The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision

Fritjof Capra has been a consistently interesting and deservedly popular thinker for many years now. I have always been impressed by the clarity and economy with which he has been able to communicate complex ideas, often in considerable depth, to a general audience. Equally, I have always been impressed by the breadth of his intellectual interests and his rare ability to combine these wide-ranging interests into coherent and far-reaching syntheses. Now, together with his co-author Pier Luigi Luisi, who has himself made significant contributions to the discussion of the emergence of life (see, e.g., Luisi's The Emergence of Life: From Chemical Origins to Synthetic Biology ), Capra and Luisi have outdone themselves. Their 500 page book The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision (with many words per page, given its large-page format) is, purely and simply, a magnum opus, it really is. It surely represents the culminating statement of Capra and his co-author's work over several decades now on the development of a scientifically-informed unified vision of the world that incorporates and integrates the biological, ecological, cognitive, philosophical, social, political, and even the spiritual dimensions of life. The last time I read such an all-embracing, well-informed, and richly rewarding synthesis as this was when I read Charles Birch and John Cobb's The Liberation of Life : From the Cell to the Community (also from Cambridge University Press) - and that was published back in 1981! If you want to understand the major cultural shift that we have been undergoing over the last several hundred years (right across the physical, life, and social sciences) from a mechanistic worldview to the emergence of what the authors term a 'systems' worldview - a worldview that sees the world around us in terms of networks, patterns, and complex, mutually interacting, living or life-like systems rather than in terms of discrete building blocks that interact in linear, sequential ways that are open to precise forms of prediction and control - then this is now THE book to read. As the authors show, this shift in worldview has major implications for almost everything that ought to matter to us - from the very practical ways in which we need to attend to the manifold problems that are pressing in upon us in the ecological and socio-political realms to the ways in which we can find an approach to our inner, spiritual lives that is consistent with our best scientific understandings. You get the idea. I cannot praise this book enough. Capra and Luisi have done us all a great service. I cannot see how anyone could spend even just a few hours with this book and not come away considerably the richer for it. Spend considerably longer with it and you will undoubtedly come away knowing a lot more about various areas of interest to you than you do now - not to mention more inspired to work for changes in directions that will enable us to sustain the web of life on this planet. Every critically-minded reader will find their own quibbles here and there of course, but c'mon ... the comprehensive breadth and depth of scholarship displayed in this book, all communicated clearly and economically (often with aid of pictures, inset boxes, and diagrams), is simply outstanding. Warwick Fox - author of Toward a Transpersonal Ecology: Developing New Foundations for Environmentalism , A Theory of General Ethics: Human Relationships, Nature, and the Built Environment , and On Beautiful Days Such as This: A philosopher sings the blues and restores his soul in Greece .

In this excellent book, Capra and Luisi, both eminent scientists in their own fields with a strong commitment to interdisciplinary studies, pursue three ambitious and inter-related aims. First, they provide a succinct overview of emerging ideas, principally in biology, psychology, sociology and ecology, which inform our understanding of life in its many forms. Second, they integrate many of these ideas into a unifying vision, 'The Systems View of Life'. Third, they explore the implications of this new perspective for our efforts to find sustainable solutions to the major interconnected problems of our times, especially the global crises in economy and ecology. Let's start with the science. I studied Natural Sciences at University and was introduced to the ways in which first relativity and then quantum theory had transformed the scientific world view from the order and clarity we associate most with Newton. Of particular interest here is the work of Heisenberg who helped us understand the uncertainties arising from the wave/particle duality we see at the atomic level and introduced us to the radical idea of epistemic science i.e. an acceptance that what we see is not just an 'objective' feature of nature but depends on how we are looking! In the last 30 years or more, there have been equally radical transformations in many disciplines among which we may briefly mention seven: • In biology, cybernetics and complexity theory (enriched by computer-assisted mathematics) we have seen the rise of systems thinking which gives new meaning to the idea that 'the whole is more than the sum of the parts': indeed we have started to understand how 'the whole' may determine the behaviour of the parts (for example, organisms shape how their genes express their messages in what we may think of as 'downward causation', just as much as the other way round). • In these disciplines and also chemistry (notably the work of Prigogine), we have discovered more about the phenomena of self-organisation and emergence when higher levels of complexity are reached. • Also in biology, the work of Maturana and Varela has helped clarify the essential characteristics of living systems through the concept of autopoiesis, more simply 'self-making'. So life, for example a cell, is a factory which makes itself from within. Moreover life is a global property of the cell or larger structure interacting (they would say 'cognitively') with its environment. • These same authors have created a theory of cognition which understands mind as a process and mental activity as immanent in matter at all levels of life, challenging the Cartesian division between mind and matter. • In turn, sociology has shown how a particular aspect of cognition, what we experience as reflective consciousness, is linked to the capacity for imagination and language and depends on living in social networks. • Darwin opened the door to our understanding of evolution but we now understand better through recent developments in ecology that this is not so much about 'survival of the fittest' where fitness in an individual property: rather evolution is a product of cooperation and altruism among organisms living in close association; sustainable life is the property of an ecological system - a biotic community and its physical environment. • And finally, Lovelock extended these ideas to the global level with the Gaia hypothesis, the notion that the Earth as a whole is a self-organising, living system in which all life has co-evolved over our planet's vast history. From this we can derive a simple definition of ecological sustainability as not interfering with nature's inherent ability to sustain life in all its diversity. This ideas are developed in detail through 450 pages and illustrated with many examples, from the mathematically generated fractals of the Mandelbrot set to the elegant spirals which characterise the seed heads in a sunflower, conveying a deep sense of the beauty and harmony of the natural world. Perhaps few of us will fully follow all the science but Capra and Luisi draw all this together to show clearly how modern science has transformed our understanding. They distinguish between the previous mechanistic view, dating from the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th Centuries (and still visible, for example in medicine and economics) in which nature is regarded as a perfect machine, governed by exact laws of cause and effect, and where we can understand the whole by reference to its parts. This world view has been, and continues to be associated with the illusion that mankind is the master of nature rather than an intrinsic part of it. This view is not only unfounded but dangerous given our technological capacity for destruction, whether through nuclear war or climate change. They argue instead for a radical shift in perspective to the systems view of life which integrates across both disciplines (exploring the biological, cognitive, social and ecological dimensions of nature) and levels of activity (from the most simple living cells up to the planet as a whole). In this new world view, the perspective is shifted from the parts to the whole: throughout the living world we find systems nesting within larger systems and what we call a 'part' is just a pattern in an inseparable network of relationships. Moreover all living systems share common properties and principles of organisation. Thus in thinking holistically we need to focus not on 'objects' but on relationships, patterns and contexts. Here the new science converges with the wisdom of various spiritual traditions, especially Buddhism, and is grounded in a philosophy which acknowledges the inherent value of all life. One obvious implication is that our survival depends on political, business and civil society leaders demonstrating 'eco-literacy' and therefore that education in the wisdom of nature should be central to the curriculum (both what we learn and how we learn it) for all of us, with a strong focus on experiential learning (for example, through developing and studying the school garden). The most important application of the systems view of life is in addressing the global economic and ecological crises of our Century, systemic problems par excellence. The current version of global capitalism is driven by an eco-illiterate belief in unlimited growth on a finite planet, corporate domination and casino finance. We see the ecological impacts in resource depletion, environmental degradation and irreversible climate change as well as massive and growing inequalities between a small elite ('the 1%') and the rest of us. Instead we need to create a new economic system which is both ecologically sustainable and socially just. As participants in this system we need to find satisfaction not in excessive material consumption but rather in human relationships, community and enjoyment of nature. Capra and Luigi identify key elements in these systemic solutions: reshaping the economic system and its regulating institutions; developing alternative energy strategies, for example based on wind power and hydrogen fuel cells; generating the food we need through a renaissance in organic farming; and designing our living arrangements in tune with the flows of the natural world as we already see in eco-cities with their car free city centres, re-emphasis on walking and cycling, green spaces and enhanced opportunities for building community. With nature as our mentor, another world is possible.

This is an interdisciplinary book which presents ”a unified systemic vision that includes and integrates life’s” different dimensions (p.xii). All living systems are ”highly nonlinear” networks where there are ”countless interconnections” (p.xii). Here is a summary of the book together with some conclusions. Introduction (pp.1--16) The systems view of life is ”a change from seeing the world as a machine to understanding it as a network” (p.4). Greek philosophy, in the sixth century BC, ”understood the order of the cosmos to be that of a living organism” (p.5). The shift from an organic to a mechanistic worldview ”was initiated by … René Descartes (1596-1650)” who is ”regarded as the founder of modern philosophy” (p.8). A living system is "an integrated whole whose … properties cannot be reduced to its parts" (p.10). These properties "arise from the interactions and relationships between the parts" (p.10). Outlines of a "coherent theory of living systems … are now emerging" (p.12). This is the subject of the book. We need to "question … the old paradigm" (p.12). The "paradigm shift also involves … changes of values" (p.13). There is a "striking connection between changes of thinking and of values" (p.13). The "connection between an ecological perception of the world and corresponding behavior is not a logical but a psychological connection" (p.14). "Logic does not lead us from the fact that we are an integral part of the web of life to certain norms of how we should live (p.14). However, if we have a "deep ecological experience of being part of the web of life, then we will … be inclined to care for all living nature" (p.15). "The paradigm shift … at its deepest level, involves a perceptual shift" (p.15). The mechanistic worldview (pp.17--60) As the organic view of nature was replaced by the metaphor of the world as a machine, "the goal of science became … to dominate and control nature" (p.21). All "scientific theories are reductionist in the sense that they need to reduce the phenomena described to a … number of characteristics" (p.24). Scientists "in treating living organisms as machines, tended to believe that they are nothing but machines" (p.26). The adverse consequences of this "have become especially apparent in medicine" (p.26). "Economists [also] generally fail to recognize that the economy is merely one aspect of the whole ecological and social fabric" (p.56). Unlimited growth "on a finite planet can only lead to disaster" (p.56). As the "metaphor of organizations as machines" has taking hold, it has generated "mechanistic theories of management" with "clearly defined lines of command and communication" (p.58). During the Industrial Revolution "efficient operation of the new machines required major changes in the organization of the workforce" (p.58). The workforce was disciplined "to accept the rigorous routines [required] by factory production" (p.58). Interestingly, Max Weber (1864-1920) "was very critical of the development of mechanistic forms of organization" (p.58). Weber observed "the parallels between the machination of industry and bureaucratic forms of organization" (p.58). He was concerned about "the mechanization of human life, the erosion of human spirit, and the undermining of democracy" (p.58). Weber's contemporary, Frederick Taylor (1856-1915), "perfected the engineering approach to management" (p.58). The organization's "structure and goals are designed by management … and are imposed on the organization" with "top-down control" (p.59). The "design of formal structures, linked by clear lines of communication, coordination, and control, has become almost second nature" (p.59). Transcending "the mechanistic conceptions of health, the economy, or biotechnology" and "the mechanistic view of organizations" is "critical for the survival of or human civilization (p.59). The rise of systems thinking (pp.61--126) "Throughout the living world, we find living systems nesting within other living systems" (p.65). Living systems act both as "parts and wholes" (p.65). There is both "an integrative" and "a self-assertive" tendency (p.65). The "essential properties" of living systems are "properties of the whole" (p.65). "The great chock of twentieth-century science has been that living systems cannot be understood by analysis" (p.66). There are "three kinds of living systems - organisms, parts of organisms, and communities of organisms" (p.67). Living systems "at all levels are networks" and consists of "networks within networks" (p.68). "Whenever we look at life, we look at networks" (p.95). Nature shows us "a complex web of relationships between … parts of a unified whole" (p.68). "There is stability, but this stability is one of dynamic balance" (p.75). All living systems are "open systems" which need "a continual flux of matter and energy" (p.86). Norbert Wiener (1894--1964) introduced the term "cybernetics," from the Greek kybernetes ("steersman"), in the 1940s. Wiener defined cybernetics as the science of "control and communication in the animal and the machine" (p.87). "All major achievements of cybernetics originated … in mechanistic models of living systems" (p.89). Interestingly, Norbert Wiener made "a clear distinction between a mechanistic model and the non-mechanistic living system it represents" (p.93). Ross Ashby (1903--1972), who was "the leading theorist of the cybernetics movement" in the 1950s and 1960s, had, on the other hand, a "strictly mechanistic outlook" (p.93). For Ashby, there was "no creativity, no development, no evolution" (p.97). Even "the simplest living system … is a highly complex network" (p.98). "Nonlinear dynamics … represents a qualitative rather than a quantitative approach to complexity and … systems thinking" (p.99). The systems view is a shift of perspective "from objects to relationships, from measuring to mapping, from quantity to quality" (p.99). Nonlinear phenomena are "an essential aspect of the network patterns of living systems" (p.105). Nonlinearity has brought about a "shift of emphasis from quantitative to qualitative analysis" (p.105). The "spontaneous emergence of order at critical points of instability" is "one of the hallmarks of life" (p.116). The "understanding of pattern[s] is crucial to understand the living world" (p.126). A new conception of life (pp. 127--339) Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela coined the term "autopoiesis", which means "self-making", in the 1970s (p.129). The main characteristic of life is "self-maintenance" (p.129). A living organism "does not need any information from the outside to be what it is, but it is … dependent on outside materials in order to survive" (p.134). Life can be seen as "a system of interlocked autopoietic systems" (p.135). "Autopoiesis is the particular self-organization of life" (p.135). There is "a clear difference between the ways living and nonliving systems interact with their environments" (p.136). If you "kick a stone, it will react" (p.136). If you "kick a dog, it will respond" (p.136). "The interaction with the environment … is determined by the internal organization of the living organism" (p.141). A living organism is "capable of cognition (the process of knowing)" (p.142). The "living organism and the environment become one through cognitive interactions" (p.143). "A particular combination of self-organization and emergence gives rise to self-reproduction" (p.145). Dynamic systems "generally operate far from equilibrium, and yet are … stable, self-organizing structures" (p.158). In static systems, "self-organization and the resulting emergent properties are relatively simple concepts" (p.180). In dynamic systems, however, "self-organization and emergence are subtle and complex" (p.180). "New structures … and forms of organization may arise … in situations of instability, chaos, or crisis" (p.180). The "appropriate way of approaching nature … is not through domination and control but through respect, cooperation, and dialogue" (p.180). In the living world, "history plays an important role" and "the future is uncertain" (p.180). "Life … cannot be explained in reductionistic terms" (p.181). All living forms "are linked together to each other by a network of parenthood" (p.182). "Cooperation is clearly visible … at many levels of living organisms" (p.202). "The planetary network of bacteria," for example, "has been the main source of evolutionary creativity" (p.192). Another example is "symbiosis, the tendency of different organisms to live in close association with one another" (p.202). In living organisms, "there is no easy way to separate instructions from the way they are carried out, to distinguish plan from execution" (p.206). The "principle of structural determinism, … implies that only those changes can be accepted that are consistent with the existing inner structure and organization of the living organism" (p.214). The change must also be consistent with the organism's "self-maintenance" (p.214). Evolution is "complex, highly ordered, and ultimately cognitive" (p.215). It is "an integral part of life's self-organization" (p.215). One important implication of "the new systemic understanding of life" is a new understanding of "the nature of mind and consciousness" (p.252). The "phenomenon of mind" is connected with the "phenomenon of life" (p.253). In other words, "cognition is the very process of life" (p.254). "The organizing activity of living systems, at all levels of life, is mental activity" (p.254). "Mind - or, more accurately, mental activity - is immanent in matter at all levels of life" (p.254). "Every living organism continually renews itself" while maintaining "its overall identity or pattern of organization" (p.255). Living organisms create "new structures - new connections in the network" (p.255). "Living systems are autonomous" (p.255). Living organisms respond "to environmental changes," and "these changes" alter future responses. This "modification of behavior on the basis of previous experience" is learning (p.255). Continuing "adaptation, learning, and development" are key characteristics of all living beings (p.255). "We can never direct a living system; we can only disturb it" (p.256). A living system has the "autonomy to decide what to notice and what will disturb it" (p.256). "Describing cognition as the breath of life seems to be a perfect metaphor" (p.256). Mind is "the process of cognition, which is identified with the process of life" (p.257). At all levels of life, "mind and matter, process and structure, are inseparably connected" (p.257). Consciousness "emerges when cognition reaches a certain level of complexity" (p.257). Consciousness is "a cognitive process" (p.260) which "involves self-awareness" (p.258). Conscious experience is "an expression of life, emerging from complex neural activity" (p.265). Mind and body "are two complementary aspects of life" (p.273). Primary, or core, consciousness "provides the organism with a transient sense of self (the core self) in the act of perception" (p.274), while "reflective consciousness" is "the process of cognition … we experience as thought" (p.274). The "pattern of organization of any system … is the configuration of relationships among the system's components" (p.301). This "configuration of relationships" gives the system "its essential characteristics" (p.301). The "structure of a system" is its "physical embodiment of its pattern of organization" (p.302). The "process of life" is the "continual embodiment of the system's pattern of organization" (p.302). These are three perspectives on life: "organization, structure, and process" (p.302). This is the "trilogy of life" (p.303). The trilogy of life can, in more general terms, be expressed as "form (or pattern of organization), … matter (or material structure), and … process" (p.304). Meaning is added to "the other three perspectives" in order to "extend the systemic understanding of life to the social domain" (p.304). Meaning is "a shorthand notation for the inner world of reflective consciousness, which contains a multitude of interrelated characteristics" (p.304). Human action "flows from the meaning that we attribute to our surroundings" (p.304). Human language "involves the communication of meaning" (p.304). Living systems "exhibit similar patterns of organization" (p.305). "The network pattern, in particular, is … very basic" (p.305). "All living systems are … networks within networks" (p.306). "A social network, too, is a nonlinear pattern of organization" (p.306). However, "organisms and human societies are very different types of living systems" (p.307). "Human beings can choose whether and how to obey a social rule; molecules cannot choose" (p.307). "Meaning is essential to human beings" (p.309). In "acting with intention and purpose … we experience human freedom" (p.309). The "behavior is constrained but not determined by outside forces" (p.309). As human beings, "we experience this … as the freedom to act according to our own choices and decisions" (p.309). "Bringing life into human organizations … increases their flexibility, creativity, and learning potential" (p.320). People need to "feel that they are supported … and do not have to sacrifice their integrity to meet the goals of the organization" (p.320). However, the economic environment today "is not life-enhancing but increasingly life-destroying" (p.320). We need to "change our economic system so that it becomes life-enhancing rather than life-destroying (p.321). This change will "be imperative not only for the well-being of human organizations but also for the survival … of humanity as a whole" (p.321). The "new unifying vision of life … has important implication for almost every field of study and every human endeavor" (p.322). "From a systems point of view, … illness results from patterns of disorder" (p.327). Health is "a multidimensional and multileveled phenomenon" (p.327). "Lack of flexibility manifests itself as stress" (p.356). "Loss of flexibility means loss of health" (p.328). From a systems view of life "the current health revolution can be seen as part of a global movement dedicated to creating a sustainable world" (p.338). Sustaining the web of life (pp. 339--452) There are different meanings of "self-organization" (p.346). "To cyberneticists … self-organization meant the … emergence of order in machines featuring feedback loops" (p.346). In complexity theory self-organization is the "emergence of new order … governed by nonlinear dynamics" (p.346). And, in ecosystems self-organization is understood as "dissipative structures operating far from equilibrium" (p.346). There is, however, "almost total silence on the question of autopoiesis in ecosystems" (p.347). We need to "understand the principles of [self-]organization that ecosystems have evolved" (p.353). Ecology is of "paramount practical importance" (p.361). The "major problems of our time … cannot be understood in isolation" (p.362). The fundamental dilemma is "the illusion that unlimited growth is possible on a finite planet" (p.363). "Social and environmental costs" are not included in economic activities (p.363). There is "a widening gap between the rich and the poor" (p.363). All "ethical dimensions are excluded" (p.378). "Global capitalism … exacerbates" poverty and social exclusion (pp. 384--385). There are also "actively misleading" campaigns that "systematically create doubt and confusion … concerning the threat of global warming" (p.388). "This is why the systems view of life" is very important and "has tremendous practical relevance" (p.392). There are "hundreds of systemic solutions being developed all over the world" (p.393). It seems as a "more fluid system of global governance would be more appropriate for today's world," where power is increasingly shifted "to regional and local levels" (p.398). This includes the "shift from governments serving corporations to governments serving people and communities," as well as respect for "core labor, social and other human rights" (p.397). The most important reformation of "the corporation will be to expose the core myth that shareholder returns must be maximized at the expense of human and ecological communities" (p.400). This means "reviving the traditional purpose of the corporation to serve the public good" (p.400). A "fundamental issue … is ownership" (p.401). "Conventional corporate ownership" is an example of "extractive ownership" (p.401). A new "generative ownership" is needed, which "generates well-being and real, living wealth" (p.401). "Unfortunately, … systemic thinking is still very rare among … corporate and political leaders" (p.407). The "world has to act now or face devastating … consequences," but there is "lack of political will" (p.411). There is an "erroneous belief that nature can be subjected to human control" (p.437). We "need to honor, respect, and cooperate with nature" (p.442). And "we can learn valuable lessons from nature's ecosystems" (p.442). "We have the knowledge and the technologies to build a sustainable world" (p.452). What is needed is "political will and leadership" (p.452). "Major breakthroughs" are needed "to turn the tide" (p.452). Conclusions Fritjof Capra och Pier Luigi Luisi's book is truly impressive! The amount of materials covered is broad indeed. The Systems View of Life: A Unified Vision is an attempt to integrate life's biological, cognitive, and social dimensions in a unified systems view of life. In a way, I think Capra and Luisi are brave in taking such a broad sweep across so many different areas. Even if you take a broad sweep, it will still be too narrow. And what you gain in breadth, you risk losing in depth. Overall, I think Capra and Luisi have succeeded in integrating many different perspectives. The book certainly broadened my own perspectives. The main value of the book is the integration of the different ideas, models, and theories into a single framework.

I've been interested in systems theory and its application to helping us understand life and the universe for about a decade. In this book, Capra and Luisi provide a fantastic overview of systems theory, how it developed, and how it has changed our understanding of life. The authors then explore how systems thinking can be used to eliminate many environmental, economic and social problems, as well as produce sustainable, healthier, more connected and more productive ways of living. I hope for the sake of preventing environmental disasters and producing a better world that many powerful people read this book and implement its teachings. I enjoyed nearly every chapter of this book. It covered so many topics that I find fascinating, including evolution, consciousness, chaos, fractal geometry, complexity, emergence and ecomimicry. My only criticisms of the book are that it seemed very preachy at times and reflected very anti-capitalist and anti-male sentiments. At times, the book was also a bit too 'spiritual'. Although mainly scientific, it gave religious concepts and Gaia theory a bit too much weight for my liking. Another thing I didn't like about this book was that the authors often went into a lot of detail about topics that were not very relevant to systems thinking/theory. By editing this stuff out, the authors could have produced a far more gripping book. Overall, this is a great book, covering lots of interesting topics, providing many insights that can help to improve the world around us, and delivering guidance on how to preserve the planet for future generations.

This a wonderful book! It took me ages to read; not any fault of the style which is both lucid and compelling, raising issues requiring more than a quick flick through. I even broke off halfway through and read Capra's Tao of Physics which I highly recommend as an introduction to The Systems View of Life. Tao will help the reader to understand where Capra's philosophical sentiments lie and while he manages to keep his feet firmly on the ground and doesn't sway too far into metaphysical speculations his sympathies become very apparent. I am certainly no expert on Eastern philosophy but I note that it has one salient feature common to all religious/spiritual cosmic explanations in that it relies on a notion of the 'ineffable' which is used as a catch-all license to say any old gobblygook secure that, given a receptive audience, whatever tosh is said will be interpreted favourably. Moreover, gobblygook has an added cachet if it is ancient gobblygook where it then masquerades as ancient wisdom espoused, not by the run of the mill supernatural speculators but venerable ancient sages. Why can't we just be satisfied to acknowledge that humans are forever trapped in a semantic web whereby such questions as to whether the set of all sets is a member of itself is inherently unanswerable and thereby avoid mulling sagacious sounding but ultimately indecipherable aphorisms. However, The System View of Life doesn't underpin its argument on the parallels with the wisdom of ancient religions but does, in my opinion, give this coincident undue prominence whereas the Systems argument stands firmly on its own rational merits without being cluttered with metaphysical mumbo jumbo.

Excellent: Initially,every politician, businessman and environmentalist ought to read this thought provoking book and when they do vigorously promote the visionary, scientific perspective it contains. Science is inexorably moving in the direction of this book's theory, principles and facts It is in essemce a manifesto for practical action around the various integrative themes, subjects and scientific discoveries it focuses on. It is an indispensable guide to the future prospects of individual and collective practice and ultimately the continuation of our species in a unified human existence. The Newtonian world view brought untold progress in science, technology and quality of life to Western civilisation. This 'outdated' mechanistic view of the world is now crumbling under the weight of its own social and economic contradictions while the discoveries in quantum physics and other sciences have exposed a deeper universal reality exhibiting a more harmonious and unified universe. Given this universal harmony, interdependence and connectedness it would appear that we, humanity, are severely out of step with this 'oneness'. There are probably many antidotes to this endemic human inertia. But one would be to read, digest, promote and act on the basis of this book's profound scientific analyses and guide to our collective survival and common, humane future.

Reading this book I was, on one hand, depressed by the complex nature of the many problems facing the world and, on the other hand, elated by the extraordinary amount of work going on to find systemic solutions. If this book is correct then it is just possible that a groundswell of ideas and innovations may start to displace the multinational companies that are destroying our planet. The Systems View of Life presents the culmination of many years of research and thinking by its writers. It shows how many of the processes of our lives, and our lives themselves, are complex systems producing all types of emergent behaviours. Whilst many of the underlying properties of these complex systems were similar I was left wondering when, if ever, we will really be able to understand the systems. The key will be when we can make accurate predictions about their behaviours. It seems to me that the great thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were physicists. One hundred years on the great thinkers need to be in the field of complex systems research. Fingers crossed! Overall a very stimulating read and the final two chapters which start to look at solutions are very uplifting. Let's hope that there will be a follow up publication in 10 years time which will show how the many ideas in this book are really making a global impact.

I had high hopes of this book co-written by one of the great self-proclaimed exponents of systems thinking. There are some hugely worthwhile and interesting chapters that are well worth reading, most particularly where the authors clearly summarize well established concepts from other research - for example chapters on the principles of non-linearity and on self-organisation. These parts are a very stimulating read and justify the cost and effort. However I was in the end disappointed. The authors don't seem to have used systems thinking on their own thinking and without this conceptual clarity I didn't find their book an easy or well-organised read. It wasn't clear to me anyway why they wrote the book, what the case is that they want to make, whether anyone disagrees with them, and if so why. As a result there is no conclusion summarizing their argument, which for a book of this length feels outrageous. It means they are leaving it to their poor exhausted readers to join the dots!