The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

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I listened again to DeLuca’s lecture to see what I remembered, and to write this in my review as it say, this is why I love quantum physics, even though I don’t understand it. At the heart of the matter is Mr. Capra's methodology – his use of what seem to me to be accidental similarities of language as if these were somehow evidence of deeply rooted connections. Thus I agree with Capra when he writes, "Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science but man needs both." What no one needs, in my opinion, is this superficial and profoundly misleading book. In the afterword to the third edition (published in 1982, pp 360-368 of the 1991 edition) Capra offers six suggestions for a new paradigm in science.

Eric R. Scerri (1989). "Eastern Mysticism and the Alleged Parallels with Physics". American Journal of Physics. 57 (8): 687–692. Bibcode: 1989AmJPh..57..687S. doi: 10.1119/1.15921. S2CID 121572969. Capra reconnects this new paradigm to the theories of living and self-organizing systems that has emerged from cybernetics. Here he quotes Ilya Prigogine, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela (p.372 of the 1991 edition).Starting with reasonable descriptions of quantum physics, he constructs elaborate extensions, totally bereft of the understanding of how carefully experiment and theory are woven together and how much blood, sweat, and tears go into each painful advance. I also really liked what Schodinger said about Consciousness: “There is no framework where we find consciousness in the plural.” And this, to me, says what the Upanishads have said about the nature of reality, “All is one,” and this is what some who have meditated have experienced—

However, the standard model does not include gravity, and hence fails to integrate all known particles and forces into a single mathematical framework. The currently most popular candidate for such a framework is string theory, which pictures all particles as different vibrations of mathematical "strings" in an abstract 9-dimensional space. The mathematical elegance of string theory is compelling, but the theory has serious deficiencies. If these difficulties persist, and if a theory of "quantum gravity" continues to remain elusive, the bootstrap idea may well be revived someday, in some mathematical formulation or other. [12] Editions [ edit ] Peter Woit, a mathematical physicist at Columbia University, criticized Capra for continuing to build his case for physics-mysticism parallels on the bootstrap model of strong-force interactions set out at the end of the book, [6] long after the Standard Model had become thoroughly accepted by physicists as a better model: [11] The Tao of Physicsbrought the mystical implications of subatomic physics to popular consciousness for the very first time. Many books have been written in the ensuing years about the connections between quantum theory and the ideas of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism, butFritjofCapra’s text serves as the foundation on which the others have been built—and its wisdom has stood the test of time. Its publication in more than twenty-three languages stands as testimony to its universal applicability and its enduring significance. However, it is not without its critics. Jeremy Bernstein, a professor of physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology, [7] chastised The Tao of Physics: [8]

Don't look to Capra for a highly disciplined discourse on particle physics or the nature of cosmology. Nor is this book a deep exploration of Taoism or other Eastern Religious Philosophy. Rather, it is a fascinating mental adventure showing the ways the two schools of thought often developed in parallel and came to similar conclusions from very different beginning points. The author's own words in the epilogue sum it up nicely. "Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science, but man needs both." Aaeserud, Finn (2015). "A Complementary Relationship: Niels Bohr and China*" (PDF). Berliner China-Hefte/Chinese History and Society. 46: 69–76 – via Niels Bohr Archive University of Copenhague. DeLuca, like Capra, spent a somee time on comparing quantum physics with the Upanishads, but Capra also compared it to what Buddha had said about the nature of reality. While I could see what they both were talking about, I was not so sure that it could be applied in such a way because what the Buddha and the Upanishads had said were too vague to me.

I joined the Vedanta Society in early 2000s, and a man named Dave DeLuca came to the temple in San Diego and gave a lecture on The Four Yugas. He had a section in it where he talked about Quantum Physics. Much like Capra’s book, he used the teachings of Quantum theory as a way to compare it with Hinduism. I liked his lecture so much that obtained his lecture and still have it. It wasn’t the comparison to Hinduism that I liked, but the way physicists saw the nature of reality. (I didn’t last in Vedanta, but that is another story.) He began with saying, “All things are temporary manifestations of God.” Then he mentioned the great physicist, Schodinger and Deepak Chopra’s book, Quantum Healing. Leon Lederman (1993). The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?. New York: Bantam Doubleday. pp. 189–193. ISBN 0-385-31211-3. An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism". Archived from the original on October 9, 2010 . Retrieved April 13, 2010. That's what I said before reading extensively in physics and cosmology and before watching so many charlatans and the honest but misguided people duped by them try to sell Woo-Woo in place of solid science. I wish I had not written the review above, but I'll let it stand as mute warning to be careful of lay interpretations of science. And a Medical Doctor like Dr. Robert Lanza or a New Age/Alternative Medicine guru like Depak Chopra is not a particle physicist. Their pronouncements on quantum mechanics are no more valid than mine would be if I suddenly set out to perform delicate surgery.

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Leon M. Lederman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and current Director Emeritus of Fermilab, criticized both The Tao of Physics and Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters in his 1993 book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? [9] In a 2019 commemoration in honour of physicist Geoffrey Chew, one of bootstrap's "fathers", Capra replied to criticisms such as Woit's: Peter Woit (2006). Not Even Wrong: The Failure of String Theory and the Search for Unity in Physical Law. Basic Books. pp.141–145. ISBN 978-0-465-09275-8. Bohr adopted the yin yang symbol as part of his coat of arms when he was knighted in 1947, [2] it is claimed in the book that it was a result of orientalist influences. Victor N. Mansfield, a professor of physics and astronomy at Colgate University who wrote many papers and books of his own connecting physics to Buddhism and also to Jungian psychology, [4] complimented The Tao of Physics in Physics Today: [5] [6]