Quotes from book
The Tao of Physics

The Tao of Physics
Fritjof Capra

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism is a 1975 book by physicist Fritjof Capra. It was a bestseller in the United States and has been published in 43 editions in 23 languages. The fourth edition in English was published in 2000.

Fritjof Capra photo

“The influence of modern physics goes beyond technology. It extends to the realm of thought and culture where it has led to a deep revision in man's conception of the universe and his relation to it.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 17.

Fritjof Capra photo

“Mystics understand the roots of the Tao but not its branches; scientists understand its branches but not its roots. Science does not need mysticism and mysticism does not need science; but man needs both.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Epilogue, p. 306.
The Tao of Physics (1975)

Fritjof Capra photo

“Both the physicist and the mystic want to communicate their knowledge, and when they do so with words their statements are paradoxical and full of logical contradictions.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 46.

Fritjof Capra photo

“Whenever the essential nature of things is analysed by the intellect, it must seem absurd or paradoxical. This has always been recognized by the mystics, but has become a problem in science only very recently.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 50.

Fritjof Capra photo

“Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction. The dance of Shiva is the dancing universe, the ceaseless flow of energy going through an infinite variety of patterns that melt into one another’’. For the modern physicists, then Shiva’s dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomenon. Hundreds of years ago, Indian artists created visual images of dancing Shivas in a beautiful series of bronzes. In our times, physicists have used the most advanced technology to portray the patterns of the cosmic dance.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), p. 244.

Fritjof Capra photo

“If physics leads us today to a world view which is essentially mystical, it returns, in a way, to its beginning, 2,500 years ago. […] This time, however, it is not only based on intuition, but also on experiments of great precision and sophistication, and on a rigorous and consistent mathematical formalism.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 19.

Fritjof Capra photo

“The mathematical framework of quantum theory has passed countless successful tests and is now universally accepted as a consistent and accurate description of all atomic phenomena. The verbal interpretation, on the other hand – i. e., the metaphysics of quantum theory – is on far less solid ground. In fact, in more than forty years physicists have not been able to provide a clear metaphysical model.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 10, The Unity of All Things, p. 132.

Fritjof Capra photo

“A page from a journal of modern experimental physics will be as mysterious to the uninitiated as a Tibetan mandala. Both are records of enquiries into the nature of the universe.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Source: The Tao of Physics (1975), Ch. 2, Knowing and Seeing, p. 36.

Fritjof Capra photo

“The mystic and the physicist arrive at the same conclusion; one starting from the inner realm, the other from the outer world. The harmony between their views confirms the ancient Indian wisdom that Brahman, the ultimate reality without, is identical to Atman, the reality within.”

Fritjof Capra book The Tao of Physics

Epilogue, p. 305.
The Tao of Physics (1975)

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