Contraria sunt complementa

I really like Asian philosophy - the mysticism, the underlying unity of the universe, the henotheism (of Hinduism at least), the spiritual path, the pursuit of harmony. It all just sits well with me. In fact, I know I'm not the only one who feels that way - so I decided to read The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism by Fritjof Capra. Since I'm currently taking an Asian Philosophy course at UMBC, I felt that it would be a nice complement (and since I'm not reading the textbook, I might as well read something).

The first thing I noticed was that the book was categorized in the Physics section as opposed to the Philosophy section as I had expected. After a rough overview of quantum theory, relativity theory, and the major eastern philosophical traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese Thought, Taoism, Zen), each chapter breaks down a different concept: the unity of all things, opposites as complements, space/time, emptiness, cosmic dance etc. (I skimmed the last couple chapters, I was starting to get overloaded). Much of the book involves taking a quote from Heisenberg/Bohr/random physicist and laying it side-by-side with a quote from an Asian philosopher to "prove" the connections.

In the end, it's strikingly persuasive. I didn't actually know anything about quantum theory when I started this book and now I know all sorts of interesting things like what makes up nucleons and a better idea of how the Heisenberg uncertainty principle works. It reminds me of how I took an existentialism class at CTY the year before I first took physics. I was immediately struck by how similar the aims of science and philosophy are - both seek to explain the universe and give meaning to our existence - differing from religion in that they use arguments and evidence to back up their claims, rather than faith-based assumptions. As my professor described it:

"Imagine looking for a black cat in a dark room. Now imagine that the cat is not actually there. The philosopher will keep looking for the black cat while the priest will claim to have found it."

Rather than summarize the most thought-provoking passages, I've included excerpts below:

"The illusion merely lies in our point of view, if we think that the shapes and structures, things and events, around us are realities of nature, instead of realizing that they are concepts of our measuring and categorizing minds." (88)

"Everything flows" - Heraclitus

"The most important characteristic of the Eastern world view - one could almost say the essence of it - is the awareness of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomenon in the world as manifestations of a basic oneness. All things are seen as interdependent and inseparable parts of this cosmic whole; as different manifestations of the same ultimate reality." (130)

"Modern physics has confirmed most dramatically one of the basic ideas of Eastern mysticism; that all the concepts we use to describe nature are limited, that they are not features of reality, as we tend to believe, but creations of the mind; parts of the map, not of the territory. Whenever we expand the realm of our experience, the limitations of our rational mind become apparent and we have to modify, or even abandon, some of our concepts." (161)

"Contraria sunt complementa" [Translated: Opposites are Complements] - Bohr coat of arms