Fritjof Capra: 'The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision'

$12 advance tickets:: 800-838-3006 or Pegasus Books (3 locations), Mrs. Dalloway's, Moe's Books, Walden Pond, DIESEL a Bookstore. SF: Modern Times ($15 door) Info http://www.kpfa.org/events KPFA benefit

Over the past 30 years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged in the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organization, leading to a novel kind of "systemic" thinking.
"In my first book," Capra writes, "The Tao of Physics (1975), I discussed the profound change in our worldview that was brought about by the conceptual revolution in physics - a change from the mechanistic worldview of Descartes and Newton to a holistic and ecological view. In my subsequent research and writing, I have engaged in a systematic exploration of a central theme: the fundamental change of worldview, or change of paradigms, that is now also occurring in the other sciences and in society; the unfolding of a new vision of reality, and the social implications of this cultural transformation. To connect the conceptual changes in science with the change of worldview and values in society, I had to go beyond physics and look for a broader conceptual framework. In doing so, I realized that our major social issues - health, social justice, protection of the environment, the management of business enterprises, and so on - all have to do with living systems: with individual human beings, social systems, and ecosystems. With this realization, my research interests shifted from physics to the life sciences, and over the past thirty years I have developed a conceptual framework that integrates four dimensions of life: the biological, the cognitive, the social, and the ecological.

This is essential reading for a broad range of professions, including economics, politics, medicine, psychology and law.

Fritjof Capra is a Founding Director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, CA.