Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Nowhere357 · 03-16-2003, 07:38 PM

Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra - examines the paralells between Eastern mysticism and modern physics.

I'm looking for comments from freethinkers who have read this (or any similar) book.

Shadowy Man · 03-16-2003, 09:48 PM

Good book!

Read it a long time ago.

BRO3886 · 03-16-2003, 11:45 PM

Worth buying or just borrowing??

Nowhere357 · 03-17-2003, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BRO3886
Worth buying or just borrowing??

IMHO this is worth buying. One of the few books I've read more than once.

Essentially, it examines "complementarity". It looks at philosophy, cosmology, astronomy, and physics.

Shadowy Man · 03-17-2003, 09:35 AM

It does a good job at introducing the reader to the basics of both modern physics and eastern religion.

There are some interesting parallels between eastern though, especially Taoism, and some ideas in modern physics. Whether you think they are stretched metaphors is up to you to decide.

I tend to think of the old Taoists as scientists who didn't experiment. They just observed nature and got a sense of how nature worked. They gained some good insight that way.

sweep · 03-17-2003, 09:39 AM

It's alright, but it rather relies upon the readers ignorance of quantum science & the realms of atomic physics. It's very interesting, but doubtful whether you're going to get much from it.

Starts out well, but personally, I got bored.

The parallels are tenuous: If you don't mind hammering a square peg into a round hole, then this book is for you.

Clivedurdle · 03-17-2003, 12:49 PM

Fritjof Capra was recently interviewed by Alain de Botton on one of the new specialist BBC digital channels - transcript might be available from BBC.

Very interesting amalgam of green thinking, complexity and emergence and systems theory.

Zulu · 03-19-2003, 01:28 PM

I just picked up this book from the library, and I quite enjoyed it.

I learned a lot concerning Eastern Mysticism as well as modern physics. I found the physics particularly interesting but that's probably because I know next to nothing about physics in general. It's definitely written for the lay person but even at that there were some parts which I found difficult to understand such as the S-matrix theory.

As for the relationship between the two--I found this to be rather pointless. You can find similar relationships between absolutely anything if you make everything metaphorical and far fetched. To me, it was a good introduction to both topics but I don't see them as interrelated.

-Zulu

03-16-2003, 07:38 PM	#1
Nowhere357 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Grand Junction CO Posts: 2,231	Tao of Physics Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra - examines the paralells between Eastern mysticism and modern physics. I'm looking for comments from freethinkers who have read this (or any similar) book.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

03-16-2003, 09:48 PM	#2
Shadowy Man Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Shadowy Planet Posts: 7,585	Good book! Read it a long time ago.

03-16-2003, 11:45 PM	#3
BRO3886 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: UK Posts: 48	Worth buying or just borrowing??

03-17-2003, 09:35 AM	#5
Shadowy Man Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: A Shadowy Planet Posts: 7,585	It does a good job at introducing the reader to the basics of both modern physics and eastern religion. There are some interesting parallels between eastern though, especially Taoism, and some ideas in modern physics. Whether you think they are stretched metaphors is up to you to decide. I tend to think of the old Taoists as scientists who didn't experiment. They just observed nature and got a sense of how nature worked. They gained some good insight that way.

03-17-2003, 09:39 AM	#6
sweep Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: sugar factory Posts: 873	It's alright, but it rather relies upon the readers ignorance of quantum science & the realms of atomic physics. It's very interesting, but doubtful whether you're going to get much from it. Starts out well, but personally, I got bored. The parallels are tenuous: If you don't mind hammering a square peg into a round hole, then this book is for you.

03-17-2003, 12:49 PM	#7
Clivedurdle Contributor Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: London UK Posts: 16,024	Fritjof Capra was recently interviewed by Alain de Botton on one of the new specialist BBC digital channels - transcript might be available from BBC. Very interesting amalgam of green thinking, complexity and emergence and systems theory.

03-19-2003, 01:28 PM	#8
Zulu Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Quebec, Canada Posts: 102	I just picked up this book from the library, and I quite enjoyed it. I learned a lot concerning Eastern Mysticism as well as modern physics. I found the physics particularly interesting but that's probably because I know next to nothing about physics in general. It's definitely written for the lay person but even at that there were some parts which I found difficult to understand such as the S-matrix theory. As for the relationship between the two--I found this to be rather pointless. You can find similar relationships between absolutely anything if you make everything metaphorical and far fetched. To me, it was a good introduction to both topics but I don't see them as interrelated. -Zulu

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.