Fritjof Capra

The Tao of Physics (1975)

Page numbers refer to the first paperback edition: Shambhala Publications, 1975, ISBN 0-87773-078-4

• 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.
  • Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 17

• 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.
  • Ch. 1, Modern Physics, p. 19

• 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.
  • Ch. 2, Knowing and Seeing, p. 36

• 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.
  • Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 46

• 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.
  • Ch. 3, Beyond Language, p. 50

• 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.
  • Epilogue, p. 305

• 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.
  • Epilogue, p. 306