War of the Worldviews: Science vs Spirituality

Written by Deepak Chopra

Narrated by Deepak Chopra

Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Hawking have had a major impact on the loud and popular debate between 'aggressive atheists' and religion. The huge sales of their bestselling books show just how much interest people have in their ideas.

Now 'the rock star of the new spirituality', Deepak Chopra, is entering this debate, sparring with leading physicist, Professor Leonard Mlodinow (the co-author, with Stephen Hawking, of The Grand Design).

In War of the Worldviews, Chopra argues that there is design in our universe and a deep intelligence behind life. Without defending organised religion, he debunks randomness as an explanation for how Nature evolves and shows how consciousness comes first and matter second.

On the other side, Mlodinow argues the viewpoint of science, specifically what modern quantum physics can tell us about our world. In his view, physics, genetics and cosmology will shed far more light on the big questions than rethinking ancient spiritual concepts can ever do.
A major work of our time, War of the Worlds will not only offer more food for thought for those fascinated by the two sides of this modern conundrum - it will also place Deepak Chopra firmly in the ring of some of the most remarkable, and bestselling, thinkers of our era

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House UK Audio
• Release date: Oct 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781446458921

Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra, M.D. is acknowledged as a world leader in establishing a new life-giving paradigm that has evolutionized common wisdom about the crucial connection between mind, body, spirit, and healing. He is the author of nineteen books and more than thirty audio, video, and CD-ROM programs. He has been published on six continents and in dozens of languages. Nearly ten million copies of his books have been sold in the English language alone. Dr. Chopra has established the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California, where he serves as educational director.

Reviews for War of the Worldviews

[laine4cunningham · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this one for the back-and-forth between the two authors. They come from very different views and each presents their side in an easy to understand language.
I read this book as part of my research for my latest novel. You might say the novel deals with quantum biology...the intersection where science and spirituality merge and therefore have an impact in the physical world. I was hoping to find more specific insight that would transfer to the book but generally it's opinion using facts and anecdotes as examples or to further their ideas. So although it was a little disappointing in that way, the essays themselves provide a very nice setup for understanding spirituality in the modern world and how science can enhance that perspective...even though the scientist here spends most of his essays denying Chopra's views on divinity rather than really delving into what science might be able to say about that.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Spiritualist Deepak Chopra and Cal Tech physicist Leonard Mlodinow have collaborated in this book to discuss some of the hairy issues that lie in the intersection between faith and science. The book is organized as a series of questions, 'Is there design in the Universe?', 'What makes us human?', etc. and alternates between Chopra and Mlodinow in presenting their views. Since the questions have a lot of overlap, I found their arguments repetitive at times. Mlodinow often used the fact that early man believed many superstitions that were eventually dispelled by science and Chopra often used the tactic that if there is no spirituality, then what a bleak world we live in. But in spite of the repetition, the debates were interesting with no clear winner on any of the topics. One thing that I enjoyed and impressed me is the deference and respect these two authors showed each other. Too often when people have different opinions the debate disintegrates into insults and mud slinging (think of our political debates today). In the audio version, each author reads his own arguments. Neither is a captivating narrator, adding a bit of dryness to an already tough topic.

[garysmeade · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant. I feel so much more enlightened by the way a true scientist thinks and more wary of superstitious nonsense. Given that I once would have been the defender of Deepak's science-suspicion position, I'm glad to have Leonard as a reasonable voice for the superiority of evidence-based thinking.

[kybunnies · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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This was an interesting read. As stated on my homepage I am not a writer so any review I write will totally make the book seem like something not worth reading. This is a good book for people to read that do not understand either the science or spirituality.

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[niecierpek · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Leonard Mlodinov is making a case for a scientific outlook on life and universe in this book and Deepak Chopra for a spiritual. They discuss issues of cosmos, life, mind, brain and God. Chopra does not deny any of the scientific developments like evolution, Big Bang, or any scientific discovery that has been made. He just proposes that we add consciousness to the worldview equation. ‘We don’t need God, either. All we need is a universe that contains consciousness as an inseparable aspect of itself. Once you grant that, then any and all observers- divine, human, or any other kind- are expressions of self-awareness. They share the same status; each is a participant in creation,” he says in his essay on Cosmos part of the book.In response, Mlodinov presents an outlook devoid of any spirituality, but is happy to concede that what he represents is the state of the affairs for the science of today, and that does not exclude any experimental developments in the future. I like his arguments. He makes much more sense to me and what he represents is intimately familiar to me. Chopra, on the other hand, uses too many generalizations and phrases of the type "it is evident" where he presents no evidence at all. Yet, I find the idea of a conscious universe intuitively appealing to my vaguely animistic nature as well.I liked that both authors were respectful and civil to each other and both picked up on each other’s thought threads. I listened to the audio version of the book and both Chopra and Mlodinov read their own material, which enhanced the content and made it quite cool in my opinion.