Editing Fritjof Capra

{{Short description|American physicist and author (born 1939)}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Fritjof Capra
| image             = Fritjof Capra.jpeg
| image_size        = 200px
| caption           = Capra in 2010
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1939|2|1}}
| birth_place       = Vienna, Austria
| field             = [[Physics]], [[systems theory]]
| work_institutions = [[U.C. Santa Cruz]], [[U.C. Berkeley]], [[San Francisco State University]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Vienna]]
| known_for         = [[Ecological literacy|Ecoliteracy]]
| module            = {{infobox writer
| embed =  yes
| notableworks = ''[[The Tao of Physics]]''<br>''[[The Turning Point (book)|The Turning Point]]''
}}
}}
'''Fritjof Capra''' (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American author, [[physicist]], [[systems theory|systems theorist]] and [[deep ecology|deep ecologist]].<ref>[http://www.fritjofcapra.net/ Fritjof Capra homepage], retrieved July 14, 2009.</ref>{{primary source inline|date=February 2025}} In 1995, he became a founding director of the [[Center for Ecoliteracy]] in [[Berkeley, California]]. He was on the faculty of [[Schumacher College]] which was disestablished in 2024.

Capra is the author of several books, including ''[[The Tao of Physics]]'' (1975), ''[[The Turning Point (book)|The Turning Point]]'' (1982), ''Uncommon Wisdom'' (1988), ''The Web of Life'' (1996), and ''[[The Hidden Connections]]'' (2002), and co-author of ''The Systems View of Life'' (2014).

== Life and work ==
Born in Vienna, Austria, Capra attended the [[University of Vienna]], where he earned his [[PhD]] in [[theoretical physics]] in 1966. He conducted research in [[particle physics]] and [[systems theory]] at the [[University of Paris]] (1966–1968), the [[University of California, Santa Cruz]] (1968–1970), the [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]] (1970), [[Imperial College, London]] (1971–1974) and the [[Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory]] (1975–1988). While at Berkeley, he was a member of the [[Fundamental Fysiks Group]], founded in May 1975 by [[Elizabeth Rauscher]] and [[George Weissmann]], which met weekly to discuss [[philosophy]] and [[quantum physics]].<ref>[[David Kaiser (physicist)|Kaiser, David]]. ''How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture and the Quantum Revival''. W. W. Norton & Company, 2011, pp. xv–xvii, xxiii.</ref> He also taught at U.C. Santa Cruz, [[U.C. Berkeley]], and [[San Francisco State University]].

He has written popular books on the implications of science, notably ''The Tao of Physics'' (1975), subtitled ''An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism''. ''The Tao of Physics'' asserts that both [[physics]] and [[metaphysics]] lead inexorably to the same knowledge. After touring Germany in the early 1980s, Capra co-wrote ''Green Politics'' with author [[Charlene Spretnak]] in 1984.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

He is fluent in German, English, French and Italian.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Capra contributed to the screenplay for the 1990 movie ''[[Mindwalk]]'', starring [[Liv Ullmann]], [[Sam Waterston]] and [[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]]. The film is loosely based on his book, ''The Turning Point''.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

In 1991 Capra co-authored ''[[Belonging to the Universe]]'' with [[David Steindl-Rast]], a [[Benedictine]] [[monk]]. Using Thomas Kuhn's ''[[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]]'' as a stepping stone, the book explores parallels between [[Paradigm shift|new paradigm]] thinking in science and in  religion; the authors posit that, together, these new paradigms offer remarkably compatible views about the universe.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Capra advocates that [[Western culture]] abandon conventional linear thought and the [[mechanistic]] views of [[Descartes]]. Critiquing the [[reductionistic]] Cartesian view that everything can be studied in parts to understand the whole, he encourages a [[holistic]] approach. In ''The Web of Life'', Capra focuses on systemic information generated by the ''relationships'' among all parts as a significant additional factor in understanding the  character of the whole, emphasizing the web-like structure of all systems and the interconnectedness of all parts.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

He is a founding director of the [[Center for Ecoliteracy]] located in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], California, which promotes ecology and [[systems thinking]] in primary and secondary education.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Capra is an [[Earth Charter]] International Council member.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

== Bibliography ==

* ''[[The Tao of Physics|The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism]]'' (1975), Capra's first book, draws parallels between Vedic and Oriental mystical traditions and the discoveries of 20th century physics. Originally published by a small publisher with no budget for promotion, the book became a bestseller by word of mouth until it was picked up by a major American publishing house. It has now been published in 43 editions in 23 languages. It is credited as a major influence for the rise of [[quantum mysticism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ascari |first1=Maurizio |title=From Spiritualism to Syncretism: Twentieth-Century Pseudo-Science and the Quest for Wholeness |journal=Interdisciplinary Science Reviews |date=1 March 2009 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=9–21 |doi=10.1179/174327909X421425 |bibcode=2009ISRv...34....9A |issn=0308-0188}}</ref>
* ''[[The Turning Point (book)|The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture]]'' (1982) explains perceived scientific and economic crises. It begins by outlining and tracing the history of science and economics, and criticizing [[Cartesian physics|Cartesian]], [[Newtonianism|Newtonian]], and [[reductionist]] paradigms. It argues that such viewpoints have grown inadequate for modern technology and ecology needs, and that science needs to develop the concepts and insights of holism and systems theory to solve society's complex problems.<ref name="The Turning Point">Capra, Fritjof (1982). ''The Turning Point'', Bantam Books, New York.</ref>
* ''Green Politics'' (1984), co-authored with [[Charlene Spretnak]], analyzes the rise of the [[Green Party in Germany]] and similar ecology-oriented political parties in other European countries. It has been published in 7 editions in 4 languages.
* ''Uncommon Wisdom'' (1988) describes dialogues and personal encounters between himself and the thinkers who helped to shape the theme of ''The Turning Point''. It has been published in 16 editions and 12 languages.
* ''Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality'' (1993) was coauthored with [[David Steindl-Rast]] and Thomas Matus. The book explores parallels between ways of thinking in science and [[Christian theology]]. It has been published in 10 editions in 7 languages.
* ''The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems'' (1996) starts from the conceptual framework presented in ''The Turning Point'', summarizes the mathematics of [[complexity]], and offers a synthesis of recent nonlinear theories of living systems that have dramatically increased our understanding of the key characteristics of life. Capra makes extensive reference to the work of [[Humberto Maturana]], [[Francisco Varela]], [[Ilya Prigogine]], [[Gregory Bateson]] and others in proposing a new, systems-based scientific approach for describing the interrelationships and interdependence of psychological, biological, physical, social, and cultural phenomena. The book has been published in 14 editions in 10 languages.
* ''[[The Hidden Connections]]'' (2002) extends the framework of systems and [[complex systems|complexity theory]] to the social domain and uses the extended framework to discuss some of the critical issues of our time.
* ''The Science of Leonardo: Inside the Mind of the Great Genius of the Renaissance'' (2007). Its central idea is that [[Science and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo da Vinci's science]] is a science of living forms, of quality, which can be seen as a distant forerunner of today's complexity and [[Systems theory|systems]] theories. The book has been published in 7 editions in 5 languages.
* ''Learning from Leonardo: Decoding the Notebooks of a Genius'' (2013), offers a glimpse into the works of the prescient thinker, [[Leonardo da Vinci]], whose pioneering genius contributed to many scientific fields. 
* ''[[The Systems View of Life]]'' (2014), co-authored with [[Pier Luigi Luisi]], offers radical solutions to twenty-first century challenges by focusing on the connected world and examining life through its inextricably linked systems.{{clarify|date=August 2017}}
* ''Patterns of Connection: Essential Essays from Five Decades'' (2021) is a personal account of the author's intellectual journey, documented by a series of essays together with extensive commentaries that interweave the essays and provide historical and philosophical context.

==See also==
*[[Arne Næss]]
*[[Center for Ecoliteracy]]
*[[Deep Ecology]]
*[[Ecological literacy|Ecoliteracy]]
*[[Ervin Laszlo]]
*[[Gaia hypothesis]]
*[[Gregory Bateson]]
*[[Hindu idealism]]
*[[Holism]]
*[[Systems theory]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.fritjofcapra.net Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100126060237/http://www.wplus.net/pp/Julia/Capra/CONTENTS.htm The Turning Point]
*[http://www.ecoliteracy.org/ Home on the web] for the [[Center for Ecoliteracy]]
*[http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/69/25 Interview with Fritjof Capra by Francis Pisani]
*{{IMDb name|135586}}

{{American Book Awards}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Capra, Fritjof}}
[[Category:20th-century American physicists]]
[[Category:21st-century American physicists]]
[[Category:Austrian physicists]]
[[Category:American particle physicists]]
[[Category:American systems scientists]]
[[Category:Deep ecologists]]
[[Category:New Age writers]]
[[Category:Writers about religion and science]]
[[Category:American science writers]]
[[Category:American spiritual writers]]
[[Category:Leonardo da Vinci scholars]]
[[Category:Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:American Book Award winners]]
[[Category:Scientists from Vienna]]
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Quantum mysticism advocates]]