PREFACE
1. Quoted in Judson (1979), pp. 209, 220.
CHAPTER 1
1. One of the best sources is State of the World, a series of annual reports published by the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, D.C. Other excellent accounts can be found in Hawken (1993) and Gore (1992).
2. Brown (1981).
3. See Capra (1975).
4. Kuhn (1962).
5. See Capra (1982).
6. Capra (1986).
7. See Devall and Sessions (1985).
8. See Capra and Steindl-Rast (1991).
9. Arne Naess, quoted in Devall and Sessions (1985), p. 74.
10. See Merchant (1994), Fox (1989).
11. See Bookchin (1981).
12. Eisler (1987).
13. See Merchant (1980).
14. See Spretnak (1978, 1993).
15. See Capra (1982), p. 43.
310
NOTES
16. See p. 35 below.
17. Arne Naess, quoted in Fox (1990), p. 217.
18. See Fox (1990), pp. 246-47.
19. Macy (1991).
20. Fox (1990).
21. Roszak (1992).
22. Quoted in Capra (1982), p. 55.
CHAPTER 2
1. See pp. 132—33 below.
2. Bateson (1972), p. 449.
3. See Windelband (1901), pp. 139ff.
4. See Capra (1982), pp. 53ff.
5. R. D. Laing, quoted in Capra (1988), p. 133.
6. See Capra (1982), pp. 107-8.
7. Blake (1802).
8. See Capra (1983), p. 6.
9. See Haraway (1976), pp. 40-42.
10. See Windelband (1901), p. 565.
11. See Webster and Goodwin (1982).
12. Kant (1790, 1987 edition), p. 253.
13. See p. 83 below.
14. See Spretnak (1981), pp. 30ff.
15. See Gimbutas (1982).
16. See pp. 85ff. below.
17. See Sachs (1995).
18. See Webster and Goodwin (1982).
19. See Capra (1982), pp. 108ff.
20. See Haraway (1976), pp. 22ff.
21. Koestler (1967).
22. See Driesch (1908), pp. 76ff.
23. Sheldrake (1981).
24. See Haraway (1976), pp. 33ff.
25. See Lilienfeld (1978), p. 14.
26. I am grateful to Heinz von Foerster for this observation.
27. See Haraway (1976), pp. 131, 194.
28. Quoted ibid., p. 139.
29. See Checkland (1981), p. 78.
30. See Haraway (1976), pp. 147ff.
311
31. Quoted in Capra (1975), p. 264.
32. Quoted ibid., p. 139.
33. Unfortunately Heisenberg’s British and American publishers did not realize the significance of this title and retitled the book Physics and Beyond; see Heisenberg (1971).
34. See Lilienfeld (1978), pp. 227ff.
35. Christian von Ehrenfels, “Uber ‘Gestaltqualitaten,’ ” 1890; reprinted in Weinhandl (1960).
36. See Capra (1982), p. 427.
37. See Heims (1991), p. 209.
38. Ernst Haeckel, quoted in Maren-Grisebach (1982), p. 30.
39. Uexkiill (1909).
40. See Ricklefs (1990), pp. 174ff.
41. See Lincoln et al. (1982).
42. Vernadsky (1926); see also Marhulis and Sagan (1995), pp. 44ff.
43. See pp. lOOff. below.
44. See Thomas (1975), pp. 26ffi, 102ff.
45. Ibid.
46. See Burns et al. (1991).
47. Patten (1991).
CHAPTER 3
1. I owe this insight to my brother, Bernt Capra, who was trained as an architect.
2. Quoted in Capra (1988), p. 66.
3. Quoted ibid.
4. Quoted ibid.
5. See ibid., pp. 50ff.
6. Quoted in Capra (1975), p. 126.
7. Quoted in Capra (1982), p. 101.
8. Odum (1953).
9. Whitehead (1929).
10. Cannon (1932).
11. I am grateful to Vladimir Maikov and his colleagues at the Russian Academy of Sciences for introducing me to Bogdanov’s work.
12. Quoted in Gorelik (1975).
13. For a detailed summary of tektology, see Gorelik (1975).
14. See pp. 51ff. below.
15. See p. 158 below.
312
NOTES
16. See pp. 86ff. below.
17. See p. 134 below.
18. See pp. 56ff. below.
19. See pp. 112ff. below.
20. See Mattessich (1983—84).
21. Quoted in Gorelik (1975).
22. See Bertalanffy (1940) for his first discussion of open systems, published in German, and Bertalanffy (1950) for his first essay on open systems in English, reprinted in Emery (1969).
23. See pp. 75ff. below.
24. See Davidson (1983); see also Lilienfeld (1978), pp. 16-26, for a short review of Bertalanffy’s work.
25. Bertalanffy (1968), p. 37.
26. See Capra (1982), pp. 72ff.
27. The “first law of thermodynamics” is the law of the conservation of energy.
28. The term represents a combination of “energy” and tropos, the Greek word for transformation, or evolution.
29. Bertalanffy (1968), p. 121.
30. See pp. 185ff. below.
31. See pp. 86ff. below.
32. Bertalanffy (1968), p. 84.
33. Ibid., pp. 80—81.
CHAPTER 4
1. Wiener (1948). The phrase appears in the subtitle of the book.
2. Wiener (1950), p. 96.
3. See Heims (1991).
4. See Varela et al. (1991), p. 38.
5. See Heims (1991).
6. See Heims (1980).
7. Quoted ibid., p. 208.
8. See Capra (1988), pp. 73ff.
9. See pp. 172ff. below.
10. See Heims (1991), pp. 19ff.
11. Wiener (1950), p. 24.
12. See Richardson (1991), pp. 17ff.
13. Cited ibid., p. 94.
14. Cannon (1932).
313
15. See Richardson (1991), pp. 5-7.
16. In slightly more technical language, the “+” and labels are called polarities, and the rule says that the polarity of a feedback loop is the
product of the polarities of its causal links.
17. Wiener (1948), p. 24.
18. See Richardson (1991), pp. 59ff.
19. See ibid., pp. 79ff.
20. Maruyama (1963).
21. See Richardson (1991), p. 204.
22. See p. 158 below.
23. Heinz von Foerster, private communication, January 1994.
24. Ashby (1952), p. 9.
25. Wiener (1950), p. 32.
26. Ashby (1956), p. 4.
27. See Varela et al. (1992), pp. 39ff.
28. Quoted in Weizenbaum (1976), p. 138.
29. See ibid., pp. 23ff.
30. Quoted in Capra (1982), p. 47.
31. See p. 274 below.
32. See p. 284 below.
33. Weizenbaum (1976), pp. 8, 226.
34. Wiener (1948), p. 38.
35. Wiener (1950), p. 162.
36. Postman (1992), Mander (1991).
37. Postman (1992), p. 19.
38. See Sloan (1985), Kane (1993), Bowers (1993), Roszak (1994).
39. Roszak (1994), pp. 87ff.
40. Bowers (1993), pp. 17ff.
41. See Douglas D. Noble, “The Regime of Technology in Education,” in Kane (1993).
42. See Varela et al. (1992), pp. 85ff.
CHAPTER 5
1. See Checkland (1981), pp. 123ff.
2. See ibid., p. 129.
3. See Dickson (1971).
4. Quoted in Checkland (1981), p. 137.
5. See ibid.
6. See Richardson (1992), pp. 149ff. and pp. 170ff.
314
NOTES
7. Ulrich (1984).
8. See Konigswieser and Lutz (1992).
9. See Capra (1982), pp. 116ff.
10. Lilienfeld (1978), pp. 191-92.
11. See pp. 122—23 below.
12. See pp. 18—19 above.
13. See p. 36 above.
14. See pp. 162ff. below.
15. See Varela et al. (1992), p. 94.
16. See pp. 56ff. above.
17. McCulloch and Pitts (1943).
18. See, e.g., Ashby (1947).
19. See Yovits and Cameron (1959); Foerster and Zopf (1962); and Yovits, Jacobi, and Goldstein (1962).
20. The mathematical definition for redundancy is R = 1 - H/Hmax, where H is the entropy of the system at a given time and F/max is the maximum entropy possible for that system.
21. For a detailed review of the history of these research projects, see Paslack (1991).
22. Quoted ibid., p. 97n.
23. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 142.
24. See Laszlo (1987), p. 29.
25. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), pp. 146ff.
26. Ibid., p. 143.
27. Prigogine (1967).
28. Prigogine and Glansdorff (1971).
29. Quoted in Paslack (1991), p. 105.
30. See Graham (1987).
31. See Paslack (1991), pp. 106-7.
32. Quoted ibid., p. 108; see also Haken (1987).
33. Reprinted in Haken (1983).
34. Graham (1987).
35. Quoted in Paslack (1991), p. 111.
36. Eigen (1971).
37. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), pp. 133ffi; see also Laszlo (1987), pp. 3Iff.
38. See Laszlo (1987), pp. 34-35.
39. Quoted in Paslack (1991), p. 112.
40. Humberto Maturana in Maturana and Varela (1980), p. xii.
41. Maturana (1970).
315
42. Quoted in Paslack (1991), p. 156.
43. Maturana (1970).
44. Quoted in Paslack (1991), p. 155.
45. Maturana (1970); see pp. 162ff. below for more details and examples.
46. See pp. 264ff. below.
47. Humberto Maturana in Maturana and Varela (1980), p. xvii.
48. Maturana and Varela (1972).
49. Varela, Maturana, and Uribe (1974).
50. Maturana and Varela (1980), p. 75.
51. See p. 18 and p. 65 above.
52. Maturana and Varela (1980), p. 82.
53. See Capra (1985).
54. Geoffrey Chew, quoted in Capra (1975), p. 296.
55. See below, pp. 158ff.
56. See pp. 22—23 and 33 above.
57. See Kelley (1988).
58. See Lovelock (1979), pp. Iff.
59. Lovelock (1991), pp. 21-22.
60. Ibid., p. 12.
61. See Lovelock (1979), p. 11.
62. Lovelock (1972).
63. Margulis (1989).
64. See Lovelock (1991), pp. 108—11; see also Harding (1994).
65. Margulis (1989).
66. See Lovelock and Margulis (1974).
67. Lovelock (1991), p. 11.
68. See pp. 24ff. above.
69. See pp. 220, 232 below.
70. See Lovelock (1991), p. 62.
71. See ibid., pp. 62ff.; see also Harding (1994).
72. Harding (1994).
73. See Lovelock (1991), pp. 70—72.
74. See Schneider and Boston (1991).
75. Jantsch (1980).
CHAPTER 6
1. Quoted in Capra (1982), p. 55.
2. Quoted in Capra (1982), p. 63.
3. Stewart (1989), p. 38.
316
NOTES
4. Quoted ibid., p. 51.
5. To be precise, the pressure is the force divided by the area the gas is pushing against.
6. A technical point should perhaps be made here. Mathematicians distinguish between dependent and independent variables. In the function y = f(x), y is the dependent variable and x the independent variable. Differential equations are called linear ’ when all dependent variables appear in the first power, while independent variables may appear in higher powers, and nonlinear” when dependent variables appear in higher powers. See also pp. 115—16 above.
7. See Stewart (1989), p. 83.
8. See Briggs and Peat (1989), pp. 52ff.
9. See Stewart (1989), pp. 155ff.
10. See Stewart (1989), pp. 95-96.
11. See p. 121 above.
12. Quoted in Stuart (1989), p. 71.
13. Ibid., p. 72. See pp. 129ff. below for a detailed discussion of strange attractors.
14. See Capra (1982), pp. 75ff.
15. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 247.
16. See Mosekilde et al. (1988).
17. See Gleick (1987), pp. llff.
18. Quoted in Gleick (1987), p. 18.
19. See Stewart (1989), pp. 106ff.
20. See pp. 86ff. above.
21. See Briggs and Peat (1989), pp. 84ff.
22. Abraham and Shaw (1982-88).
23. Mandelbrot (1983).
24. See Peitgen et al. (1990). This videotape, which contains stunning computer animation and captivating interviews with Benoit Mandelbrot and Edward Lorenz, is one of the best introductions to fractal geometry.
25. See ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. See Mandelbrot (1983), pp. 34ff.
28. See Dantzig (1954), pp. 181 ff.
29. Quoted in Dantzig (1954), p. 204.
30. Quoted ibid., p. 189.
31. Quoted ibid., p. 190.
32. See Gleick (1987), pp. 22Iff.
33. For real numbers it is easy to see that any number greater than 1 will
317
keep increasing when it is squared repeatedly, while any number smaller than 1 will keep decreasing. Adding a constant at every step of the iteration before squaring again adds more variety, and for complex numbers the whole situation becomes even more complicated.
34. Quoted in Gleick (1987), pp. 221-22.
35. See Peitgen et al. (1990).
36. See Peitgen et al. (1990).
37. See Peitgen and Richter (1986).
38. See Grof (1976).
39. Quoted in Peitgen et al. (1990).
40. Quoted in Gleick (1987), p. 52.
CHAPTER 7
L Maturana and Varela (1987), p. 47. Instead of “pattern of organization” the authors simply use the term “organization.”
2. See pp. 18—19 above.
3. See pp. 95ff. above.
4. See pp. 86ff. above.
5. See above, pp. 86-88.
6. See above, pp. 82-83.
7. Maturana and Varela (1980), p. 49.
8. See Capra (1982), p. 119.
9. See p. 243 below.
10. To do so, the enzymes use the other, complementary DNA strand as a template for the section to be replaced. The double strandedness of DNA is thus essential for these repair processes.
11. I am grateful to William Holloway for research assistance on vortex phenomena.
12. Technically speaking, this effect is a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum.
13. See pp. 136-37 above.
14. See pp. 190-92 below.
15. See p. 55 above.
16. Bateson s first published discussions of these criteria, initially called “mental characteristics,” can be found in two essays, “The Cybernetics of ‘Self’: A Theory of Alcoholism” and “Pathologies of Epistemology,” both reprinted in Bateson (1972). For a more comprehensive discussion, see Bateson (1979), pp. 89ff. See appendix, pp. 305ff. below, for a detailed discussion of Bateson’s criteria of mental process.
318
NOTES
17. See Bateson (1972), p. 478.
18. See p. 96 above.
19. Bateson (1979), p. 8.
20. Quoted in Capra (1988), p. 88.
21. See pp. 95—96 above.
22. See pp. 264ff. below.
23. Revonsuo and Kamppinen (1994), p. 5.
24. See pp. 282ff. below.
CHAPTER 8
1. See p. 48 above.
2. Odum (1953).
3. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 156.
4. See pp. 86ff. above.
5. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), pp. 22—23.
6. Ibid., pp. 143—44.
7. See pp. 112ff. above.
8. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 140.
9. See p. 126 above.
10. Prigogine (1989).
11. Quoted in Capra (1975), p. 45.
12. I have used the general term “catalytic loops” to refer to many complex nonlinear relationships between catalysts, including autocatalysis, crosscatalysis, and autoinhibition. For more details, see Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 153.
13. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 292.
14. See pp. 13 above.
15. See p. 47 above.
16. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 129.
17. See pp. 121—22 above.
18. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), pp. 123—24.
19. If N is the total number of particles, and if N l particles are on one side and N 2 on the other, the number of different possibilities is given by P = N! / Nj! N 2 !, where N\ is a shorthand notation for 1x2x3 . . . XN.
20. Prigogine (1989).
21. See Briggs and Peat (1989), pp. 45ff.
22. See Prigogine and Stengers (1984), pp. 144ff.
23. See Prigogine (1980), pp. 104ff.
24. Goodwin (1994), pp. 89ff.
319
25. See p. 220 below.
26. Prigogine and Stengers (1984), p. 176.
27. Prigogine (1989).
CHAPTER 9
1. See p. 88 above.
2. See p. 97 above.
3. See pp. 107ff. above.
4. See p. 83 above.
5. Von Neumann (1966).
6. See Gardner (1971).
7. In each three-by-three area there is a center cell surrounded by eight neighbors. If three neighboring cells are black, the center becomes black at the next step (“birth”); if two neighbors are black, the center cell is left unchanged ( survival ); in all other cases the center becomes white (“death”).
8. See Gardner (1970).
9. For an excellent account of the history and applications of cellular automata, see Farmer, Toffoli, and Wolfram (1984), especially the preface by Stephen Wolfram. For a more recent and more technical collection of papers, see Gutowitz (1991).
10. Varela, Maturana, and Uribe (1974).
11. These movements and interactions can be expressed formally as mathematical transition rules that apply simultaneously to all cells.
12. Some of the corresponding mathematical probabilities serve as variable parameters of the model.
13. The disintegration probability must be less than 0.01 per time step to achieve any viable structure at all, and the boundary must contain at least ten links, see Varela, Maturana, and Uribe (1974) for further details.
14. See Kauffman (1993), pp. 182ff.; see also Kauffman (1991) for a short summary.
15. See pp. 127ff. above. Note, however, that since the values of the binary variables vary discontinuously, their phase space, too, is discontinuous.
16. See Kauffman (1993), p. 183.
17. See ibid., p. 191.
18. Ibid., pp. 441ff.
19. See pp. 66ff. above.
20. Varela et al. (1992), p. 188.
21. Kauffman (1991).
320
NOTES
22. See Kauffman (1993), p. 479.
23. Kauffman (1991).
24. See Luisi and Varela (1989), Bachmann et al. (1990), Walde et al. (1994).
25. See Fleischaker (1990).
26. See Fleischaker (1992) for a recent debate on many of the issues discussed in the following pages; see also Mingers (1995).
27. Maturana and Varela (1987), p. 89.
28. See pp. 286ff. below.
29. Maturana and Varela (1987), p. 199.
30. See Fleischaker (1992); Mingers (1995), pp. 119ff.
32. See Fleischaker (1992), pp. 131—41; Mingers (1995), pp. 125—26.
33. Maturana (1988); see also pp. 290—91 below.
34. Varela (1981).
35. Luhmann (1990).
36. See p. 104 above.
37. See pp. lOOff. above.
38. Lovelock (1991), pp. 31ff.
39. See p. 208 above.
40. See p. 93 above.
41. See Lovelock (1991), pp. 135—36.
43. See Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 66.
44. Margulis (1993); Margulis and Sagan (1986).
45. See pp. 236ff. below.
46. Margulis and Sagan (1986), pp. 14, 21.
48. Quoted in Capra (1975), p. 183.
49. See pp. 233ff. below.
50. See Lovelock (1991), p. 127.
51. See Maturana and Varela (1987), pp. 75ff.
CHAPTER 10
1. See Capra (1982), pp. 116ff.
2. Quoted ibid., p. 114.
3. Margulis (1995).
4. See pp. 228ff. below.
321
5. See pp. 204-5 above.
6. See Gould (1994).
7. Kauffman (1993), pp. 173, 408, 644.
8. See Jantsch (1980) and Laszlo (1987) for early attempts of a synthesis of some of those elements.
9. Lovelock (1991), p. 99.
10. See Margulis and Sagan (1986), pp. 15ff.
11. See Capra (1982), pp. 118-19.
12. See Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 75.
15. See ibid.
16. See ibid.
17. Margulis (1995).
18. See p. 164 above.
19. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 17.
20. Ibid., p. 15.
21. Margulis and Sagan (1986); see also Margulis and Sagan (1995) and Calder (1983).
22. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 51.
23. See pp. 93-94 above; see also Kauffman (1993), pp. 287ff.
24. See p. 208 above.
25. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 64.
26. See p. 164 above.
27. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 78.
28. See Lovelock (1991), pp. 80ff.
29. See Margulis (1993), pp. 160ff.
30. See pp. 166-67 above.
31. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 93.
32. Ibid., p. 191.
33. Ibid., p. 103.
34. Ibid., p. 109.
35. See Lovelock (1991), pp. 113ff.
36. See pp. 162ff. above.
37. See pp. 230ff. above.
38. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 119.
39. See p. 165 above.
40. See Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 133.
41. See Thomas (1975), pp. 141ff.
42. Margulis and Sagan (1986), pp. 155ff.
322
NOTES
43. See Margulis, Schwartz, and Dolan (1994).
44. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 174.
45. Ibid., p. 73.
46. See Margulis and Sagan (1995), pp. 140ff.
47. Margulis and Sagan (1986), p. 214.
48. See ibid., pp. 208ff.
49. Ibid., p. 210.
50. Brower (1995), p. 18.
51. See New Yor\ Times, June 8, 1995; Chauvet et al. (1995).
52. Margulis and Sagan (1986), pp. 223—24.
CHAPTER 11
1. See pp. 174—75 above.
2. See Windelband (1901), pp. 232-33.
3. See pp. 173ff. above.
4. See Varela et al. (1991), pp. 4ff.
5. See pp. 66ff. above.
6. See Varela et al. (1991), pp. 8, 41.
8. See Gluck and Rumelhart (1990).
9. Varela et al. (1991), p. 94.
10. See p. 97 above.
11. See ibid.
12. See pp. 218—20 above.
13. Maturana and Varela (1987), p. 174.
14. See Margulis and Sagan (1995), p. 179.
15. Varela et al. (1991), p. 200.
17. See pp. 287ff. below.
18. See p. 284 below.
19. See p. 290 below.
20. Varela et al. (1991), p. 135.
21. See p. 290 below.
22. Varela et al. (1991), p. 140.
23. Ibid., p. 101.
24. See p. 173 above.
25. Dell (1985).
26. See appendix, pp. 305ff. below.
27. Winograd and Flores (1991), p. 97.
NOTES
323
28. See ibid., pp. 93ff.
29. Ibid., pp. 107ff.
30. Ibid. p. 113.
31. Ibid., pp. 133ff.
32. Ibid., p. 132.
33. Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986), p. 108.
34. See Varela and Coutinho (1991a).
35. See Varela and Coutinho (1991b).
36. Varela and Coutinho (1991a).
37. Ibid.
38. See Varela and Coutinho (1991b).
39. Francisco Varela, private communication, April 1991.
40. Pert et al. (1985), Pert (1993).
41. Pert (1989).
42. See Pert (1992), Pert (1995).
43. Pert (1989).
CHAPTER 12
1. Maturana (1970), Maturana and Varela (1987), Maturana (1988).
2. Maturana and Varela (1987), pp. 193-94.
3. Humberto Maturana, private communication, 1985.
4. See Maturana and Varela (1987), pp. 212ff.
6. See appendix, pp. 307-8 below.
7. Maturana and Varela (1987), p. 234,
9. Ibid., p. 244.
10. See Capra (1982), p. 302.
11. See Capra (1975), p. 88.
12. Varela (1995).
13. See Capra (1982), p. 178.
14. See p. 259 above.
15. See Varela et al. (1991), pp. 217ff.
16. See Capra (1975), pp. 93ff.
17. See Varela et al. (1991), pp. 59ff.
19. Margulis and Sagan (1995), p. 26.
324
NOTES
EPILOGUE
1. See Orr (1992).
2. For applications of the principles of ecology to education, see Capra (1993); for applications to business, see Callenbach et al. (1993), Capra and Pauli (1995).
3. See Hawken (1993).
4. See ibid., pp. 75ff.
5. See Hawken (1993), pp. 177ff.; Daly (1995).
6. See Callenbach et al. (1993).
APPENDIX
1. Bateson (1979), pp. 89ff. See pp. 173ff. above and pp. 273ff. above for the historical and philosophical contexts of Bateson’s concept of mental process.
2. Bateson (1979), p. 29.
3. Ibid., p. 99.
4. Ibid., p. 101.
5. See p. 290 above.
6. Bateson (1979), p. 128.