Thursday, June 26, 7:30 pm
St. John’s Church, 2727 College Avene, Berkeley
$12 advance tickets: brownpapertickets.com :: 800-838-3006 or Pegasus Books (3 locations), Mrs. Dalloway’s, Moe’s Books, Walden Pond, DIESEL a Bookstore. SF: Modern Times ($15 door)
Co-Sponsored by St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Over the past 30 years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged in the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organization, leading to a novel kind of “systemic” thinking.
“In my first book,” Capra writes, “- The Tao of Physics (1975) – “I discussed the profound change in our worldview that was brought about by the conceptual revolution in physics — a change from the mechanistic worldview of Descartes and Newton to a holistic and ecological view. In my subsequent research and writing, I have engaged in a systematic exploration of a central theme: the fundamental change of worldview… that is now also occurring in the other sciences and in society; the unfolding of a new vision of reality, and the social implications of this cultural transformation. .. I had to go beyond physics and look for a broader conceptual framework. In doing so, I realized that our major social issues — health, social justice, protection of the environment, the management of business enterprises, and so on — all have to do with living systems: with individual human beings, social systems, and ecosystems…over the past thirty years I have developed a conceptual framework that integrates four dimensions of life: the biological, the cognitive, the social, and the ecological. I presented summaries of this framework, as it evolved, in two books: The Web of Life (1996) and The Hidden Connections (2002). My final synthesis, coauthored with my friend and colleague Pier Luigi, is The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision (Cambridge University Press, 2014).
Fritjof Capra is a Founding Director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, CA. He also serves on the faculty of Schumacher College, UK. He is a physicist and systems theorist who has received many prestigious international awards, including The Gold Medal of the UK Systems Society, the Bioneers’ Award, and the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic.
Among his other books: The Turning Point, The Web of Life, Green Politics, The Hidden Connections, The Science of Leonardo, and Belonging to the Universe.
Mitch Jeserich is the host of Pacifica Radio’s “Letters & Politics” – a look at burning political issues and debates and their historical context. It is broadcast Monday through Thursday on
94.1 FM.
