The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living SystemsDuring 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.[from the publisher]. |
Contents
Deep EcologyA New Paradigm | 3 |
PART TWO THE RISE OF SYSTEMS THINKING | 15 |
CHAPTER 3 | 36 |
Copyright | |
8 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems Fritjof Capra Limited preview - 1997 |
The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems Fritjof Capra No preview available - 1996 |
Common terms and phrases
animals atmosphere attractors autopoiesis autopoietic autopoietic network bacteria Bateson behavior Bertalanffy bifurcation point binary networks biologists biology brain Capra Cartesian catalytic cells century chaos theory characteristic chemical cognition communities complex components concept cyberneticists cybernetics cycles daisies Daisyworld deep ecology describe developed dissipative structures dynamics Earth ecosystems emerge energy environment equations equilibrium evolution evolutionary evolved example feedback loops Figure fractal Francisco Varela Gaia Gaia hypothesis Gaia theory genes genetic human Humberto Maturana Ibid idea interactions James Lovelock Julia set language living organisms living systems Lovelock Lynn Margulis Mandelbrot Margulis and Sagan mathematical mathematicians Maturana and Varela mechanistic mental metabolic molecules nature nervous system nonlinear Norbert Wiener organismic oxygen paradigm pattern of organization peptides phase space phenomena physical plants Prigogine Prigogine's relationships Santiago theory scientific scientists self-organization social species structural changes systems theory systems thinking tion understanding variables whole Wiener