The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems (Paperback)

by Fritjof Capra (Author) "This book is about a new scientific understanding of life at all levels of living systems-organisms, social systems, and ecosystems..." (more)
Key Phrases: autopoietic network, continual embodiment, organismic biologists, Lynn Margulis, Francisco Varela, Norbert Wiener (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In his international bestsellers The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, Fritjof Capra juxtaposed physics and mysticism to define a new vision of reality. Now, in The Web of Life, he takes yet another giant step forward, offering a brilliant synthesis of such recent scientific breakthroughs as the theory of complexity, Gaia theory, and chaos theory. 25 line drawings.

From the Inside Flap
The vitality and accessibility of Fritjof Capra's ideas have made him perhaps the most eloquent spokesperson of the latest findings emerging at the frontiers of scientific, social, and philosophical thought. In his international bestsellers The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, he juxtaposed physics and mysticism to define a new vision of reality. In The Web of Life, Capra takes yet another giant step, setting forth a new scientific language to describe interrelationships and interdependence of psychological, biological, physical, social, and cultural phenomena--the "web of life."



During the past twenty-five years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and the organization of living systems and have developed new theories with revolutionary philosophical and social implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution. In The Web of Life, Capra offers a brilliant synthesis of such recent scientific breakthroughs as the theory of complexity, Gaia theory, chaos theory, and other explanations of the properties of organisms, social systems, and ecosystems. Capra's surprising findings stand in stark contrast to accepted paradigms of mechanism and Darwinism and provide an extraordinary new foundation for ecological policies that will allow us to build and sustain communities without diminishing the opportunities for future generations.



Now available in paperback for the first time, The Web of Life is cutting-edge science writing in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Gregory Bateson's Mind and Matter, and Ilya Prigogine's Order Out of Chaos.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385476760
• ISBN-13: 978-0385476768
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #21,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get shifted! Bring forth a world and save the planet., May 12, 1999

By A Customer

The difference between a mechanistic and a holistic view of the Universe is even greater than the difference between a flat and a round Earth. The problem is, the vast majority of us are still stuck with a perception of the world that is based on fundamentally flawed theories passed down to us by Newton and Descartes. In other words, everything you know is wrong.

We do not so much live in a universe of space filled with objects as our senses imply or as the classical physicists postulated, as we are all part of an interconnected and self-organizing universe of changing patterns and flowing energy.

This holistic worldview recognizes the connections and interdependencies in the world rather than merely separating the world into parts and attempting to reconstruct it like a child playing with blocks. By trying to understand the world merely in terms of its parts we obscure the properties that emerge from the interplay between the parts. The Universe is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

Capra's outstanding achievement in "The Web of Life" is to communicate so plainly, effectively and compellingly the outline of the holistic paradigm and the impending shift. "The Web of Life" is THE primer for the dynamical systems theory that you will need to compete (and to integrate) in the 21st Century.

Deep Ecology, Gaia Theory, and an incredible new theory of cognition are among the many ideas explored in the book as well as feedback loops, complexity and chaos theory, dissipative structures and autopoietic, or self-organizing, systems.

This is a moving and transforming book that will inform and inspire. I refer to it constantly and give it the highest recommendation.

57 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a right-brain view of the world, August 18, 2000

By	Ruth Henriquez Lyon (Duluth, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Web of Life has been a revelation to me: I have always been struck by the beauty to be uncovered in the study of biology; however, I have found too many books on biology to be dry and reductionist, completely ignoring the metaphysical, aesthetic aspect of the life sciences.

This book is the first of many more I hope to read on this deeper aspect of biology and ecology. Capra looks at the life sciences through the lens of systems theory, and thus provides a very good introduction to systems theory for those (like me) who are novices. He also gives an account of life, from its earliest origins on up to the beginnings of human consciousness, working with the ideas of the main developers of systems theory over the past several decades.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this theory (or perhaps I should say set of theories) for me is how it describes and works out in more detail a basic intuition that many of us have even as children (and that many spiritual traditions have always recognized): that all things are connected in a giant web-work (wheels within wheels within wheels....). Anyone responding to this intuition knows that no being can be understood without looking at both the patterns it comprises, as well as the greater patterns it is a part of.

Another provocative aspect of these theories is how they push the definition of life out farther and farther, for in many ways all dissapative systems (economies, cultures, hurricanes) can be seen as having living qualities.

I disagree with the criticisms of the reviewers who complain that this book is derivative and contains too few original ideas. The author's intent here was to present a synthesis of teachings on a subject which is still new to many people, whilst arguing for a more appreciative and reverent attitude towards the world we live in. The result is a book which is not only fascinating but inspiring as well.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A deeply flawed book, that nonetheless has value, December 19, 2005

By	J. Floyd (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like this book a great deal. It is a great brief introduction to systems thinking. I have used it as a text in a graduate course in sustainability. That said, it is highly problematic: the sections on thermodynamics are based on a deep misinterpretation of the second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy. The book needs to be read very carefully, and the sections describing the second law of thermodynamics would be best skipped completely.

The thermodynamic basis of this work is deeply flawed. The book contributes to an ongoing of obfuscation of the links between physics, systems science and social and environmental theory.

The problem, simply put, is this: while it sounds convincing to most lay-people (and even many physicists, chemists and engineers) to equate thermodynamic entropy with "disorder", this is based on a meaningless misinterpretation of the second law of thermodynamics. The second law of thermodynamics simply states that energy tends to disperse, if it is not hindered from doing so. It says nothing about "orderliness", and nothing about availability of matter.

Entropy is an extensive property of thermodynamic systems. It is not a property of energy, and certainly not of matter. It is nonsensical to speak of "high- or low-entropy" energy. It is even more nonsensical to speak of "high- or low-entropy" matter. Better to speak of energy quality ("the sun provides us with high-quality energy, and low-quality energy is re-radiated back into space"). Entropy is used to measure the "concentration" (I use this term for illustration only) and hence the usefulness or availability to us of energy, within a given system of matter and energy. The second law of thermodynamics tells us nothing about the tendency of matter to become more or less useful or available to us. There is no thermodynamic basis for reading inevitable decay onto physical, biological or social systems.

Dr. Frank L. Lambert, Professor Emeritus (Chemistry) of Occidental College, Los Angeles, has carried out extensive work over the past few years to demythologise the popular (and, all too frequently, specialist) misunderstanding of the second law of thermodynamics. For anyone contemplating reading "The entropy law and the economic process", I would strongly advise that you first look at Lambert's website: http://www.entropysite.com. He goes through this in detail in multiple format aimed at a range of audiences from lay-person to scientist and engineer.

This review is not intended to be disparaging, towards either Capra, or others who share the common misunderstanding of the second law of thermodynamics. The problem is deeply entrenched and it will be a long time before the myths around entropy and the second law are dispelled.

A review similar to this has been posted for the following books (more may be added in due course):

Nicholas Georgescu-Roegens "Entropy law and the economic process"
Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard "Entropy: a new world view"