The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism [Paperback]

Fritjof Capra (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 14, 2010

Here is the book that brought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time—way back in 1975. This special edition celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of this early Shambhala best seller that has gone on to become a classic. It includes a new preface by the author, in which he reflects on the further discoveries and developments that have occurred in the years since the book’s original publication. “Physicists do not need mysticism,” Dr. Capra says, “and mystics do not need physics, but humanity needs both.” It’s a message of timeless importance.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First published in 1975, The Tao of Physics rode the wave of fascination in exotic East Asian philosophies. Decades later, it still stands up to scrutiny, explicating not only Eastern philosophies but also how modern physics forces us into conceptions that have remarkable parallels. Covering over 3,000 years of widely divergent traditions across Asia, Capra can't help but blur lines in his generalizations. But the big picture is enough to see the value in them of experiential knowledge, the limits of objectivity, the absence of foundational matter, the interrelation of all things and events, and the fact that process is primary, not things. Capra finds the same notions in modern physics. Those approaching Eastern thought from a background of Western science will find reliable introductions here to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism and learn how commonalities among these systems of thought can offer a sort of philosophical underpinning for modern science. And those approaching modern physics from a background in Eastern mysticism will find precise yet comprehensible descriptions of a Western science that may reinvigorate a hope in the positive potential of scientific knowledge. Whatever your background, The Tao of Physics is a brilliant essay on the meeting of East and West, and on the invaluable possibilities that such a union promises. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A brilliant best seller. . . . Lucidly analyzes the tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism to show their striking parallels with the latest discovery in cyclotrons.”—New York magazine

“A pioneering book of real value and wide appeal.”—Washington Post


“I have been reading the book with amazement and the greatest interest, recommending it to everyone I meet and, as often as possible, in my lectures. I think you have done a magnificent and extremely important job.”—Joseph Campbell

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 5 Updated edition (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590308352
• ISBN-13: 978-1590308356
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts > Mysticism

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

114 of 118 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing & Thought-Provoking Book January 30, 2005

By M. Hart

Format:Paperback

In 1975, physicist Fritjof Capra wrote an unusual book about physics and Eastern mysticism entitled "The Tao Physics". Though some of Mr. Capra's colleagues were offended that any physicist would compare the science of modern physics with the religious practices of Eastern mystics (primarily the beliefs & practices of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism), the reality is that there are some very striking similarities with the intuitively Eastern mystical view of reality and the experimentally rational view of quantum theory. Part of the reason for this is that both physicists and Eastern mystics find it very difficult to explain their observations in language (including the language of mathematics) because each of their experiences is not encountered in our everyday, mechanistic macro world. Up until the time of Einstein, physicists were comfortable with explaining the world using Newton's mechanistic theories. However, Einstein realized that there was a fatal flaw with the Newtonian view that presumed that gravity is felt instantaneously regardless of distance. Also, Newton's law of gravity really didn't explain exactly what gravity is. With a stroke of insight, Einstein realized that nothing could travel faster than the speed of light, including gravity; and several years later was able to explain gravity as being the consequence of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time due to mass. These discoveries through the world of Newtonian physics upside-down, but as Einstein's theories demonstrated, the Newtonian view was still valid for objects whose speeds come nowhere near the speed of light. Hence, Newton's laws of motion and gravity were still valuable, but in actuality, are only good approximations that can be used to explain movement in our frame of reference. Einstein, however, could not accept the views being developed by his contemporaries in the field of subatomic particles because Einstein maintained that elegant simplicity and orderliness existed at all levels of the physical Universe. Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, on the other hand, discovered that the subatomic world was anything but simple and orderly. Instead, they, and the physicists who followed them, discovered that the subatomic world is not comprised of hard, independent and quantifiable particles; but of highly unpredictable and interconnected packets of energy that display characteristics both as particles with mass and waves of energy that can only be partially explained through the use of probabilities.

It was the discovery of quantum theory that modern physics has come to some strikingly similar conclusions that Eastern mystics came to over 2500 years earlier: namely, that everything in the Universe is interconnected, there are no completely independent parts, and that human consciousness is not independent of the Universe either. By entering deeply meditative states of consciousness, Eastern mystics for centuries have experienced intuitively the interconnected wholeness of reality (referred to the Tao in Taoism, the Brahman in Hinduism and the Dharmakaya in Buddhism) once they are able to set aside all other conscious thought and language. To Eastern mystics, language, which attempts to distinguish between various things, creates the illusion of separateness and independence that is the hallmark of Western science and philosophy as culminating in Newtonian physics. The notion that objects could be broken down into independent and mutually exclusive, lifeless parts was the philosophy embraced by many early Greek philosophers, such as Leucippus, Democritus and Aristotle; in contrast to the Greek philosophers of Parmenides and Heraclitus who were hylozoists and Eastern mystics. The popular Western view of separateness is also part of the driving patriarchal, anthropocentric view of Christianity ("yang" in Taoists terms); as opposed to the intuitive, interconnected and interpenetrative view of Eastern mysticism ("yin" in Taoists terms) that is also part of quantum theory.

Some portions of "The Tao of Physics" may be quite difficult for someone with very little background in physics to fully understand, but Mr. Capra avoided use of complex mathematics in his very accurate explanations of observations made in subatomic physics. He also did a superb job of explaining the views of three different Eastern religions that many readers may be introduced to for the first time in this book. Though there was a time when physicists and Western philosophers believed the Universe and inorganic matter are static that could be easily explained with simple equations, modern physics has come to the same conclusion that Eastern mystics did 2500 years ago: the Universe is an extremely dynamic and ever-changing reality governed not by abstract fundamental laws, but by interactions of all matter and energy throughout and that matter itself is pure energy, impermanent, ever-changing and ever-transforming just as the Hindu's explained by the always-dancing Shiva. Further, modern science cannot explain everything; it can only provide approximate explanations for particular situations: the Universe in its totality could never be fully explained, just as the Tao cannot be fully explained. Overall, I rate "The Tao of Physics" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it.

139 of 160 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Classic of Deep Thought, but Not Quite Convincing September 25, 2002

By doomsdayer520 HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

In this book Fritjof Capra dwells on the parallels between modern physics and traditional Eastern thought. In classical physics and in most Western thought, the tendency is to break down the universe into smaller and smaller objects and systems that are supposedly self-contained and only interact in a linear cause-and-effect pattern. These views started to break down with Einstein's relativity, which shows the duality (or inseparability) of space and time, and even more so with quantum mechanics. The key aspect of QM used here is Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, which basically states that you can't observe a subatomic particle (or possibly any part of the universe) without interacting with it. It turns out that these new physical concepts of duality and interconnectedness, while a major shock to Western minds, are right in line with what has been thought in the East for thousands of years. In fact, many modern theoretical physicists have become interested in Eastern mysticism to help interpret their seemingly strange findings.

With that aside, this book is not quite convincing as Capra attempts to draw these parallels into an overall unified theory, and unfortunately he is quite a dry and repetitive writer. The book starts usefully with an intro to modern physics, then intros to the main schools of Eastern mysticism (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism). Things start to break down however, in the third part of the book as Capra begins to analyze the parallels between the two worlds. Capra tends to explain the same concepts again and again is slightly different ways, in an attempt to beef up the book, only to reveal the shaky foundation on which these concepts stand. Alas, while there are certainly intriguing parallels, the grand connection fails to materialize as the book drags on. When this book first appeared in the 70's, it kicked off a new mini-revolution of deep thoughts, and Capra is surely on to something big here. Unfortunately this book doesn't quite bring home the true revolution in Western thinking. Perhaps the last 30 years of deep thoughts that this book inspired will lead to a true manifesto by Capra or one of his followers, but this book can only be seen as a good start.

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking with a bridge between East and West November 11, 2000

By Thomas Lapins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've read "The Tao Of Physics" two and one half times. The first time was fifteen years ago (the original paperback was a different edition, with a far more thought provoking cover). I then read this edition when it came out (I need to read it a third time, this time with more life experience to draw from). I'm sure most readers struggled with the technical dialogue and laws of physics throughout. I was more able to intuitively appreciate these tougher chapters than intellectually understand these sometimes very abstract and difficult theories and concepts. Mysticism at times can seem equally abstract and difficult when one has not expereinced specific "mystical" experiences or enough of life itself. However, I intuitively connected to the threads which Capra so painstakingly weaved into his book. I was not looking for the answers to the universe in this book. What I was hoping to find was guidance, and a springboard in which to think in a larger universe. And when I look back, I realize my awareness and receptiveness to a "universe"and "consciousness" which is infinitely larger and wiser than the human experience and consciousness does indeed exits. "The Tao Of Physics" opened a window or two for me, and the inertia in which I had formed my opinions and prejudices and, then, learned to see and feel and judge the world around me, seemed embarrassingly narrow, lacking and unwise. That was a great insight for this young man at that time. "The Tao Of Physics" remains one of those books and experience that initially changed me in a small way, that eventually evolved into a substantive life change in how I think and perceive the world around me, and my relationship to it.