The Hidden Connections: Integrating the Biological, Cognitive, and Social Dimensions of Life Into a Science of Substainability

Capra attempts to connect biological models with cognition and social structures. It has inspired me to think about media in new, ecological terms. This is a great book for defining paradigms. The first section, which focuses a lot on technical biological science lays the groundwork for the rest of the book. Gene and cell networks can be applied to how cultures and societies are structured. Some chapters are truly scary (such as the section on biotechnology), and others are very uplifting (like the chapter "Changing the Game"). This book is a must have for people looking for a sustainable blueprint to the future.

This is a valuable successor to Capra's earlier books, all of which seek to discuss matters of critical societal and ecological concern within the framework of scientific analysis and understanding. The book is in two parts. The first three chapters provide a brilliant summary of current thinking about the nature of life, mind and consciousness, and social reality as an emergent property of social organization seen as a complex adaptive system. It's very good but not easy to read. The remaining four chapters and epilogue can be read separately, although they rely on the theories in the first part. They form a wide-ranging critique of the current governance of organisations and of globalisation, with what amounts to a very detailed case study of how these structures produce the fundamentally dishonest and very dangerous commercial drive to GM foods. The final chapter offers broad guidelines for reshaping the current political and economic framework to bring economic incentives into harmony with the needs of society and the natural world. 

If you are looking to save the world via fiction, see Daniel Quinn. If you are looking to save the world via non-fiction, look no further than Hidden Connections. This book will provide you with everything you need (including a new mind and new conception of self) to get right with the ecosphere and the damage we have all helped inflict upon her. (Don't think the world is in trouble, see Lester Brown's ECO-ECONOMY). Not a science buff, chapter one didn't blow my doors, although I was interested by what Capra had to say and (luckily) was able to wrap my head around all the concepts. In this chapter, he traces the evolution of life on the planet, and therewith provides a novel definition of life. A good place to start any book, I suppose, but certainly one about the future prospects of life on this planet. Chapter two deals with mind and consciousness. In this chapter, Capra bridges the ancient Cartesian chasm between mind and body, defines cognition and consciousness, and explains the meaning of language. He even throws out some theories about the origin and evolution of all the above. Chapter three breaks from the previous two chapters, as Capra delves into social reality. In this chapter he gives meaning to the world "meaning," explains social theory from Max Weber to Habermas, discusses human freedom, explains the three forms of power (coercive, compensatory, and conditioned power, or education), and talks about technology and culture.For me, the book really picks up with chapter four, "Life and Leadership in Organizations." This chapter, Capra discusses what the definition of life means when applied to the corporate business world. Issues such as managment, labor rights, and the role of creativity are sure to please. It is this chapter that gets the ball rolling, which doesn't stop until the very last page. Chapter seven almost left me breathless. Here Capra provides a thoroughgoing critique of the globalization. Books like THE CASE AGAINST THE GLOBAL ECONOMY are much longer and more detailed, but that is exactly what gives Capra's presentation unique: As with every subject, he synthesizes his argument into concise, lazer-like prose, drawing upon the work of hundreds of scholars, all well-documented in an A++ index. Chapter eight deals with biotechnology, perhaps the defining charadcteristic of 21st century. This chapter covers a lot of ground: He explains genes, advances the freewill-determinism argument (freewill wins), gives a concise history of the Green Revolution, genetically modified organisms, the silent organic revolution, biopiracy, ecodesign, and biomimicry. As with the chapter on the global economy, this chapter is written in stunning prose that will not disappoint.The last chapter is called "Changing the Game". In this chapter, Capra outlines the ecocide we are inflicting on the planet (again, a subject discussed singularly and to great satisfaction in ECO-ECONOMY), and what we can do to fix it. In this chapter, he gives a cohe

Physicist Fritjof Capra is perhaps best known for his 1975 book, THE TAO OF PHYSICS, which is now in its fourth printing. In THE HIDDEN CONNECTIONS, he covers a lot of ground in just 288 pages--3.8 billion years, to be exact--to reveal the remarkable interconnectedness of all things, from cells to language to the internet to spirituality to the global economy, that make up the ever-evolving web of life in which we live. However, as fascinating as this journey might be, in the end this is a book with a convincing message about sustainability, which Capra offers without ever sounding preachy. This thought-provoking book will appeal to anyone who enjoyed THE TAO OF PHYSICS or THE WEB OF LIFE, or to anyone who finds Thomas Berry's DREAM OF THE EARTH and THE GREAT WORK meaningful.G. Merritt

This is the sort of book that one would want to make required reading for all cognitive beings on this planet, as our future may well depend upon behaviors based on the information available here. Unfortunately, the complexity of say, the Santiago Thoery, although beautifully written, seems to be beyond the interest or understanding of most people. They might even start it and put it aside in frustration because it conflicts with deeply engrained ideas from philosophy, biology, and religion.In this book, Capra expands on the ideas presented in Web of Life, and makes them relevant to our present and future lives, as well as to Life itself. I cannot recommend it enough.