How to thrive by taking a systems view of life

Dr Fritjof Capra‘s bestsellers on the systems view of life – a term he coined – elucidate beautifully the ways ‘conceptual changes in science’ have come to effect ‘broader changes in our worldview’. Speaking about Patterns of Connection, Capra says that as “systems thinking and the systems view of life are inherently multi-disciplinary” he touches in the book on “all these dimensions of life: the biological, the cognitive, the social, the ecological”.

Patterns of Connection is filled with essential essays that illuminate five decades of Capra’s amazing life. “This is not only an account of my intellectual journey,” he explains. “It is also an account of the various social movements that I encountered and became part of.”

He adds: “Patterns of Connection is a collection of essays with a narrative that interweaves the essays, and gives the historical and philosophical context. And it is really the story about how my thinking evolved over five decades.”

The book begins with Capra’s vivid memories of the world he was experiencing in the 1960s, a time when he was studying eastern philosophy and taking psychedelics: a time – which he labels, as the ‘great formative years of my life’. For more on these years and where the story has gone since, catch up with this memorable podcast for more from Capra, and from the pages of Patterns of Connection.