F. David Peat
Encyclopedia
F. David Peat was born in Waterloo
, England
and is a holistic
physicist
and author
who has carried out research in solid state physics and the foundation of quantum theory
.
He is director of the Pari Center for New Learning
, which is located in the village of Pari near Siena
in Tuscany
, Italy
. He is adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies
, a Fellow
of the World Academy of Art and Science
and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of South Africa
.
in physics from the University of Liverpool
. In 1965, he became assistant professor at Queen's University
in Kingston, Ontario
. Subsequently, fom 1967 to 1975, he worked as research scientist for the National Research Council of Canada
. During this time, from 1971 to 1972, he performed a sabbatical study with David Bohm
and Roger Penrose
at Birkbeck College in London.
For many years he was associated with physicist and philosopher David Bohm; the two wrote the book Science, Order, and Creativity
together, and Peat later wrote Bohm's biography, Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm. In the context of this biography, Peat emphasized how Bohm had worked intensely on finding a mathematical expression for his vision of an interconnected, enfolded implicate order, from which an explicate order, the world of classical physics unfolds. Bohm also aimed at re-introducing time as a dynamic entity. According to Peat, the use of the term Bohmian mechanics for his theory “would have shocked Dave [Bohm] somewhat”: what was happening with the ideas of Bohm's and Hiley's theory, similarly as what had occurred with those of Grassman
, Hamilton
and Clifford
before, was that physicists left the fundamental ideas aside and merely made use of them as an easy manner of performing calculations.
While living in Canada
, Peat organized discussion circles between Western scientists and Native American elders
, together with Leroy Little Bear who later obtained the 2003 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education. While living in London
, Peat organized a conference between artists and scientists. In 1996 he moved from Canada to Pari, Italy.
In 2000, he founded the Pari Center for New Learning, a center dedicated to education, learning and research, together with writer and researcher Maureen Doolan. The activities of the Pari Center comprise residential courses and conferences and possibilities for scholars and researchers to spend extended periods as residents in Pari.
Peat has written on the subjects of science
, art
, and spirituality
and proposed the notions of
creative suspension and gentle action. He has authored or co-authored many books including Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind, Seven Life lessons of Chaos
, Turbulent Mirror, Gentle Action, and Pathways of Chance. His most recent book is A Flickering Reality: Cinema and the Nature of Reality.
and a similarity to the concept of Wu wei
.
Peat's gentle action has been cited together with Scharmer
's Theory U and Mindell
's Worldwork
as approaches by which individuals, groups, organisations and communities can deal with complex
issues.
Learning modules based on Peat's Gentle Action approach were put in place, among others, at the University of Minnesota
and at Siena Heights University
.
Waterloo, Sefton
Waterloo is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England.Waterloo is home to The Plaza Community Cinema and three primary schools...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and is a holistic
Holism in science
Holism in science, or Holistic science, is an approach to research that emphasizes the study of complex systems. This practice is in contrast to a purely analytic tradition which aims to gain understanding of systems by dividing them into smaller composing elements and gaining understanding of the...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who has carried out research in solid state physics and the foundation of quantum theory
Quantum theory
Quantum theory may mean:In science:*Quantum mechanics: a subset of quantum physics explaining the physical behaviours at atomic and sub-atomic levels*Old quantum theory under the Bohr model...
.
He is director of the Pari Center for New Learning
Pari Center for New Learning
The Pari Center for New Learning is a non-profit educational center located in the village of Pari in Civitella Paganico of the Province of Grosseto, Italy. The center is directed by F. David Peat, who co-authored the book Science, Order, and Creativity with theoretical physicist David Bohm...
, which is located in the village of Pari near Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He is adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies
California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...
, a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the World Academy of Art and Science
World Academy of Art and Science
The World Academy of Art and Science is an international non-governmental scientific organization, an informal and non-official world network of individual fellows elected for distinguished accomplishments in the fields of natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities...
and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of South Africa
University of South Africa
The University of South Africa is a distance education university, with headquarters in Pretoria, South Africa. With approximately 300 000 enrolled students, it qualifies as one of the world's mega universities.-History:...
.
Education and career
In 1964, Peat received a Ph.D.Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in physics from the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. In 1965, he became assistant professor at Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
. Subsequently, fom 1967 to 1975, he worked as research scientist for the National Research Council of Canada
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
. During this time, from 1971 to 1972, he performed a sabbatical study with David Bohm
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm FRS was an American-born British quantum physicist who contributed to theoretical physics, philosophy, neuropsychology, and the Manhattan Project.-Youth and college:...
and Roger Penrose
Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
at Birkbeck College in London.
For many years he was associated with physicist and philosopher David Bohm; the two wrote the book Science, Order, and Creativity
Science, Order, and Creativity
Science, Order, and Creativity is a book by theoretical physicist David Bohm and physicist and writer F. David Peat. It was originally published 1987 by Bantam Books, USA, then 1989 in Great Britain by Routledge...
together, and Peat later wrote Bohm's biography, Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm. In the context of this biography, Peat emphasized how Bohm had worked intensely on finding a mathematical expression for his vision of an interconnected, enfolded implicate order, from which an explicate order, the world of classical physics unfolds. Bohm also aimed at re-introducing time as a dynamic entity. According to Peat, the use of the term Bohmian mechanics for his theory “would have shocked Dave [Bohm] somewhat”: what was happening with the ideas of Bohm's and Hiley's theory, similarly as what had occurred with those of Grassman
Hermann Grassmann
Hermann Günther Grassmann was a German polymath, renowned in his day as a linguist and now also admired as a mathematician. He was also a physicist, neohumanist, general scholar, and publisher...
, Hamilton
William Rowan Hamilton
Sir William Rowan Hamilton was an Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician, who made important contributions to classical mechanics, optics, and algebra. His studies of mechanical and optical systems led him to discover new mathematical concepts and techniques...
and Clifford
William Kingdon Clifford
William Kingdon Clifford FRS was an English mathematician and philosopher. Building on the work of Hermann Grassmann, he introduced what is now termed geometric algebra, a special case of the Clifford algebra named in his honour, with interesting applications in contemporary mathematical physics...
before, was that physicists left the fundamental ideas aside and merely made use of them as an easy manner of performing calculations.
While living in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Peat organized discussion circles between Western scientists and Native American elders
American Indian elder
In American Indian education, within each tribe elders, "are repositories of cultural and philosophical knowledge and are the transmitters of such information," including, "basic beliefs and teachings, encouraging...faith in the Great Spirit, the Creator"...
, together with Leroy Little Bear who later obtained the 2003 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Education. While living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Peat organized a conference between artists and scientists. In 1996 he moved from Canada to Pari, Italy.
In 2000, he founded the Pari Center for New Learning, a center dedicated to education, learning and research, together with writer and researcher Maureen Doolan. The activities of the Pari Center comprise residential courses and conferences and possibilities for scholars and researchers to spend extended periods as residents in Pari.
Peat has written on the subjects of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, and spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and proposed the notions of
creative suspension and gentle action. He has authored or co-authored many books including Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind, Seven Life lessons of Chaos
Seven Life Lessons of Chaos
Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Spiritual Wisdom From the Science of Change is a book by Western Connecticut State University English Professor John Briggs and Physicist F. David Peat . The book consists of 175 pages plus notes and an index. Original Publication 1999 by Harper Collins...
, Turbulent Mirror, Gentle Action, and Pathways of Chance. His most recent book is A Flickering Reality: Cinema and the Nature of Reality.
Gentle Action
A focus of Peat's recent work is the concept of Gentle Action. This approach, as envisaged by Peat, emphasizes a certain manner of action that are aimed at creating change in an effective manner. The approach calls for tolerating uncertainty yet suspending action at its onset in order to allow an over-all view to emerge. It emphasizes the value of small-scale, iterative actions compared to large, single-step interventions. In his book of the same name, published 2008, Peat points out connections of his approach to earlier concepts, emphasizing the importance of active listeningActive listening
Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what they hear. The ability to listen actively can improve personal relationships through reducing conflicts, strengthening cooperation, and fostering understanding.When interacting,...
and a similarity to the concept of Wu wei
Wu wei
Wu wei is an important concept of Taoism , that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. Another perspective to this is that "Wu Wei" means...
.
Peat's gentle action has been cited together with Scharmer
Otto Scharmer
Dr. C. Otto Scharmer is a Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the founding chair of the Presencing Institute...
's Theory U and Mindell
Arnold Mindell
Arnold Mindell is an American psychotherapist, writer and the founder of Process Oriented Psychology, living in Portland, Oregon. He has written 19 books that have been published in 20 languages.-Career:...
's Worldwork
Worldwork
Worldwork is the application of Process Oriented Psychology to group dynamics, conflict resolution and organizational development. It was developed by psychologist Arnold Mindell based on his observation that the experience and behavior of individuals, exhibit similar structure and dynamics to...
as approaches by which individuals, groups, organisations and communities can deal with complex
Complexity
In general usage, complexity tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement. The study of these complex linkages is the main goal of complex systems theory. In science there are at this time a number of approaches to characterizing complexity, many of which are...
issues.
Learning modules based on Peat's Gentle Action approach were put in place, among others, at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and at Siena Heights University
Siena Heights University
Siena Heights University is a Roman Catholic postsecondary institution in Adrian, Michigan. It is affiliated with the St. Joseph Academy and Montessori Children’s House.-History:...
.
Books
- A Flickering Reality: Cinema and the Nature of Reality, 2011, Pari Publishing ISBN 978-88-95604-09-1
- Gentle Action: Bringing creative change to a turbulent world, 2008, Pari Publishing ISBN 978-88-95604-03-9
- Pathways of Chance, 2005, Pari Publishing, ISBN 0-9768264-0-2
- I sentieri del caso, 2004, Di Renzo Editore, ISBN 88-8323-079-5
- Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Worldview, 2002, Phanes PressPhanes PressPhanes Press is a New Age book publishing imprint of Red Wheel Weiser Conari.Phanes Press was founded by David Fideler in 1985 to publish Neoplatonic and other esoteric texts. One of its representative and more significant publications was The Pythagorean Sourcebook translated by Kenneth Sylvan...
, ISBN 1-890482-83-8 - From Certainty to Uncertainty: The Story of Science and Ideas in the Twentieth Century, 2002, Joseph Henry PressJoseph Henry PressJoseph Henry Press is an American publisher which is an imprint of the National Academies Press, publisher for the United States National Academy of Sciences. The imprint is named after American scientist Joseph Henry....
, ISBN 0-309-07641-2 - The Blackwinged Night: Creativity in Nature and Mind, 2001, Basic Books, ISBN 0-7382-0491-9
- Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Spiritual Wisdom from the Science of Change, 1999, with John Briggs, HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, 2000 Harper Perennial paperback: ISBN 0-06-093073-X - In Search of Nikola TeslaNikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
, 1997, Ashgrove Publishing, 2002 edition: ISBN 1-85398-117-6 - Infinite Potential: The Life and Times of David Bohm, 1996, Perseus Books, ISBN 0-201-40635-7
- Glimpsing Reality: Ideas in Physics and the Link to Biology, 1996, with Paul Buckley, University of Toronto PressUniversity of Toronto PressUniversity of Toronto Press is Canada's leading scholarly publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP has published over 6,500 books, with well over 3,500 of these still in print....
, ISBN 0-8020-6994-0 - Lighting the Seventh Fire: The Spiritual Ways, Healing, and Science of the Native American, 1994, Carol Publishing, ISBN 1-55972-249-5
- The Philosopher's Stone: Chaos, Synchronicity, and the Hidden Order of the World, 1991, ISBN 0-553-35329-2
- Einstein's Moon: Bell's TheoremBell's theoremIn theoretical physics, Bell's theorem is a no-go theorem, loosely stating that:The theorem has great importance for physics and the philosophy of science, as it implies that quantum physics must necessarily violate either the principle of locality or counterfactual definiteness...
and the Curious Quest for Quantum Reality, 1990, Contemporary Books, ISBN 0-8092-4512-4 - Turbulent Mirror: An Illustrated Guide to Chaos TheoryChaos theoryChaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
and the Science of Wholeness, 1989, with John Briggs, Harper & Row, 1990 Harper Perennial paperback ISBN 0-06-091696-6 - Superstrings and the Search for the Theory of Everything, 1989, McGraw-HillMcGraw-HillThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Rockefeller Center in New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial, education, publishing, broadcasting, and business services...
, ISBN 0-8092-4257-5 - Cold FusionCold fusionCold fusion, also called low-energy nuclear reaction , refers to the hypothesis that nuclear fusion might explain the results of a group of experiments conducted at ordinary temperatures . Both the experimental results and the hypothesis are disputed...
: The Making of a Scientific Controversy, 1989, Contemporary Books, ISBN 0-8092-4243-5 - Quantum Implications: Essays in Honour of David Bohm, by F. David Peat (Editor) and Basil Hiley (Editor), Routledge & Kegan Paul LtdRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, London & New York, 1987 - Science, Order and Creativity, 1987 with David Bohm, Routledge, 2nd ed. 2000: ISBN 0-415-17182-2
- SynchronicitySynchronicitySynchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
: The Bridge Between Matter and Mind, 1987, Bantam, ISBN 0-553-34676-8 - Looking Glass Universe: The Emerging Science of Wholeness, 1986, with John BriggsJohn Briggs (author)John Briggs, Distinguished Professor and Co-Chair of the Department of English Language, Comparative Literature, and Writing at Western Connecticut State University, is co-author of Seven Life Lessons of Chaos with the physicist David Peat...
, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 0-671-63215-9
External links
- Personal homepage
- Pari Center of New Learning
- Look for Truth - No Matter Where It Takes You, Interview of F. David Peat by Simeon Alev. Originally published in: What is Enlightenment? Spring/Summer 1997, Volume 6, Number 1
- http://www.cognitionfactor.net/the_cast/David_Peat.aspx David Peat expresses some personal ideas and philosophy in the smart movie Cognition Factor(2009).