Book Description
The vitality and accessibility of Fritjof Capra's ideas have made him perhaps the most eloquent spokesperson of the latest findings emerging at the frontiers of scientific, social, and philosophical thought. In his international bestsellers The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, he juxtaposed physics and mysticism to define a new vision of reality. In The Web of Life, Capra takes yet another giant step, setting forth a new scientific language to describe interrelationships and interdependence of psychological, biological, physical, social, and cultural phenomena--the "web of life."
During the past twenty-five years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and the organization of living systems and have developed new theories with revolutionary philosophical and social implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution. In The Web of Life, Capra offers a brilliant synthesis of such recent scientific breakthroughs as the theory of complexity, Gaia theory, chaos theory, and other explanations of the properties of organisms, social systems, and ecosystems. Capra's surprising findings stand in stark contrast to accepted paradigms of mechanism and Darwinism and provide an extraordinary new foundation for ecological policies that will allow us to build and sustain communities without diminishing the opportunities for future generations.
Now available in paperback for the first time, The Web of Life is cutting-edge science writing in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Gregory Bateson's Mind and Matter, and Ilya Prigogine's Order Out of Chaos.
Customer Reviews:
Good introduction to systems theory and its implications to other spheres.......2007-03-30
While this book isn't perfect, it is certainly a very nice introduction for the average person to systems theory and its implications to other areas.
I basically agree with some of the criticisms in the spotlight reviews about the flatland or a web of life vs. a heirarchy (or even better holarchy) both in nature and in other spheres of life. For example, in a holarchy is a heirachy of wholes that are part of larger wholes in the way that atoms make up molecules, molecules make up cells, collections of cells make up a tissue, etc. This is concept is underplayed in this book, but it seems to be true inside and outside of nature. Ken Wilber offers a more complete explanation of this concept in A BRIEF HISTORY OF EVERYTHING and many other writings.
I also think it's important to keep in mind that a systems view is an outside look of a collective. Empiricism represents an outside look of some single topic. I think it is also necessary to look at the interiority of both individuals and collectives to get a complete understanding of something as complicated as life, politics, religion, etc. I don't think system theory alone is the magic bullet.
This book is relatively short, easy to follow and provides a nice introduction to systems theories and some other important topics. It has some shortcomings, but it is basically solid although there is a bias toward a "flatland" view of nature and reality. If you supplement reading it with some other material such as the book I mentioned above, it may open up some new horizons for you.
Happy reading... I hope you found my interview helpful. Feel free to leave comments if you wish.
New Ager's View of Life.......2007-02-23
This is a superficial and flawed book. It contains some truths but it usually draws the wrong conclusions from them. "New Agers" may love discussion of such topics as "Ecofeminism" and the book will probably make them feel good but I would not recommend it for anyone else. A person with background in the physical or life sciences could probably separate the wheat from the chaff in the book but such a person may already know most of the material. Others are likely to be misled.
Several earlier reviewers (such as "radtrad", J. Floyd, "doomsdayer520", and others) have made specific criticisms that I find valid, so I do not want to repeat them here. If anything, they have been too kind to the book.
Excellent book!!!.......2007-02-05
I can't attest to the science, so this review is about "The Web of Life" as literature. The Web of Life is a highly articulate and worthy piece of literature. Even at it's most scientific, it reads like the friendly voice of a wise Indian Chief. It begins with a quote inspired by Chief Seattle, and proceeds to frame the cultural context of various theories. The science gives a foundation to a conscientious way for institutions to view the world, which I honestly believe is the only solution to the greed driven decline of values in modern institutions. Conscience in institutions begins with what people believe to be true...and modern culture has some fixed ideas with probably no basis in fact except as dictated by greed. Conscience in institutions is a topic that sprouts in various forms in books related to Systems Thinking, etc.
It takes a highly articulate book to step over the communication "land mines" inherant in old ways of thinking and justifications. Systems Thinking by itself in an institutional setting would have a difficult time bringing about one drop of conscience. "Systems Thinking" will rarely work well in institutions simply because as a language, it is too closely related to the type of "business thinking" that has evolved for years (Old thinking = get as much for as little as possible, grow financially at the expense of everything else, etc.)
And I think the science in The Web of Life is sound. My quantum physisist friend seemed to like it...
I just watched another popular video called "What the Bleep"....about how thoughts effect your reality..which after watching it made me pause to think about how what we're thinking is important...but that's kind of similar to the Web of Life in the sense that it's entertaining AND it's educational and raises some questions about ethical considerations.
Of course, scientists DO sometimes perceive things in overly codified ways....and the average person may not think that conscience and science should be mixed. But the world DOES have issues, and those issues are real...and unfortunately, science has both fixed things AND at times made things worse. So we have pennisiln AND we have atom bombs, both from science. So, religion is important, BUT science...or at least GOOD science is a necessary investment...and this book details a direction for Science that gives a foundation to new ways of seeing matters of genuine concerns for humanity and life on the planet in this crazy era we're living now.
Great book! Great service!.......2006-11-10
No complaints! Everything timely, in good condition and exactly as I expected.
A wealth of understanding.......2006-08-28
having read Capra's book hidden connections I really appreciated going back and reading the web of life (as i should have). the book is an all around treatise of the shift of paradigm in science, examples of how this new scientific understanding is found in every discipline and where does all this take us (or should). anyone with an interest in networks, systems thinking, ecology should at least look briefly through the book.
Average customer rating:
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Food Webs and Container Habitats: The Natural History and Ecology of Phytotelmata
R. L. Kitching
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521773164 |
Book Description
The animal communities in plant-held water bodies, such as tree holes and pitcher plants, are models for food web studies. In this book, Professor Kitching introduces us to these fascinating miniature worlds and demonstrates how they can be used to tackle some of the major questions in community ecology. Based on his thirty years of research around the world, he presents much previously unpublished information, as well as summarizing over a hundred years of natural history observations made by others. The book covers many aspects of the theory of food web formation and maintenance presented with field-collected information on tree holes, bromeliads, pitcher plants, bamboo containers, and the axils of fleshy plants.
Download Description
The animal communities in plant-held water bodies, such as tree-holes and pitcher plants, have become models for food-web studies. In this book, Professor Kitching introduces us to these fascinating miniature worlds and demonstrates how they can be used to tackle some of the major questions in community ecology. Based on thirty years research in many parts of the world, this work presents much previously unpublished information, in addition to summarising over a hundred years of natural history observations by others. The book covers many aspects of the theory of food-web formation and maintenance presented with field-collected information on tree-holes, bromeliads, pitcher plants, bamboo containers and the axils of fleshy plants. It is a unique introduction to the field naturalist, and a stimulating source treatment for graduate students and professionals working in the fields of tropical and other forest ecology, as well as entomology.
Customer Reviews:
Community Ecology.......2007-08-15
Kitching breaks down community ecology into its components using container habitats to demonstrate the underlying principles. A must for those who seek to understand the complexities of ecosystems and life on earth.
Book Description
The vitality and accessibility of Fritjof Capra's ideas have made him perhaps the most eloquent spokesperson of the latest findings emerging at the frontiers of scientific, social, and philosophical thought. In his international bestsellers The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, he juxtaposed physics and mysticism to define a new vision of reality. In The Web of Life, Capra takes yet another giant step, setting forth a new scientific language to describe interrelationships and interdependence of psychological, biological, physical, social, and cultural phenomena--the "web of life."
During the past twenty-five years, scientists have challenged conventional views of evolution and the organization of living systems and have developed new theories with revolutionary philosophical and social implications. Fritjof Capra has been at the forefront of this revolution. In The Web of Life, Capra offers a brilliant synthesis of such recent scientific breakthroughs as the theory of complexity, Gaia theory, chaos theory, and other explanations of the properties of organisms, social systems, and ecosystems. Capra's surprising findings stand in stark contrast to accepted paradigms of mechanism and Darwinism and provide an extraordinary new foundation for ecological policies that will allow us to build and sustain communities without diminishing the opportunities for future generations.
Now available in paperback for the first time, The Web of Life is cutting-edge science writing in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Gregory Bateson's Mind and Matter, and Ilya Prigogine's Order Out of Chaos.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Truly Amazing!.......2007-09-22
Dr. Capra has created here a masterpiece! I have read this book cover-to-cover at least three times and am still absorbing new things with each reading. Taking from fields as varied as physics and biology ( in each of which Dr. Capra holds a Ph.D. ), he has created a pardigm shift in the minds of his readers.
This book is not easy going for those of us schooled in the humanities, but is well worth the cost. I give it my highest recommendation!
Remarkable........2007-06-01
This is a wonderful book. In his recent books Capra has marvelously introduced us to thought, and work, that are generally disparate in the public mind. His narrative, while addressing complex material, is exceedingly easy to read and to grasp. All of us "bring forth" broader personal horizons from engaging his books. Thanks Professor Capra.
In his own book Leon Lederman---who won a Nobel Prize in physics---rebuked Capra for having the temerity to suggest a connection between physics and eastern mysticism-----an amazing arrogance in view of Lederman's book title: "The God Particle". Anyone who has read both authors will recall Lederman's flashing egotism, as against the virtual absence of ego in Capra's writing. Clearly Capra's mind has ventured into realms that Lederman has yet to even imagine.
If you are curious about the nature, mechanisms, and "reach" of life, and about those who endeavor in this search, THE WEB OF LIFE (and THE TAO OF PHYSICS) will fascinate you.
The Web of Life.......2007-01-15
I bought this book for my husband. He loves this book. He has loaned it to several people to read.
A Disorganized Jumble Of Disconnected Thoughts........2003-07-25
Please, please, do yourself a favor and don't buy this book. I was so excited to read it, then after 50 pages, I was so excited to throw it away. I just threw it in the trash.
The book is just a bunch of disconnected thoughts with no organization, no style, no interesting revelations, no coherent,readable paragraphs. The fact that this book's editor let it get published means the editor needs to be replaced. - You want to read a good book you can't put down, read 'Complexity'.
It is obne of the best ones.......1999-07-04
I need to find this book of Capra in spanish. Would you please help me? Thanks,
Average customer rating:
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Dynamics of Nutrient Cycling and Food Webs (Population and Community Biology Series)
Donald L. DeAngelis
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0412298406 |
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Biology: The Web of Life
Eric Strauss , and
Marylin Lisowski
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
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ASIN: 0201334402 |
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Ecological Communities: Plant Mediation in Indirect Interaction Webs
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 0521850398 |
Book Description
To gain a more complete understanding of plant-based ecological community structure requires knowledge of the integration of direct and indirect effects in plant herbivore systems. Trait modification of plants as a result of herbivory is very common and widespread in terrestrial plants, and this initiates indirect interactions between organisms that utilise the same host plant. This book argues that food webs by themselves are inadequate models for understanding ecological communities, because they ignore important indirect, nontrophic links. This subject is of great importance in understanding not only community organisation but also in identifying the underlying mechanisms of maintenance of biodiversity in nature. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and graduate students interested in community and population ecology, evolutionary biology, biodiversity, botany and entomology.
Book Description
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Workshop on Data Integration in the Life Sciences, DILS 2004, held in Leipzig, Germany, in March 2004.
The 13 revised full papers and 2 revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from many submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on scientific and clinical workflows, ontologies and taxonomies, indexing and clustering, integration tools and systems, and integration techniques.
Book Description
Dynamic Food Webs challenges us to rethink what factors may determine ecological and evolutionary pathways of food web development. It touches upon the intriguing idea that trophic interactions drive patterns and dynamics at different levels of biological organization: dynamics in species composition, dynamics in population life-history parameters and abundances, and dynamics in individual growth, size and behavior. These dynamics are shown to be strongly interrelated governing food web structure and stability and the role of populations and communities play in ecosystem functioning.
Dyanmic Food Webs not only offers over 100 illustrations, but also contains 8 riveting sections devoted to an understanding of how to manage the effects of environmental change, the protection of biological diversity and the sustainable use of natural resources.
Dyanmic Food Webs is a volume in the Theoretical Ecology series.
* Relates dynamics on different levels of biological organization: individuals, populations, and communities
* Deals with empirical and theoretical approaches
* Discusses the role of community food webs in ecosystem functioning
* Proposes methods to assess the effects of environmental change on the structure of biological communities and ecosystem functioning
* Offers an analyses of the relationship between complexity and stability in food webs
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Spiders in Ecological Webs (Cambridge Studies in Ecology)
David H. Wise
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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ASIN: 052131061X |
Book Description
As experimental organisms, spiders offer ecologists a unique opportunity to examine the concept of the ecological community and the role that field experimentation can play in evaluating theories of population and community ecology. In this book, David Wise provides a balanced critique of field experiments designed to uncover details of spider ecology, with the dual aim of clarifying the ecology of these fascinating organisms and providing insight into the advantages and challenges of performing field experiments with a predator ubiquitous in terrestrial ecosystems.
Book Description
Now in its fifth edition, this topically organized text provides a comprehensive introduction to lifespan motor development and includes the most current research findings available in the field.
Books:
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- Toxicology of Marine Mammals (New Perspectives: Toxicology and the Environment)
- Visual Mnemonics for Physiology and Related Anatomy (Visual Mnemonics Series)
- Yellow Eyes (Posleen War Series #8)
- A Colour Atlas of the Anatomy of Small Laboratory Animals: Rat, Mouse, Golden Hamster
- American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants
- American Horticultural Society Pests and Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying and Treating Plant Problems
- An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits (Chapman & Hall/Crc Mathematical and Computational Biology Series)
- Apoptosis: The Life and Death of Cells (Developmental & Cell Biology Series)
- Aquatic Photosynthesis: Second Edition
Books Index
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Tree of Knowledge
