The Tao of Physics

by Fritjof Capra

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LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Onderzoek naar de parallellen
tussen de moderne fysica en oosterse mystiek
In De Tao van fysica tracht Capra een brug te slaan tussen de diepzinnigste inzichten van de quantummechanica en die van de oosterse filosofie. In heldere en begrijpelijke taal wordt een overzicht gegeven van de nieuwe fysica. Vervolgens behandelt hij aan de hand van recent onderzoek de mystieke tradities van hindoeïsme, boeddhisme en taoïsme, om te besluiten met de frappante overeenkomsten tussen deze twee.
Capra beweert niet dat ze strikt dezelfde waarheden verkondigen, maar wel dat ze elkaar uitermate verhelderen en dat er zeer veel parallellen getrokken kunnen worden.

Book descriptions

Amazon.com (ISBN 0877735948, Paperback)

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

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0553142062, Paperback)

Bestseller reconciling Eastern philosophy and western science in a humanistic vision of the universe.

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0006544894, Paperback)

The universe: an eternal cosmic dance of subatomic particles of relationships at once paradoxical, yet somehow unified.

Mystics explore our universe through meditation. Nuclear physicists explore it through experimentation and hypothesis. Their paths to the truth could not be more different-but the amazing thing is that in their own ways, the mystics and the scientists are discovering the same truths about our world.

In non-technical language, with no complex mathematics or formulae, this thought-provoking program explores the main concepts and theories of modern physics, the revelations coming from particle accelerators and laboratories-and compares them with the ancient tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. In the process, we gain a clear and fascinating picture of how such seemingly disparate areas of thought are ultimately quests for the same kind of understanding.