Customer Reviews

The Tao of Physics

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This is one of the most wonderful books relating modern science to Eastern philosophical traditions. I have always combined an interest in physics as well as an interest in eastern philosophies, so it was natural that I get attracted to this book. I have read the second edition nearly 15 years ago, and can certify that this book delivers what it promises. Recently it has become a phenomenon to see âaeTao of â¦â or âaeZen of â¦â books that are really deficient in many respects: some books know little about the Eastern philosophies they claim to compare to, others know little about the Western science, and yet others fail to point to more than a flimsy relationship. It appears âaeTao of somethingâ has become a major marketing scheme and not much more.

âaeThe Tao of Physicsâ however is free from those weaknesses. In fact, it is in a class of its own â" possibly one of the most thought-provoking and inspirational texts in the modern world. Written by a world-class Indian physicist, this book exhibits the deep understanding of its author into the myriad complexities of modern physics. The beauty of it all is that some of the most complex ideas are explained in very simple language that even a high school student can understand: quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle, particle physics, string theory, symmetries, etc.

This strength in physical understanding does not weaken the depth of perception regarding Eastern mysticism. Au contraire, the second part of the book, describing Eastern philosophy, is a tour de force of the various branches of Eastern thought: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, etc. Topics like the I-Ching, the mythology of the Rig Veda, the Upanishads, and the Tao Te Ching are introduced in very clear language aimed at capturing a Western audience.

The third and largest part of the book is devoted to drawing parallels between the two traditions: the Western scientific and the Eastern philosophical. Of course, at this stage of human development one cannot reach certainties about such thing, and the discourse is restricted to pointing out the parallels and illustrating the convergence of thought. More questions are raised than are actually answered, which is perhaps the signature of a really good book. Since reading it I have become fascinated with modern physics and pursued a science education. My interest in Eastern religions has also been enhanced. Currently I am in the process of re-reading this gem. I definitely recommend it to everyone seeking substance in âaeTao of â¦â books.

I am physics undergrad and had been intrigued and confused with the realities of quantum mechanics. Probabilities weren't enough for me, I thought there must be something else that determines observational outcomes. The thought had crossed my mind but reading this book confirmed it for me. The universe is conscious, human consciousness is a quantum phenomenon. As a race we have enormous power and responsibility over our world. Reading this book provided me with a new way of looking at physics and science in general, and an optimistic expectation for the future of our race that we can leave behind our outdated and unhealthy ideals.

Meditation and Metaphysics meet the West, redone in the form of High Energy Physics and what it means when the observer collapses the nondual into duality.

You will understand your mind, eventually if you read this book now and search for its source the rest of your life. You will become nondual as you absorb the All, reinterpret it in a quantum Universe of modern physics and look inside yourself to see it was all there the whole time.

If you want to understand where quantum physics and the eight fold path has taken us, read this book. If you want to understand yourself as Self, read this book. You may not get it the first time or the second (not reading, but encounters with Self), but eventually if you stick with it and keep searching and asking questions (only questions that will come to you from reading a book like this, learning its meaning inside you and meditating to calm and discipline the mind), then one day you will wake up Enlightened.

There are many solid books on connections and continuity in history and religion and physics. However Jacob Bronowski, "The Ascent of Man", would turn me over in my grave if he found out that I was reading such books as this. There are too many quasi science quasi religion books that want to take some principle and reinterpret it to be a New age truth or prove the some old blind philosopher beat us too it for example (The Seat of the Soul.) Dr. Capra is drawing parallels in two fields and not trying to say "see I told you so". He takes the time and pages to describe the science and also does a pretty good job of distilling complex religions down to single chapters. I leave it up to Dr. Capra and you to determine if there really is any parallel. A parallel does not mean equivalents. If you are a Gary Zukav sort of person this book will not help you at all.

Fritjof Capra (born 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist, who is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy and is on the faculty of Schumacher College. He is also the author of The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture, Uncommon Wisdom, The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems, and The Hidden Connections: Integrating The Biological, Cognitive, And Social Dimensions Of Life Into A Science Of Sustainability.

Subtitled "An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism," Capra wrote in the Preface to this 1975 book, "Five years ago, I had a beautiful experience which set me on a road that has led to the writing of this book. I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance..." He later admits that "In the beginning I was helped on my way by 'power plants' which showed me how the mind can flow freely..."

He writes in the first chapter, "The purpose of this book is to explore this relationship between the concepts of modern physics and the basic ideas in the philosophical and religious traditions of the Far East. We shall see how the two foundations of twentieth-century physics---quantum theory and relativity theory---both force us to see the world very much in the way that a Hindu, Buddhist or Taoist sees it, and how this similarity strengthens when we look at the recent attempts to combine these two theories in order to describe the phenomena of the submicroscopic world..."

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"The particle world cannot be decomposed into elementary components." (Pg. 81)
"Quantum theory thus reveals an essential interconnectedness of the universe. It shows that we cannot decompose the world into independently existing smallest units." (Pg. 137)
"The relativity of time also forces us to abandon the Newtonian concept of an absolute space... there is no absolute space independent of the observer." (Pg. 166)
"The distinction between matter and empty space finally had to be abandoned when it became evident that virtual particles can come into being spontaneously out of the void, and vanish again into the void..." (Pg. 222)
"The whole universe is thus engaged in endless motion and activity; in a continual cosmic dance of energy." (Pg. 225)
"...the theories of atomic and subatomic physics made the existence of elementary particles increasingly unlikely. They revealed a basic interconnection of matter, showing that energy of motion can be transformed into mass, and suggesting that particles are processes rather than objects." (Pg. 285)

Fritjof Capra eloquently displays the striking similarities between the ancient arts of enlightenment and the modern discoveries in Physics. If you read this book you're eyes will open wide, whether you're beginning to explore Physics or you're 30 years deep in Physics.

This book thought me that there is an another point of view to our life. We should learn it if we are interested in real life. Life is not only the living. My life has changed after this book.

Thank you dear Mr. F.Capra.