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Ep 138  |  Fritjof Capra

Fritjof Capra: “The Physics of Connection: Understanding Relationships and Ecology”

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TGS138 Fritjof Capra The Great Simplification

Show Summary

Without a systems lens, the full reality of the human predicament will never be understood. It is only when we adopt this kind of holistic, wide-boundary thinking that we are able to see the complexity and nuance of how the biosphere, geopolitics, economics, energy, and many other systems interplay with and influence one another. But historically, the scientific community didn’t utilize the power of systems thinking until a few groundbreaking individuals advanced and popularized that way of looking at the world.

Today, Nate is joined by one of the great systems thinkers, physicist and deep ecologist Fritjof Capra, to explore how his worldview has been shaped by his decades of work in physics, ecology, and community development – and his conclusions that addressing our ecological and  social crises will require a broader shift in our values and philosophies. 

How are science and spirituality deeply entangled, despite often being falsely separated in modern culture? How would our ideas of consciousness change if we understood the interconnectedness of all life, and our place within it? What could our societies look like if we emphasized the importance of maintaining deeper relationships with the natural world, and prioritized human wellbeing over economic growth?

About Fritjof Capra

Fritjof Capra, Ph.D., is a physicist and systems theorist. He was a founding director (1995-2020) of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. He serves on the faculty of the Amana-Key executive education program in São Paulo, Brazil and is a Fellow of Schumacher College in the UK. Capra is the author of several international bestsellers, including The Tao of Physics, The Web of Life, and The Science of Leonardo. He is coauthor of the multidisciplinary textbook, The Systems View of Life. Capra’s online course is based on his textbook.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

00:00 – Fritjof Capra works + info, Center for Ecoliteracy, Books: The Tao of Physics + The Web of Life + The Systems View of Life, Capra course

02:52 – Werner Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy

03:33 – Quantum Theory

04:42 – 1960s counterculture

05:30 – The Beatles and the Maharishi + George Harrison and Ravi Shankar

06:30 – Transpersonal Psychology, Free Speech Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Prague Spring

07:30 – Papers: Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism + Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

08:25 – Green politics, New Age movement

08:49 – Book: The Turning Point

10:40 – Global Civil Society

11:00 – Economic Superorganism 

14:15 – Women’s Liberation Movement 

14:43 – Iron Curtain

16:47 – Pier Luigi Luisi 

17:45 – Polycrisis

20:57 – Gregory Bateson, Lynn Margulis, Hazel Henderson

24:30 – Bhagavad Gita, Alan Watts, D.T. Suzuki

27:49 – Neo-Darwinism

29:58 – Genetic change through gene transfer: Horizontal gene transfer and adaptive evolution in bacteria

30:05 – Genetic change through genetic acquisition: Species creation through symbiosis + The endosymbiont hypothesis

32:30 – Article: Principles of Life

34:40 – Indigenous perceptions of the human-nature relationship

34:57 – All life is genetically related

36:08 – David Steindl-Rast

36:10 – Etymology: Spirit + Anima + Psyche

37:05 – John Coltrane, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar

42:45 – Melatonin and sleep + the hypnagogic state

44:04 – Sleep onset and creativity

45:20 – Consciousness and language + language and culture

45:59 – Theory of mind functioning as a machine + treating Earth’s systems as a machine

46:19 – Santiago Theory, Humberto Maturana, Fransisco Varela

50:30 – Merlin bird app

51:34 – Adam Smith on wealth and wellbeing

51:59 – David Korten, Ecological Civilisation, history of economics Page 17

54:19 – Capra course

55:24 – Fridays for Future, Last Generation, Greta Thunberg

57:26 – Paper: Qualitative Growth

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