Energy as the Essential Fabric of the Universe

(Appendix A)

“This shift in paradigm thinking in science concerns a shift from thinking in terms of structure to thinking in terms of process. In the old paradigm, it was thought that there were fundamental structures, and then there were forces and mechanisms through which these interacted, which gave rise to process. In this old paradigm, it was the structure that determined the processes. In the new paradigm, we think that process is primary, that every structure we observe is a manifestation of an underlying process. This process thinking came into physics with Einstein’s relativity theory. The recognition that mass is a form of energy eliminated the concept of a material substance from science, and with it also that of a fundamental structure. Subatomic particles are not made of any material stuff; they are patterns of energy. Energy, however, is associated with activity, with processes, and this implies that the nature of subatomic particles is intrinsically dynamic. When we observe them, we never see any substance, nor any fundamental structure. What we observe are dynamic patterns continually changing into one another – a continuous dance of energy.”

— Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics page 330

To learn more of Fritjof Capra’s most current systemic conception of life at the forefront of science and its application in economics, management, politics, design, medicine, and law, explore his online academic course Capra Course.