Product Description

A fierce attack on globalism -- and a manifesto for change -- by one of the world's leading scientific writers. Recent scientific discoveries indicate that all life -- from the most primitive cells, up to human societies, corporations and nation-states, even the global economy -- is organised along the same basic patterns and principles: those of the network. However, the new global economy differs in important aspects from the networks of life: whereas everything in a living network has a function, globalism ignores all that cannot give it an immediate profit, creating great armies of the excluded. The global financial network also relies on advanced information technologies -- it is shaped by machines, and the resulting economic, social and cultural environment is not life-enhancing but life-degrading, in both a social and an ecological sense. Capra demonstrates conclusively how tightly humans are connected with the fabric of life and makes it clear that it is imperative to organise the world according to a different set of values and beliefs, not only for the well-being of human organisations, but for the survival and sustainability of humanity as a whole.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164150 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Capra received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Vienna and has done research in high-energy physics at several European and American universities. He has written and lectured extensively about the philosophical implications of modern science and is the author of The Tao of Physics, The Turning Point, Uncommon Wisdom and The Web of Life. Currently Director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, he lives in Berkeley with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Hidden Connections: Revealed.
From the outset I was utterly hooked, it was a completely compelling read. Fritjof Capra moves from and connects deep cellular biology and the origins of cellular life through philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics, globalisation, environmentalism, social theory and anthropology with both grace and beauty finishing with light, hope and the framework of a new way of thinking. Reading this book was a truelly enlightening experience, it is highly accessable to all, and must surely rate as essential for all readers in the 21st century. The Hidden Connection inspires and educates, provokes thought and challenges the way we interact with the world and others, it is a truley awe-inspiring read that has the potential to change the way in which we live and view our planet.

A world of unified systems
Capra attempts to provide a conceptual framework that integrates the physical, cognitive and social dimensions in order to present a unified view of consciousness, society and life and also to develop a coherent and systemic approach to addressing the world's most pressing problems.
In the first part he constructs a new theoretical framework by looking at the nature of life, the nature of consciousness and the nature of social reality. He deals extensively with networking that has become an important social phenomenon and a critical source of power in the world.
The second part explores the management of human organisations, i.e. why and how these are living systems; economic globalisation; a systemic analysis of the ethical and scientific problems of biotechnology, with reference to the human genome project, and; the major problems facing the world today.
The author does a good job of pointing out the unified systems that integrate the biological, cognitive and social aspects of life and of explaining how a new vision of reality is unfolding, together with the social implications of this transformation.
Hidden Connections is a great read. The book contains explanatory notes, a bibliography and an index. Other interesting books dealing with this subject include Small World by Mark Buchanan and Universality by Mark Ward.

Heralds the new Worldview
Knits together the key ideas and concepts of the researchers who are constructing the new Worldview. In contrast to the Postmodernists, Capra is putting forward a viable alternative, something we can exlore for ourselves. Cornerstones of his new Worldview are Systems theories such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures - but also neurophenomenology, hermeneutics and sustainability. This book should be read widely by those of us who feel that there are better ways to manage our planet.