for modern technology and ecology needs, then argues that science needs to develop the concepts and insights of holism and systems theory to solve society's complex problems. * ''Green Politics'' (1984), co-authored with Charlene Spretnak, analyzes the rise of the Green Party in Germany and similar ecology-oriented political parties in other European countries. It has been published in 7 editions in 4 languages. * ''Uncommon Wisdom'' (1988) describes dialogues and personal encounters between himself and the thinkers who helped to shape the theme of ''The Turning Point''. It has been published in 16 editions and 12 languages. * ''Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality'' (1993) was coauthored with David Steindl-Rast and Thomas Matus. The book explores parallels between ways of thinking in science and

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

. It has been published in 10 editions in 7 languages. * ''The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems'' (1996) starts from the conceptual framework presented in ''The Turning Point'', summarizes the mathematics of

complexity Complexity characterises the behaviour of a system or model whose components interaction, interact in multiple ways and follow local rules, leading to nonlinearity, randomness, collective dynamics, hierarchy, and emergence. The term is generall ...

, and offers a synthesis of recent nonlinear theories of living systems that have dramatically increased our understanding of the key characteristics of life. Capra makes extensive reference to the work of

Humberto Maturana Humberto Maturana Romesín (September 14, 1928 – May 6, 2021) was a Chilean biologist and philosopher. Many consider him a member of a group of second-order cybernetics theoreticians such as Heinz von Foerster, Gordon Pask, Herbert Brün a ...

, Francisco Varela,

Ilya Prigogine Viscount Ilya Romanovich Prigogine (; russian: Илья́ Рома́нович Приго́жин; 28 May 2003) was a physical chemist and Nobel laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility. Biogra ...

Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. His writings include '' Steps to an ...

and others in proposing a new, systems-based scientific approach for describing the interrelationships and interdependence of psychological, biological, physical, social, and cultural phenomena. The book has been published in 14 editions in 10 languages. * ''

'' (2002) extends the framework of systems and complexity theory to the social domain and uses the extended framework to discuss some of the critical issues of our time. * ''The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance'' (2007). Its central idea is that Leonardo da Vinci's science is a science of living forms, of quality, which can be seen as a distant forerunner of today's complexity and

systems A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...

theories. The book has been published in 7 editions in 5 languages. * ''Learning from Leonardo: Decoding the Notebooks of a Genius'' (2013), offers a glimpse into the works of the prescient thinker, Leonardo da Vinci, whose pioneering genius contributed to many scientific fields. * ''The Systems View of Life'' (2014), co-authored with

Pier Luigi Luisi Pier Luigi Luisi (born 23 May 1938) is an Italian chemist and academic. He received the "professor emeritus" title from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ). He worked there as a scientist from 1970 until 2003, and as a Professor o ...

, offers radical solutions to twenty-first century challenges by focusing on the connected world and examining life through its inextricably linked systems.

References

External links

Official websiteHome on the web
for the

Interview with Fritjof Capra by Francis Pisani
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capra, Fritjof 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists Austrian physicists Particle physicists Systems scientists Deep ecologists Ecophilosophers New Age writers Writers about religion and science American science writers American spiritual writers Leonardo da Vinci scholars Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area American Book Award winners Scientists from Vienna 1939 births Living people Philosophical cosmologists Quantum mysticism advocates

Life and work

Bibliography

See also

References

External links