Wholeness and the Implicate Order
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- Author：David Bohm
- ISBN：0415289793
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Summary
David Bohm was one of the foremost scientific thinkers and philosophers of our time。 Although deeply influenced by Einstein， he was also， more unusually for a scientist， inspired by mysticism。 Indeed， in the 1970s and 1980s he made contact with both J。 Krishnamurti and the Dalai Lama whose teachings helped shape his work。 In both science and philosophy， Bohm's main concern was with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular。 In this classic work he develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole。 Writing clearly and without technical jargon， he makes complex ideas accessible to anyone interested in the nature of reality。
Reviews
Gustaf Broman
，
In his own words， the underlying theme of the book is "the unbroken wholeness of the totality of existence as an undivided flowing movement without borders。"Bohm philosophizes objects to be derivative， and process fundamental。 What we perceive are unfolded abstractions from the "implicate order" - the enfolded ground of reality。 Reality is continuously unfolding， and it is this process quantum theory talks about。Difficult， but good read indeed。 In his own words， the underlying theme of the book is "the unbroken wholeness of the totality of existence as an undivided flowing movement without borders。"Bohm philosophizes objects to be derivative， and process fundamental。 What we perceive are unfolded abstractions from the "implicate order" - the enfolded ground of reality。 Reality is continuously unfolding， and it is this process quantum theory talks about。Difficult， but good read indeed。 。。。more
Jordyn
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A combination of plot twists， and a variety of interesting characters make this a must read。
Mier
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Bohm did a good job with character development making them interesting。
Defalco
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The character development in continues to evolve to the very end letting the reader grow attached to the characters and root for the heroes。 Looking forward to reading more adventures。
Matt
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Wholeness and the Implicate Order has been on my reading list for a very， very long time。 I was very excited to finally read it， and it did not disappoint me。 I found it to be incredibly interesting and to make a lot of sense。 There is no doubt that Bohm's ideas represent a radically different way of approaching reality and that they require people to first understand the relationship between knowledge and reality better than most currently do。 After letting my first reading sink in， I hope to r Wholeness and the Implicate Order has been on my reading list for a very， very long time。 I was very excited to finally read it， and it did not disappoint me。 I found it to be incredibly interesting and to make a lot of sense。 There is no doubt that Bohm's ideas represent a radically different way of approaching reality and that they require people to first understand the relationship between knowledge and reality better than most currently do。 After letting my first reading sink in， I hope to return to the book later for more insights and a better understanding of how to integrate Bohm's ideas with others which I also find compelling。I saw the first three chapters as essentially an extension of the ideas of Kuhn， and so would recommend them to anyone who has read his work。 In these chapters， Bohm essentially observes， as Kuhn does， that when we fail to understand the nature of scientific knowledge， we tend to confuse our toy models of reality with reality itself。 He then goes on to observe that the grammatical structure of our language （specifically， the role of the subject， and SOV structure） causes us to view the world as being essentially fragmented， being made up of countless individual parts working together like a huge machine。 We project this structure onto the world through our perception， and because the world does have a fragmentary nature （among other aspects of its nature）， this way of thinking brings a measure of success。 This confirms our projections， and causes us to believe that our projections are in fact the world， and so the fragmentary worldview becomes more and more entrenched and more and more exclusive。 However， Bohm notes that the universe can also be seen as a whole， and that this undivided nature leads to different sorts of important insights which we cannot approach as effectively using our fragmentary model。 Having identified the role of language as essential to the way we perceive， Bohm introduces the rheomode， a modified mode of English language in which each word used implicitly points to an infinity of related concepts， thus making it impossible to speak of isolated concepts instead of the whole。 He suggests that such modifications to language could help us to change our cognitive processes in such a way as to make thinking in terms of the whole more natural and productive。Now， I have only a basic understanding of what the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is， but have been lead to believe by my linguist friends that it is considered by linguists to have been proven false experimentally。 Thus， there would seem to be conflict between Bohm's （and so also Kuhn's） ideas and scientific experiment。 However， what arguments I have seen regarding the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis' falseness seem to confuse the logical role of the sufficient condition with that of the necessary condition， so that they are not proofs of falseness at all， but rather are irrelevant。 Furthermore， Kuhn's work seems to me to be unassailable as to its correctness regarding the relationship between language and worldview （and hence thought）。 Thus I would choose to side with Bohm and Kuhn if I had to choose between them and the anti-Sapir-Whorf linguists。 Then again， I could be wrong， or it could be that the apparent contradiction is simply the result of my not understanding the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis correctly。 But it seems to me that the question is not whether language affects cognition， but rather at what level of resolution it does so。I think it is also worth mentioning that in this section of the book Bohm also presents a great argument in favor of viewing consciousness as fundamental to our universe （as opposed to viewing it as merely an epiphenomenon based on the chemical structure of the brain）。 His argument is much better than my own best attempts。 See Chapter 3。2 if interested。As the book moves on， Bohm suggests ways in which we can see the process of human thought in terms of wholeness， allowing what is thought， apparently occurring "inside" the thinker and being separate from the "reality" which is its subject， to blend with the exterior reality in a single flowing process。 I found this to be absolutely fascinating。 He then goes on to build a theoretical model of order， measure， and structure， which he employs to show how general relativity and quantum mechanics both suggest that their unification will require a theory based on wholeness which abandons the Cartesian system or order。 He talks about what this new theory might look like in terms of implicate order， a total order or pattern of the whole being implied in the existence of each part， and the holomovement， the structure which carries the implicate order。 Here， Bohm became somewhat more difficult to understand。 This was probably for a few reasons。（1） He was using new ideas to talk about a theory which does not yet exist and which relies on concepts which are unnatural to our fragmentary way of seeing the world。（2） He speaks in terms of several analogies， which are helpful for understanding what he is getting at abstractly， but which are difficult to turn into models of the universe。 （3） Because I am already familiar with his ideas regarding quantum physics， my mindset while reading the book was more focussed on the linguistic and philosophical implications of his ideas than on the physical implications。Perhaps a later rereading with a mind toward the physical side of things will make it more understandable。Finally， at the end of the book， Bohm notes that both material phenomena and the human consciousness exist together in the same universe， and so are part of the same whole。 Based on this， he discusses how theories based on wholeness could finally allow us to discover and understand the true relationship between matter and consciousness。 。。。more
Megan Marvin
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Fascinating concept （5 stars） / inconsistent execution （3 stars）。 Explicate order （what we see， smell， hear， taste， touch） accounts for only a very small portion of reality。 Underlying it is a more extensive implicate， or enfolded， order。 The stable forms we see around us are not primary in themselves but only the temporary unfolding of the underlying implicate order。 To take rocks， trees， planets， or stars as the primary reality would be like assuming that the vortices in a river exist in their Fascinating concept （5 stars） / inconsistent execution （3 stars）。 Explicate order （what we see， smell， hear， taste， touch） accounts for only a very small portion of reality。 Underlying it is a more extensive implicate， or enfolded， order。 The stable forms we see around us are not primary in themselves but only the temporary unfolding of the underlying implicate order。 To take rocks， trees， planets， or stars as the primary reality would be like assuming that the vortices in a river exist in their own right and are totally independent of the flowing river itself。 （Paraphrase by Paula Gunn Allen） 。。。more
John Skaife
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Not quite of the calibre of Poe's Eureka; still， something of a classic in the field of psychotic literature。 Not quite of the calibre of Poe's Eureka; still， something of a classic in the field of psychotic literature。 。。。more
Anton
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Brilliant book， both in terms of its actual content and the way it is presented。 It is much like David himself takes you by the hand and leads you through his own trail of thought - while supporting his narrative with clear and transparent analogies。I would recommend this to anyone who wishes to understand what is going on in physics from a 'wholesome'， holistic （even esoteric in certain regards） perspective。 Brilliant book， both in terms of its actual content and the way it is presented。 It is much like David himself takes you by the hand and leads you through his own trail of thought - while supporting his narrative with clear and transparent analogies。I would recommend this to anyone who wishes to understand what is going on in physics from a 'wholesome'， holistic （even esoteric in certain regards） perspective。 。。。more
Ollie Cope
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Wonderful opening and conclusion， the middle was a bit heavy going。 Particularly the constant referral to the ink droplet analogy and the language chapter I found tough， but worth it for the last 100 pages or so。
Julian Worker
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This is a difficult book to read and understand。 When I read books like this， I am thankful that scientists such as Brian Cox， Frank Close， and Michio Kaku are able to explain difficult concepts so clearly in their books。 Indeed， it would be fun if any one of these three authors could translate David Bohm's ideas into language understood by people like me。I am sure there are some great ideas in this book， but I might have missed them。 In case you were wondering， by implicate order the author mea This is a difficult book to read and understand。 When I read books like this， I am thankful that scientists such as Brian Cox， Frank Close， and Michio Kaku are able to explain difficult concepts so clearly in their books。 Indeed， it would be fun if any one of these three authors could translate David Bohm's ideas into language understood by people like me。I am sure there are some great ideas in this book， but I might have missed them。 In case you were wondering， by implicate order the author means enfolded structures such as the order the images are sent in for a TV program。 。。。more
John Dolan
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Bohm's hypothesis is an interesting one， which I shall attempt to summarise in plain （and therefore not entirely accurate） English。He suggests that scientists' obsession with finding the ultimate building-block（s） of reality is hampering progress。 He asserts that the reason why there are unreconciled differences between different theories （e。g。 relativity and the quantum theory） is that reality has been 'thin-sliced' by various approaches and that we are so wedded to the idea of 'things' that we Bohm's hypothesis is an interesting one， which I shall attempt to summarise in plain （and therefore not entirely accurate） English。He suggests that scientists' obsession with finding the ultimate building-block（s） of reality is hampering progress。 He asserts that the reason why there are unreconciled differences between different theories （e。g。 relativity and the quantum theory） is that reality has been 'thin-sliced' by various approaches and that we are so wedded to the idea of 'things' that we are unable to conceive of every-thing as being merely part of some universal flux; that what we perceive as IS is merely a transient surfacing of temporary subsystems within that flux; and that the very structure of language itself mitigates against appreciating reality as it is， i。e。 ever-changing。Unfortunately， Bohm only has one or two provisional suggestions about how we might move forward， and that the overall universal movement might ultimately be unknowable。This is deep stuff。But， unfortunately， I found the author's vacillation between 'everyday' language and the language of mathematics an uneasy and too-abrupt transition - and style-wise it was therefore a difficult read: fascinating but ultimately unsatisfying。 。。。more
Rhonda Sue
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Lord have mercy！ Unless you're a physicist or expert in quantum theory or relativity， this book will be a very difficult read。 I know the book has been around and is probably a classic in its domain， but I had trouble making it through。 I was a solid math student back in the day， but there were symbols and equations that were gibberish to me。 So， what did I learn？ If you like etymology， Latin and Greek derivative of words， there was a good deal of this。 I do enjoy seeing where words come from an Lord have mercy！ Unless you're a physicist or expert in quantum theory or relativity， this book will be a very difficult read。 I know the book has been around and is probably a classic in its domain， but I had trouble making it through。 I was a solid math student back in the day， but there were symbols and equations that were gibberish to me。 So， what did I learn？ If you like etymology， Latin and Greek derivative of words， there was a good deal of this。 I do enjoy seeing where words come from and what they mean。The author argues for a total order of the universe or cosmology and wants a proper world view that is whole and not divided or fragmented。 To be whole is to be healthy。 Think eastern philosophy and meditation。 Make verbs be the primary focus， not nouns。 Our language and thought is too fragmentary and we need to be aware of it。 We need to be open to new theories of thought in science， too。Implicate means to fold inward in case you were wondering。 All I can say is thank goodness I did not major in physics。 。。。more
Jonathan
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An incredibly insightful look at consciousness and physics。 While I definitely didn’t get the math the underlying theory is still eye-opening。
Anton Zlatev
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Exceptional book
Seekers of Unity
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Working out a philosophy for quantum physics。 Interesting hypothesis of the folded-unfolded universe， riffing on Cusa。 He lost me a little on his linguistic proposal and definitely on the sciences。 Fully agree with his prognosis of society and mysticism as the cure。 If you like books like this you'll love my project:http://youtube。com/c/seekersofunity？s。。。 Working out a philosophy for quantum physics。 Interesting hypothesis of the folded-unfolded universe， riffing on Cusa。 He lost me a little on his linguistic proposal and definitely on the sciences。 Fully agree with his prognosis of society and mysticism as the cure。 If you like books like this you'll love my project:http://youtube。com/c/seekersofunity？s。。。 。。。more
J。 Perry
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Bohm has this overly verbose style of writing that is incredibly difficult for me to read。 In any given paragraph， I cannot often get to his main point （and I'm pretty sure he has one） because of all the window dressing。 Sadly， I had to put this one down about half-way through because I got tired of reading and re-reading the same sentences to try and figure out what the hell he was saying （think， Ulysses， only more technical）。 Bohm has this overly verbose style of writing that is incredibly difficult for me to read。 In any given paragraph， I cannot often get to his main point （and I'm pretty sure he has one） because of all the window dressing。 Sadly， I had to put this one down about half-way through because I got tired of reading and re-reading the same sentences to try and figure out what the hell he was saying （think， Ulysses， only more technical）。 。。。more
Pavel
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Some context for the layman can be found in Robert Aanton Wilson's Quantum Psychology Some context for the layman can be found in Robert Aanton Wilson's Quantum Psychology 。。。more
James
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Wholeness and the Implicate Order proposes a new model of reality。 Professor Bohm argues that if we are guided by a self-willed view， we will perceive and experience the world as fragmented。 Such a view is false because it is based on our mistaking the content of our thought for a description of the world as it is。 Bohm introduces the notion of the implicate order in which any element contains enfolded within itself the totality of the universe--his concept of totality （wholeness） includes both Wholeness and the Implicate Order proposes a new model of reality。 Professor Bohm argues that if we are guided by a self-willed view， we will perceive and experience the world as fragmented。 Such a view is false because it is based on our mistaking the content of our thought for a description of the world as it is。 Bohm introduces the notion of the implicate order in which any element contains enfolded within itself the totality of the universe--his concept of totality （wholeness） includes both matter and consciousness。The central underlying theme is the unbroken wholeness of the totality of existence as an undivided flowing movement without barriers。 The principal feature of the mechanical order is that the world is regarded as constituted entities which are outside of each other-- the order of the universe is mechanistic。 No coherent concept of an independently existent particle is possible， neither one in which the particle ould be n extended body， nor one in which it would be a dimensionless point。 The non-local， non-causal nature of the relationships of elements distant from one another violates the requirements of separateness and independence of fundamental constituents that is basic to any mechanistic approach （pp。 175-6）。 The hologram maks a photographic record of the interference pattern of light waves that come off an object。 The key new feature of this record is that each part contains information about the whole object， so there is no point-to-point correspondence of object and recorded image。 The form and structure of the entire object may be said to be enfolded within each region of the photographic record。 A new notion of order is involved here， called the implicate order from a Latin root meaning 'to enfold' or 'fold inward。' Everything is enfolded into everything in the implicate order。 The hologram is a static record of this order。 In the explicate order， things are unfolded as each thing lies only in is own particular region of space and time， and outside the regions belonging to other things。 This enfoldment and unfoldment take place in the movement of the electromagnetic field， and other fields such as the electronic， protonic， sound waves， etc。 The totality of the movement of enfoldment and unfoldment is holomovement。 In the holomovement， the overall necessity is holonomy， but its laws are no longer mechanical。 The implicate order has its ground in the holomovement which is vast， rich， and in a state of unending flux of enfoldment and unfoldment。 The implicate order extends into a multidimensional reality。 Movement is comprehended in terms of a series of inter-penetrating and intermingling elements in different degrees of enfoldment; all present together。 。。。more
Mark Wagnon
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Imagine 'Quantum Information Theory' learned as part of a 'quest' in a multiplayer VR/XR/QR game， where you learn how to literally change reality。 Imagine 'Quantum Information Theory' learned as part of a 'quest' in a multiplayer VR/XR/QR game， where you learn how to literally change reality。 。。。more
Arno Mosikyan
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The notion that the one who thinks （the Ego） is at least in principle completely separate from and independent of the reality that he thinks about is of course firmly embedded in our entire tradition。How are we to think coherently of a single， unbroken， flowing actuality of existence as a whole， containing both thought （consciousness） and external reality as we experience it？Science itself is demanding a new， non-fragmentary world view， in the sense that the present approach of analysis of the w The notion that the one who thinks （the Ego） is at least in principle completely separate from and independent of the reality that he thinks about is of course firmly embedded in our entire tradition。How are we to think coherently of a single， unbroken， flowing actuality of existence as a whole， containing both thought （consciousness） and external reality as we experience it？Science itself is demanding a new， non-fragmentary world view， in the sense that the present approach of analysis of the world into independently existent parts does not work very well in modern physics。 It is shown that both in relativity theory and quantum theory， notions implying the undivided wholeness of the universe would provide a much more orderly way of considering the general nature of reality。Being guided by a fragmentary self-world view， man then acts in such a way as to try to break himself and the world up， so that all seems to correspond to his way of thinking。 Man thus obtains an apparent proof of the correctness of his fragmentary self-world view though， of course， he overlooks the fact that it is he himself， acting according to his mode of thought， who has brought about the fragmentation that now seems to have an autonomous existence， independent of his will and of his desire。What will be emphasized， first of all in scientific research and later in a more general context， is that fragmentation is continually being brought about by the almost universal habit of taking the content of our thought for ‘a description of the world as it is’。 Or we could say that， in this habit， our thought is regarded as in direct correspondence with objective reality。 Since our thought is pervaded with differences and distinctions， it follows that such a habit leads us to look on these as real divisions， so that the world is then seen and experienced as actually broken up into fragments。Thus， it might be said that a theory is primarily a form of insight， i。e。 a way of looking at the world， and not a form of knowledge of how the world is。Of course， to take any physical theory as an absolute truth must tend to fix the general forms of thought in physics and thus to contribute to fragmentation。 Beyond this， however， the particular content of the atomic theory was such as to be especially conducive to fragmentation， for it was implicit in this content that the entire world of nature， along with the human being， including his brain， his nervous system， his mind， etc。， could in principle be understood completely in terms of structures and functions of aggregates of separately existent atoms。 The fact that in man’s experiments and general experience this atomic view was confirmed was， of course， then taken as proof of the correctness and indeed the universal truth of this notion。 Thus almost the whole weight of science was put behind the fragmentary approach to reality。In this flow， mind and matter are not separate substances。 Rather， they are different aspects of one whole and unbroken movement。 Lawlessness of individual behaviour in the context of a given statistical law is， in general， consistent with the notion of more detailed individual laws applying in a broader context。It is significant to point out here that the root of the theory of relativity was probably in a question that Einstein asked himself when he was fifteen years old: ‘What would happen if one were to move at the speed of light and look in a mirror？’ Evidently， one would see nothing because the light from one’s face would never reach the mirror。 This led Einstein to feel that light is somehow basically different from other forms of motion。Physics has become almost totally committed to the notion that the order of the universe is basically mechanistic。Ultimately， the entire universe （with all its ‘particles’， including those constituting human beings， their laboratories， observing instruments， etc。） has to be understood as a single undivided whole， in which analysis into separately and independently existent parts has no fundamental status。 。。。more
Lisa Townsend
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David Bohm was a maverick physicist。 I adore this book and use it as a reference now。 It sits on my desk。 If you love physics， it's a must read as he departs from quantum mechanics and sails into holism。 David Bohm was a maverick physicist。 I adore this book and use it as a reference now。 It sits on my desk。 If you love physics， it's a must read as he departs from quantum mechanics and sails into holism。 。。。more
Manuel Antão
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If you're into stuff like this， you can read the full review。Perception and Maps: "Wholeness and the Implicate Order" by David BohmIn a four-dimensional reality， all lower dimensions would appear as abstractions from the totality in the same way that a line or a plane presently have no actual existence to us and are abstractions。 There are no perfect lines or planes， in the mathematical sense， except in mathematics。 Every line also has width and is therefore potentially a plane and every plane h If you're into stuff like this， you can read the full review。Perception and Maps: "Wholeness and the Implicate Order" by David BohmIn a four-dimensional reality， all lower dimensions would appear as abstractions from the totality in the same way that a line or a plane presently have no actual existence to us and are abstractions。 There are no perfect lines or planes， in the mathematical sense， except in mathematics。 Every line also has width and is therefore potentially a plane and every plane has depth and is potentially a solid。The Russian philosopher， P。 D。 Ouspensky developed these and other ideas in his book Tertium Organum。 He became a mystic and disciple of Gurdjieff and his ideas were somehow transmitted through Gurdjieff to the theoretical physicist David Bohm （later collaborator with J。 Krishnamurti） whose efforts to find a common reality that would explain the quantum-relativity dilemma resulted in Bohm's theory （published in his book "Implicate Order"）。 。。。more
Kyle
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A book that is literally about everything， or at least the holographic projection of the roots of reality （revealed in an amazing etymological untangling to be reri， “to think”）。 Bohm seriously discusses quantum physics， consciousness， grammar， biology， mathematics and philosophy， giving something everyone across diverse fields can scratch their head about and wonder at。 While it would be relatively easy to pick apart any argument， since so much of what he writes about goes against conventional A book that is literally about everything， or at least the holographic projection of the roots of reality （revealed in an amazing etymological untangling to be reri， “to think”）。 Bohm seriously discusses quantum physics， consciousness， grammar， biology， mathematics and philosophy， giving something everyone across diverse fields can scratch their head about and wonder at。 While it would be relatively easy to pick apart any argument， since so much of what he writes about goes against conventional knowledge， he works through the fragmented academic particulars to get at something awe-inspiring and spiritual: that all is one， and perceived differences between one thing and another are just enfoldments of the same thing in a different phase。 。。。more
Mangieto
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En un principio consideré este libro divulgativo， pero conforme avanzaban las explicaciones me fue costando seguir la lectura como un texto así。 De todas formas no me parece que este fuera del alcance de todos。 Lo que sí es que hay que tomarse el tiempo de leerlo con calma。
Donna
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a difficult read and meant， I think， for individuals who are professional researchers and studying energy and are in the scientific mind。
Natty Peterkin
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Excellent theories， but the reading experience was hampered by unclear and highly academic descriptions， along with several chapters I simply don't know enough physics to understand。 Perhaps the target audience for this book is other academics already qualified in the field。 Excellent theories， but the reading experience was hampered by unclear and highly academic descriptions， along with several chapters I simply don't know enough physics to understand。 Perhaps the target audience for this book is other academics already qualified in the field。 。。。more
Isabel Rose
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Reading this was so important and helpful for me。 For most of my life my foundation of understanding has been mechanistic， with all other theories （holistic， holographic， holomorphic， whatever word you prefer） seeming like attractive but less than likely scenarios。 Now it's been reversed for me at a deep level。 This is not a final answer， but neither is a mechanistic world view， and so many of us treat that like one every day。 If you've been exposed to a lot of metaphysical ideas that intrigue y Reading this was so important and helpful for me。 For most of my life my foundation of understanding has been mechanistic， with all other theories （holistic， holographic， holomorphic， whatever word you prefer） seeming like attractive but less than likely scenarios。 Now it's been reversed for me at a deep level。 This is not a final answer， but neither is a mechanistic world view， and so many of us treat that like one every day。 If you've been exposed to a lot of metaphysical ideas that intrigue you， yet something important seems missing， and you can't seem to shake your materialist perception， you might benefit of from reading this。 。。。more
Chris Hawke
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This is an excellent book from beginning to end。 It exemplifies， in a nutshell， the wholeness， the oneness， of life via a blend of mysticism and science。
Dolf Haven
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I read a book about hard physics and consciousness and it turned out they are the same thing！ Bohm's writing is pretty dense， but he has a lot to say and does so very carefully。 He confirmed what I had hunches of for quite a while and puts another twist on it。 Him being a physicist， he is doing a better job at bringing physics and consciousness together than some philosophers of consciousness do。After getting lost in various complex subjects， the last chapter is a welcome summary and conclusion I read a book about hard physics and consciousness and it turned out they are the same thing！ Bohm's writing is pretty dense， but he has a lot to say and does so very carefully。 He confirmed what I had hunches of for quite a while and puts another twist on it。 Him being a physicist， he is doing a better job at bringing physics and consciousness together than some philosophers of consciousness do。After getting lost in various complex subjects， the last chapter is a welcome summary and conclusion of the whole （pun intended）。 。。。more
Raúl
，