Fritoj Capra, (1996)
Originally published on my blog
In his book, The web of life, Fritoj Capra provides a synthesis of ideas to present a new understanding of life both in the biological and philosophical sense. He advocates for a connective view of life that integrates ideas from various realms including biology, ecology, physics, systems thinking, and cybernetics.
Part 1: The Cultural Context
Deep Ecology
Capra starts off by outlining Deep Ecology, a new perspective through which to view living systems. Deep Ecology questions our anthropocentric notions of how life is structured and advocates for a paradigm shift to a more ecological, holistic worldview. Capra makes a distinction between ‘ecological’ and ‘holistic’ noting that ‘holistic’ seems less appropriate for this new paradigm:
“A holistic view of, say, a bicycle means to see the bicycle as a functional whole and to understand the interdependence of its parts accordingly. An ecological view of the bicycle includes that but it adds to it the perceptions of how the bicycle is embedded in it natural and social environment – where the raw materials that went into it came from, how it was manufactured, how it use affects the natural environment and the community by which it is used and so on.” (7)
This emphasis on the importance of context and contextual knowledge is central to Capra’s ideas and continues throughout the book.
