Capra, Fritjof. The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems (New York: Anchor Books, 1996). The Web of Life

Capra, Fritjof and Pier Luigi Luisi. The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision (Cambridge University Press, 2014).  The Systems View of Life

I’ve listed both books, because The Systems View of Life is an update of the earlier book, but I haven’t read it. From reviewing the table of contents, it looks like the book has undergone some reorganization as well as updating of information. As I read The Web of Life, I wondered about new information in light of rapidly advancing technology and research. Therefore, I’m pleased to see the new version.

The scholarship in this book is breathtaking in its scope and detail. Capra (and now Luisi) trace the evolution of systems thinking through time and across disciplines. Put to rest is the idea that we can understand the nature of things by dissecting them into ever smaller component parts. Instead, what emerges is a new understanding of the relationships between patterns and structures as the basis of life itself.  From the microscopic level of bacterial to the macroscopic level of social systems, networks allow for the evolution of more complex configurations that cannot be predicted. As “disturbances” occur, systems may restabilize to an existing state or they may remake themselves with new capabilities.

I confess that some of the more detailed mathematical formulations provided in support of Capra’s unifying vision were difficult for me to follow (because I don’t think mathematically, not because Capra’s explanations are obtuse). Even so, this book offers an important new paradigm for thinking about education as it is carried out in school systems.