On “The Tao of Physics”

I’ve been recently reading “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra. This book tries to create a bridge between eastern mysticism and modern quantum-age physics. It was opened on August, 5th, this must be the book that took me longest too read.

The book starts with a short introduction into the major eastern religions followed by a short overview of modern physics. Afterwards the author centers on his conquest of connecting those.

While many points may be valid, some arguments seem phony. Those passages remind me of the darker parts of Hofstaedter’s “Goedel, Escher, Bach“. While mysticism and science may find the same conclusions, the way of getting there has some importance. Also I do not see why the author has limited himself to eastern mysticism. As inhabitant of Berkeley he should have heard about the christian philosopher of the same name (and of his dispute with Leibniz).

I like the conclusions drawn about the dynamic nature of the world, the interconnectivity between all objects. I see its major point in pointing out that science as well as religion have the same goal: making sense of the ocean of chaos we’re living in. The book helps to re-open one’s mind, although this happens not by reading the book itself, but rather through being critical towards it.

Overall I’m quite ambivalent towards this book. While it has its dark sides which made me abandom it many times, but also wields the power of surprising you with deep insights.

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