Belonging to the Universe: Explorations on the Frontiers of Science and Spirituality

by Fritjof Capra

The trailblazer of new science and a contemporary Thomas Merton explore the parallels between new paradigm thinking in science and religion that together offer a remarkably compatible view of the universe.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Physics

217 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

About the author

Fritjof Capra (born February 1, 1939) is an Austrian-born American physicist. He is a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, and is on the faculty of Schumacher College. Capra is the author of several books, including The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point (1982), Uncommon Wisdom (1988), The Web of Life (1996) and The Hidden Connections (2002).

Reviews

[Andrew]

I think I understood roughly seven of the concepts used in this book and maybe 14 of the words used.

Two super smart dudes talk about science and religion. But they don't do a swell job of making it accessible like my boy Alan Watts.

There were times I was interested in what the dudes had to say about life and shit. At other times, (most of the time if I'm being honest with myself) I was like..."what?"

Maybe someday I'll pick it back up, slow down, wrap my head around this thing and "get" "it."

If you're smarter than me, then go read this book! But I got second place in the spelling bee in 6th grade, so I know a thing or two about stuff.

[William Crosby]

This book is the result of discussions at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur. It focuses on parallel shifts in thinking (paradigm) within science and religion (they focus primarily on Christian and Buddhism; others are mentioned, but not dealt with as in-depth as those two).

This is put in the format of a dialogue between the authors. Often there is agreement (and it often seemed they were trying too hard to find similarities and conjunctions between science and religion); sometimes there is questioning of each other and teasing out certain points.

The format was too scattershot and not structured enough for me. I'd get interested in a line of thought and then suddenly they'd digress to something else. I sometimes felt I was walking in a fast moving muddy river trying to see the constantly varying bottom.

They also would sometimes use judgmental words such as "reactionary" and "outmoded."

While this book did give me some new ideas, I did not like the format.

[Carla Parreira]

Melhores trechos: "...Há, porém, alguns cientistas que são mais intuitivos do que outros. E os cientistas mais altamente intuitivos possuem esse tipo de fé. É muito típico deles o fato de que, de certa forma, percebem nos próprios ossos que isso os levará a algum lugar, e podem confiar nessa intuição... A fé científica é uma certa intuição de que você está na pista certa para resolver alguma questão sobre o mundo físico, mas essa fé não tem nenhuma conexão intrínseca com o significado último ou com a moralidade... Se você utilizar o modo racional analítico-reducionistalinear, aprenderá certas coisas sobre a natureza, mas não aprenderá outras. Ao passo que se você utilizar o modo intuitivo-sintético-holístico-não-linear, aprenderá outras coisas... O entendimento de uma parte, de uma doutrina ou de um ensinamento nunca ocorre isolado do todo. O significado está no todo; não está num silogismo ou numa sentença afirmativa ou no que quer que seja... O transtorno surge, não da complexidade de nossas mentes, mas da maneira como utilizamos a liberdade que nossa capacidade para conceituar o universo nos dá..."

[Bernie4444]

“Critical Questions about New Paradigm Thinking” (1985)

The conversations recorded in this book took place at that symposium and we get a word for word blow-by-blow discussions from the three authors in a give-and-take format.

Even though the discussion has a definite purpose and direction you will feel like you’re taking part in it yourself.

Some Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
Preview
Introduction
Science and Technology
1. The Purpose of Science and Technology
2. The Methods of Science and Technology
3. Paradigms in Science and Technology
4. The Christian Paradigm
the Current Shift of Paradigms (General Comments)
Criteria for New-Paradigm Thinking in Science and Technology
1. Shift from Parts to the Whole
2. Shift from Structure to Process
3. Shift from Objective to “Epistemic” Science
4. Shift from Building to Network as Metaphor of Knowledge
5. Shift from Truth to Approximate Descriptions
Social Implications of New Paradigm Thinking in Science and Technology

[Daniel Facchini]

I thought this was an amazing book. As it was published 23 years ago, some of the very few debates including "current issues" are outdated. Nevertheless, everything else is still up to date, even though the paradigm shift in science and theology is what is beeing discussed.

I always find it impressive when highly educated people from different backgrounds work together towards an integrative approach. The discussions the authors make brings a lot of information and calls for an inner reflexion on the way every aspect of life can be influenced by science and spirituality.

[Vicki]

This is a wonderful book so far - I haven't finished it yet. It is a great hybrid of scientific systems theory and Christian spirituality. I wish I had read it sooner.