The Tao of Physics

The Tao of Physics (full title: The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism) was a 1975 book by physicist Fritjof Capra, published by Shambhala Publications of Berkeley, California. It was a bestseller in the United States, and has been published in 43 editions in 23 languages. The fourth edition in English was published in 2000 (ISBN 1570625190).

Related Topics:
1975 - Physicist - Fritjof Capra - Shambhala Publications - Berkeley, California - United States - English - 2000

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The following quote from The Tao of Physics summarizes Capra's motivation for writing this book.

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::Physicists do not need mysticism, and Mystics do not need Physics, but humanity needs both. – Fritjof Capra

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The book grew out of an inspirational moment Capra had while under the influence

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of psychedelics. Capra later discussed his ideas with Werner Heisenberg

Related Topics:
Psychedelics - Werner Heisenberg

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in 1972, as he mentioned in the following interview excerpt:

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I had several discussions with Heisenberg. I lived in England then , and I visited him several times in Munich and showed him the whole manuscript chapter by chapter. He was very interested and very open, and he told me something that I think is not known publicly because he never published it. He said that he was well aware of these parallels. While he was working on quantum theory he went to India to lecture and was a guest of Tagore. He talked a lot with Tagore about Indian philosophy. Heisenberg told me that these talks had helped him a lot with his work in physics, because they showed him that all these new ideas in quantum physics were in fact not all that crazy. He realized there was, in fact, a whole culture that subscribed to very similar ideas. Heisenberg said that this was a great help for him. Niels Bohr had a similar experience when he went to China. — Fritjof Capra, interviewed by Renee Weber in the book The Holographic Paradigm (page 217-218)

Related Topics:
Heisenberg - Quantum theory - Tagore - Niels Bohr

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As a result of those influences, Bohr adopted the yin yang symbol as part of his family coat of arms when he was knighted in 1947.

Related Topics:
Yin yang - Coat of arms - Knighted

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