The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision by Fritjof Capra
Fritjof Capra . Unknown Year . English
Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions - from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.
Categories: History
About the Author
Pier Luigi Luisi took a degree in Chemistry at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and held internships in the USA (Oregon, Institute of Molecular biology) and the Soviet Union (Leningrad, Institute of Macromolecular science). From 1971 to 2003 his professional career was spent at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich. He became a full professor of Macromolecular Chemistry in the Department of Material Science, where he directed the Biopolymers section. He has been carrying research into the mechanism of enzymes, and the self-organization and self-reproduction of synthetic and natural systems. Subsequently, he focused on the origins of life and, later, on synthetic biology, that of minimal cells in particular. Prof. Luisi, when working at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, initiated in 1985 the Cortona-week, an interdisciplinary residential week in which graduate students were working together with artists, musicians, politicians, religious leaders, etc., with the aim of discovering new and broader horizons of life. The last books of prof Luisi are: "Essays on life science", Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2020; and “Le cinque porte della felicità” and “Il posto dei fichidindia” 2020.
