--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our Western science, ever since the 17th…" description: "\"Our Western science, ever since the 17th century, has been obsessed with the notion of control, of man dominating nature. This obsession has led to dis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/fritjof-capra-10298_17th-century_our-western-science-ever-since-the-17th_3121065.jpg" --- # Our Western science, ever since the 17th century, has been… ![“Our Western science, ever since the 17th century, has been obsessed with the notion of control, of man dominating nature. This obsession has led to disaster.” quote by Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/fritjof-capra-10298_17th-century_our-western-science-ever-since-the-17th_3121065.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/fritjof-capra-10298_17th-century_our-western-science-ever-since-the-17th_3121065.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/fritjof-capra-10298_17th-century_our-western-science-ever-since-the-17th_3121065.jpg) > “Our Western science, ever since the 17th century, has been obsessed with the notion of control, of man dominating nature. This obsession has led to disaster.” [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western science’s drive to dominate nature has caused ecological crises. **In simple terms:** Control obsession harms environment. Key Takeaway Balance control with stewardship. Themes environment science control Mood concerned urgent Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy making - industrial design - education - resource management Key Concepts systems theory ecology Questions to Reflect On - How can science serve nature responsibly? - What limits should be set on technological control? A Different Perspective Control can also enable protection if guided ethically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [As long as hierarchy persists, as long as domination organises humanity around a system of elites, the project of dominating nature will continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/as-long-as-hierarchy-persists-as-long-as-domination-organises/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“It would be hard to get statistics on violent death -- what do you count as murder? When people starve to death because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/it-would-be-hard-to-get-statistics-on-violent-death-what-do-you-count/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [ “\[W\]ithout changing the most molecular relationships in society — notably, those between men and women, adults and children, whites and other ethnic groups, heterosexuals… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/w-ithout-changing-the-most-molecular-relationships-in-society-notably/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Development of Western science is based on two great achievements: the invention of the formal logical system (in Euclidean geometry) by the Greek philosophers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/development-of-western-science-is-based-on-two-great-achievements-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“To consider Western science simply as a continuation of Islamic science is, therefore, to misunderstand completely both the epistemological foundations of the two sciences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/to-consider-western-science-simply-as-a-continuation-of-islamic/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [“Islamic science is related profoundly to the Islamic world view. It is rooted deeply in knowledge based upon the unity of Allah or al-tawhid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/islamic-science-is-related-profoundly-to-the-islamic-world-view-it-is/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > [Western science is approaching a paradigm shift of unprecedented proportions, one that will change our concepts of reality and of human nature, bridge the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/western-science-is-approaching-a-paradigm-shift-of-unprecedented/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [The materialistic paradigm of Western science has been a major obstacle for any objective evaluation of the data describing the events occurring at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/the-materialistic-paradigm-of-western-science-has-been-a-major/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [Darwinian evolution may be the most truthful and powerful idea ever generated by Western Science, but if we continue to illustrate our conviction with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/darwinian-evolution-may-be-the-most-truthful-and-powerful-idea-ever/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Our western science is a child of moral virtues; and it must now become the father of further moral virtues if its extraordinary material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/our-western-science-is-a-child-of-moral-virtues-and-it-must-now/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [The history of Western science confirms the aphorism that the great menace to progress is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/the-history-of-western-science-confirms-the-aphorism-that-the-great/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [The basic idea of Western science is that you don't have to take into account the falling of a leaf on some planet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/the-basic-idea-of-western-science-is-that-you-don-t-have-to-take-into/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [“Shamanism explores an area that contemporary Western science knows little about- the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-miller-weisberger/shamanism-explores-an-area-that-contemporary-western-science-knows/) [Jonathon Miller Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-miller-weisberger/) > [Western science is a product of the Apollonian mind: its hope is that by naming and classification, by the cold light of intellect, archaic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/western-science-is-a-product-of-the-apollonian-mind-its-hope-is-that/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [In a lot of Western science fiction, you need some form of conflict, whether it's aliens or robots. I think in Western culture, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-breazeal/in-a-lot-of-western-science-fiction-you-need-some-form-of-conflict/) [Cynthia Breazeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-breazeal/) ## More by Fritjof Capra > [If physics leads us today to a world view which is essentially mystical, it returns, in a way, to its beginning, 2,500 years ago.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/if-physics-leads-us-today-to-a-world-view-which-is-essentially/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [“The phenomenon of emergence takes place at critical points of instability that arise from fluctuations in the environment, amplified by feedback loops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/the-phenomenon-of-emergence-takes-place-at-critical-points-of/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Genuine mental health would involve a balanced interplay of both modes of experience, a way of life in which one's identification with the ego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/genuine-mental-health-would-involve-a-balanced-interplay-of-both/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Knowledge cannot be separated from a certain way of life which becomes its living manifestation. To acquire mystical knowledge means to undergo a transformation;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/knowledge-cannot-be-separated-from-a-certain-way-of-life-which/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [The term "paradigm," from the Greek paradeigma ("pattern"), was used by Kuhn to denote a conceptual framework shared by a community of scientists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/the-term-paradigm-from-the-greek-paradeigma-pattern-was-used-by-kuhn/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [My main professional interest during the 1970s has been in the dramatic change of concepts and ideas that has occurred in physics during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/my-main-professional-interest-during-the-1970s-has-been-in-the/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Ecology and spirituality are fundamentally connected, because deep ecological awareness, ultimately, is spiritual awareness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/ecology-and-spirituality-are-fundamentally-connected-because-deep/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [During periods of relaxation after concentrated intellectual activity, the intuitive mind seems to take over and can produce the sudden clarifying insights which give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/during-periods-of-relaxation-after-concentrated-intellectual-activity/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [As Eastern thought has begun to interest a significant number of people, and meditation is no longer viewed with ridicule or suspicion, mysticism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/as-eastern-thought-has-begun-to-interest-a-significant-number-of/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [As long as we do science, some things will always remain unexplained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/as-long-as-we-do-science-some-things-will-always-remain-unexplained/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Modern physics had shown that the rhythm of creation and destruction is not only manifest in the turn of the seasons and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/modern-physics-had-shown-that-the-rhythm-of-creation-and-destruction/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [The elements of life are dynamic patterns of mass and energy, events rather than objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/the-elements-of-life-are-dynamic-patterns-of-mass-and-energy-events/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Subatomic particles do not exist but rather show 'tendencies to exist', and atomic events do not occur with certainty at definite times and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/subatomic-particles-do-not-exist-but-rather-show-tendencies-to-exist/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [In the end, the aggressors always destroy themselves, making way for others who know how to cooperate and get along. Life is much less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/in-the-end-the-aggressors-always-destroy-themselves-making-way-for/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [Whenever the essential nature of things is analysed by the intellect, it must seem absurd or paradoxical. This has always been recognized by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/whenever-the-essential-nature-of-things-is-analysed-by-the-intellect/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) [Explore all 66 Fritjof Capra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) ## More 17th century quotes > [Recently I was reading somewhere or other an Italian curio-dealer who attempted to sell a 17th century crucifix to J.P. Morgan. Inside it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/recently-i-was-reading-somewhere-or-other-an-italian-curio-dealer-who/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [With Brexit, and I think the extraordinary strain it's put on our constitution and our representative democracy, I do sometimes feel like I'm in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/with-brexit-and-i-think-the-extraordinary-strain-it-s-put-on-our/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [Perhaps people need to understand some history here. Rene Descartes, in the late 16th, early 17th century, postulated that body, mind, physicality and spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/perhaps-people-need-to-understand-some-history-here-rene-descartes-in/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [“It combined corrupt simplicity with delicate ferocity, a curious variety of civilization; a tiger with a simper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-combined-corrupt-simplicity-with-delicate-ferocity-a-curious/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I'm from Holland and the history of "Admiral" is something you would read about when you're at school. Nobody knows about these stories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roel-reine/i-m-from-holland-and-the-history-of-admiral-is-something-you-would/) Roel Reine > [Yes, I would agree that America, just like Spain was in the 17th Century, is the main empire of the world and they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viggo-mortensen/yes-i-would-agree-that-america-just-like-spain-was-in-the-17th/) [Viggo Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viggo-mortensen/) > [I would love to do a period piece - in the 18th or 17th century. To me, it would be such an incredible challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-smart/i-would-love-to-do-a-period-piece-in-the-18th-or-17th-century-to-me/) [Amy Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-smart/) > [I'd share a pic if the digital camera battery wasn't as flat as 17th century Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-haynes/i-d-share-a-pic-if-the-digital-camera-battery-wasn-t-as-flat-as-17th/) [Simon Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-haynes/) > [You cannot gauge the intelligence of an American by talking with him; you must work with him. The American polishes and refines his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/you-cannot-gauge-the-intelligence-of-an-american-by-talking-with-him/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Technologically I live in the 17th century. I have a very simple cell phone. I say I live through the kindness of strangers, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/technologically-i-live-in-the-17th-century-i-have-a-very-simple-cell/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [Each of us have things and thoughts and descriptions of an amazing universe in our possession that kings in the 17th Century would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/each-of-us-have-things-and-thoughts-and-descriptions-of-an-amazing/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [Order can arise from chaos without anyone or anything directing the process when unstable combinations of atoms perish and others persist. In the 17th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/order-can-arise-from-chaos-without-anyone-or-anything-directing-the/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [The data, however, do indicate that Christians who see Jews through a 17th-century lens, believing that most are thoroughly religious, are thoroughly wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/the-data-however-do-indicate-that-christians-who-see-jews-through-a/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [The technologies for the alternative energy sources exists today. The economics are compelling. The public health is compelling. Why would we maintain a focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-technologies-for-the-alternative-energy-sources-exists-today-the/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Religion is a practical discipline and in the 17th century in the West, we turned it onto a head trip. But it's like dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/religion-is-a-practical-discipline-and-in-the-17th-century-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) Browse all 43 17th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our Western science, ever since the 17th century, has been obsessed with the notion of control, of man dominating nature. 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