Nowhere is the "paradigm shift"--the radical change of perspective that is sweeping the Western world--advancing so rapidly as in physics. Mystics and "idealists" have always propounded the idea that the world is an illusion. Now quantum physics is putting forward theories that reinforce this belief.

Until recently, the empirical approach of physicists such as Newton has taught us that the world exists with or without human consciousness to observe it. But we can never be totally objective about reality. The human mind, with all its preconceived notions and prejudices, always intrudes,...