I was attracted to this book because its underlying thesis is that developments in quantum mechanics are pointing to a new perception of reality that should have us turning away from Cartesian dualism (mind/body) and Newtonian physics (the world is separate from ourselves and can be measured objectively.)
As Capra puts it, "The universe is no longer seen as a machine, made up of a multitude of separate objects, but appears as a harmonious indivisible whole; a network of dynamic relationships that include the human observer and his or her consciousness in an essential way."
He also quotes British physicist James Jeans who in the 1930's said, "Today there is a wide measure of agreement . . . that the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine."
Capra's clear and cogent presentation of human intellectual history draws on a wide variety of time periods and cultures. It's also well documented. However, Capra lost me when he started applying his thought to economics and sociology. The Turning Point; Science, Society, and the Rising Culture was first published in 1982 and smacks of 1960's and 1970's intellectual stylishness: the big bad military-industrial complex, small is beautiful, back to the farm, etc. Because I'd just read Friedman's The World Is Flat, I felt much of the economics in The Turning Point was outdated. In an odd way this made the book more interesting because you could assess Capra's views of the future against the way things have actually been turning out.
Very good book about the need to change our perception of reality.
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