MB Civic

“The Quantum Self” by Danah Zohar
(book)

Review by Tom Harper

When asked what we know about Quantum mechanics most of us look perplexed and say little if anything, in fact most people say that the new physics doesn’t seem to make a jot of sense to them, which actually happens to be the most spot on analysis of the subject. Most would like to bound it in a nutshell but as someone once said, any philosophy that can be bounded in a nutshell deserves to stay there.

That said, in Danah Zohar’s ‘The Quantum Self’ she manages to illuminate our understanding of everyday life through the peculiar lense of quantum physics. Hardly by binding it in a nutshell, but rather by expanding on our ideas of consciousness, what it means to us, and it’s unique relationship to the new physics. By veering us through the bizarre workings of the subatomic world- and rarely straying in her course from the layman’s path- she creates a new understanding of consciousness, our relationship to the material world, to each other and ourselves.

In reading the book there is a clear line of hope in redetermining the old 20th century attitude of lonliness and isolation within society and indeed the physical world. It draws us into seeing ourselves as a part of the consciousness that runs through all of life, as opposed to apart from and separated from all.

Integral reading for anyone interested in the relationship between the physical and the metaphysical, as seen through the perspective of the new physics.

Review by Tom Harper