With the Tao of Physics, Vienna-born Fritjof Capra established
himself as a Westerner with Eastern ideas, positing a direct
parallel between the dance of atoms and the dance of Shiva. With
The Turning Point (1982), he sought to extend Tao-connectedness to
psychology, medicine, ecology, economics. Now he offers an exegesis
on how he came to write The Turning Point. As such, this work is
closer to autobiography than Capra's others. The writing is clearer
and the personality that emerges often engages the reader's
sympathies as the author seeks to gain approval and enlightenment
from a number of mentors. These include physicists Werner
Heisenberg and Geoffrey Chew and such personae as R.D. Laing,
Gregory Bateson, Germaine Greet, Stanislav Grof and Carl Simonton
(known for his use of visualization and psychotherapy with terminal
cancer patients). None of these encounters - at Esalen, on
university campuses, in London, Delhi, or Bombay - is likely to
convince readers of the rightness of Capra's theories. What they
do, however, is create quite believable sketches of some
extraordinarily idiosyncratic people, like Laing and Bateson. They
also illustrate how one intelligent individual conceived of a way
to write a book and followed through on it. While it is clear that
Capra's mentors were generally sympathetic, there are some lively
moments of disagreement, revealed, for example, in a chapter
presented as a dialogue-discussion. Here, at least one physician
present defends the biomedical advances of recent years against
holistic condemnations and beliefs that focus on the patient as the
source of illness. Recommended, then, not particularly for what
Capra believes, but for insights and reflections on some of the
people and events that have shaped sociocultural history in recent
decades. (Kirkus Reviews)
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(4)
