13 ms·
The mysticism of Alan Watts (2018)
- teddyh 4y agoWhat a hatchet job. The phrase “damning with faint praise” comes immediately to mind.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- augustuspolius 4y agoAlso an immediate intentional framing by comparing Watts to Peterson, who the author obviously despises and knows the audience will disapprove of.
- mistermann 4y agoAn interpretation and characterization of Watts, by a human who seems not aware of that level. Watts was surely flawed in many ways, but his true value to humanity is an ongoing mystery, although such things often appear very much otherwise. Woo woo!
- rendall 4y agoHmm. Well, personally speaking, I find the concept of "enlightenment" itself to be delusional at best, but probably actual grifting. So, to my mind, someone insisting that Watts isn't doing it right seems rather rich. But, to each their own, and if I can live and let live, then the author can.
- zozbot234 4y agoEvery time Baizhang, Zen Master Dahui, gave a dharma talk, a certain old man would come to listen. He usually left after the talk, but one day he remained. Baizhang asked, "Who is there?" The man said, "I am not actually a human being. I lived and taught on this mountain at the time of Kashyapa Buddha. One day a student asked me, 'Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect?' I said to him, 'No, such a person doesn't.' Because I said this I was reborn as a wild fox for five hundred lifetimes. Reverend master, please say a turning word for me and free me from this wild fox body." Then he asked Baizhang, "Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect?" Baizhang said, "Don't ignore cause and effect." Immediately the man had great realization. Bowing, he said, "I am now liberated from the body of a wild fox. I will stay in the mountain behind the monastery. Master, could you perform the usual services for a deceased monk for me?" Baizhang asked the head of the monks' hall to inform the assembly that funeral services for a monk would be held after the midday meal. The monks asked one another, "What's going on? Everyone is well; there is no one sick in the Nirvana Hall." After their meal, Baizhang led the assembly to a large rock behind the monastery and showed them a dead fox at the rock's base. Following the customary procedure, they cremated the body. That evening during his lecture in the dharma hall Baizhang talked about what had happened that day. Huangbo asked him, "A teacher of old gave a wrong answer and became a wild fox for five hundred lifetimes. What if he hadn't given a wrong answer?" Baizhang said, "Come closer and I will tell you." Huangbo went closer and slapped Baizhang's face. Laughing, Baizhang clapped his hands and said, "I thought it was only barbarians who had unusual beards. But you too have an unusual beard!"
- rendall 4y agoThat kōan has an obscure codicil. Not many know it, but if this response is given, the student is known to be enlightened, and can skip all further training: Huongbo looks dazedly up from the smoking ash pile of the former fox spirit and into the eyes of the grinning Baizhang. Speechless at first, he finally stammers "Baizhang. That's quite an act. What do you call it?" Baizhang wraps both fists in Huongbo's beard, pulls him close and screams "The Aristocrats!!"
- zozbot234 4y ago> the student is known to be enlightened, and can skip all further training Wait, I thought we all had Buddha-nature and were already enlightened? In fact, Alan Watts himself said so. If everyone is enlightened, how can it be that only the enlightened can skip all Zen training? That's a difficult kōan, indeed.
- rendall 4y agoAs the great Honmyokai said, "I don't make the rules. I just ingest roots, bark and resin until I die, enlightened, preserved without decay"
- cylinder714 4y ago[the Blue Cliff Record and Jewish Catskills resort humor collapse into a singularity]
- superb-owl 4y agoThe article isn't as aggressive as the headline, but it also doesn't really give a clear picture of Watts. He had a lot of issues in his personal life, but as the article parenthetically mentions, he helped a lot of people too. If you want to know more about Watts and what he means to people, I would suggest finding some of his lectures on YouTube (avoid the ones with new agey music). Watts was a connoisseur of fascinating ideas. It's easy to criticize his syncretism as "watered down Buddhism", and you can't take everything he (or anyone) says as gospel, but there's plenty of insight in his lectures. And he will point you towards a hundred other thinkers with amazing ideas to share.
- augustuspolius 4y agoI used to own a CD collection of his lectures and have very fond memories of listening to him on road trips. Agree that he shares many wonderful ideas in his talks, no need to diminish that by calling ideas “watered down” or “lazy”. He synthesized many religions and philosophies into a cohesive system (even if sometimes pretty esoteric). For those subscribed to the Waking Up app: they recently (well, around a year ago) added a large Alan Watts lecture collection to the Theory section.
- TedDoesntTalk 4y agoWatts is an entertaining speaker, but he won’t teach you how to practice.
- cylinder714 4y agoThe hard-rock band Nothing More features a bit of Watts in the song "Ships In The Night," the second half of this music video: https://youtu.be/lR4yR_rjhEg https://youtu.be/lR4yR_rjhEg I recommend not watching the actual video; I really detest the dark imagery and lyrics of rock music and worry about how such imagery affects people, even in a subtle manner. (In Buddhism (perhaps primarily in Theravada) there is the notion of "guarding the sense doors," being careful about what one allows into their head. I enjoy the music in spite of that, but the imagery I think is problematic.)
- kordlessagain 4y agoGuarding the sense doors can be done by sitting in a cave on the side of a mountain. Buddha saw this as useful, for a time, until he realized that coming back and sharing what he gleaned while sitting as also useful. He about died in a river heading back into town, after deciding to end his ascetic lifestyle (and get a bite to eat). His discovery was more or less about how practicing a good balance between asceticism and sensual indulgence leads to a means of escape through realizing the Four Noble truths: 1. Dukkha: An innate characteristic of existence in the realm of samsara; it is the constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. 2. Samudaya: The cause and origin of dukkha through tanha. Tanha can be seen as the factor tying us to dukkha, or as a response to dukkha, trying to escape it. It is the result of our unguarded sensory contact with the world, which gives rise to craving and attachment to impermanent states and things. 3. Nirodha: Translated as "cessation," "ending," or "confinement." In the context of the Four Noble Truths, it refers to the idea that dukkha can be ended or contained by renouncing or letting go of tanha. 4. Magga: The path leading to the confinement of tanha and dukkha. The path consists right understanding (Samma ditthi), right thought (Samma sankappa), right speech (Samma vaca), right action (Samma kammanta), right livelihood (Samma ajiva), right effort (Samma vayama), right mindfulness (Samma sati), and right concentration (Samma samadhi). Now we ask GPT-3 about something very specific using the above as a prompt: Human> Theorize on the loss of the ability to recall imagery and audio, in mind, in the population as related to the path in Buddhism. GPT-3> There is no real answer to this question as it is purely speculative. However, one could theorize that the loss of the ability to recall imagery and audio could be related to the path in Buddhism in a few different ways. First, it could be argued that the loss of these abilities is a result of the practice of mindfulness and concentration. When one is focused on the present moment and not letting their mind wander, they may be less likely to remember things from the past. Additionally, it could be argued that the loss of these abilities is a result of the practice of renunciation. When one is trying to let go of attachment to things in the world, they may be less likely to hold on to memories of past experiences. Finally, it could be argued that the loss of these abilities is a result of the practice of right effort. If one is constantly trying to improve their mental state and focus on the present moment, they may eventually lose track of memories from the past. Human> So, forgetting may be a useful trait? GPT-3> There is no easy answer to this question. On one hand, forgetting may be seen as a useful trait because it can help one to focus on the present moment and let go of attachment to things in the past. On the other hand, forgetting may be seen as a hindrance because it can prevent one from learning from their past experiences. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide whether forgetting is a useful trait or not.
- jadbox 4y ago> "The Swami retorted that if Watts was really enlightened, he would feel no suffering, not even a pinch." This article really is a hatchet job. It's the worst take with the worst references to source from. Enlightened has nothing to do with not feeling pain. The article goes on to judge his personal life as well as his children. The article quotes Alan as having not been a good father, but who can say they have lived the ideal? This is the same kind opinion piece that would call Mr Rogers an evil man [0]. [0] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-fred-rogers-evil/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-fred-rogers-evil/
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- nprateem 4y agoPain is not suffering. Pain is a sensation. Suffering is the mental resistance to it that we add on ourselves, making our experience worse than necessary. Suffering is optional.
- sammalloy 4y agoBeautifully said. It took me years to realize this. I think it was when I was 35. It changed everything.
- webwanderings 4y agoWatts and Osho were on the same wavelength when it comes to imparting their own definition of religion and philosophy. Both had their human flaws and didn't care. Their message was and is still sound (no wonder they are popular on YouTube).
- medion 4y agoWhy is it still sound if they themselves could not live and follow their own philosophy? I am wary of anyone who professes something that sounds technically sound, but which they themselves cannot live up to.
- 0xbadcafebee 4y agoThat's an extremely common theme in the world. Teachers, therapists, doctors, etc. Often the instructor is completely fucked up, and is trying to cope with that by teaching/helping others. But they still have insightful and good advice, even if they don't follow it themselves. Don't focus on the instructor as some kind of idol that, if their perfection wanes, so does your attention to their teaching. Instead focus on the message and whether it will work for you. Many people find that it does, and it's that direct result that matters.
- ethbr0 4y agoShortsighted people look at a teacher and say "You're only teaching! I should be learning from someone doing." Or a million other excuses. But when it comes down to it, everyone on this planet could teach at least one useful thing to anyone else.
- medion 4y agoIf you want to learn sword smithing, do you take notes from a sword smith who can barely make a sharp blade? Or a master sword smith who embodies their craft to the highest level? I suppose the former might have some unpracticed insights by stealing them from others, but the latter is where I’d be most interested. On teachers - I know relationship counselors who can’t even have a functioning relationship themselves, and yes I suppose maybe they have some pithy takes on how to have a relationship and also some theoretical knowledge, but I like taking my lessons from doers.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- bagpuss 4y agothis is a nice piece of music by Nuages which features some passages from Alan Watts https://youtu.be/9RMHHwJ9Eqk https://youtu.be/9RMHHwJ9Eqk
- alexvoda 4y agoIs there a name for this genre of music remixing speeches?
- d4rkp4ttern 4y agoI like this piece of music that has an AW speech track https://youtu.be/PfIYGaslVnA https://youtu.be/PfIYGaslVnA
- oh_sigh 4y agoWhile I don't think blindly emulating successful people will necessarily make you successful, I am even more confident that taking life advice from an abusive alcoholic is an even worse idea.
- augustuspolius 4y agoWho is that healthy perfect human we should all be taking life advice from?
- HKH2 4y agoThere's a vast gap between being an abusive alcoholic and being perfect. Do the people who give good advice have to be famous?
- augustuspolius 4y agoWhat does fame or being an alcoholic have to do with giving good advice? Watts was smart, insightful, highly versed in philosophy and religion. Does being an alcoholic or a smoker or <choose your transgression> negate that? Edit: it’s really sad that you would summarize this complex man as an “abusive alcoholic”. He dedicated decades of his life to learning and sharing knowledge, inspired millions of people, certainly advanced Western philosophy. In his late years he drank heavily - 30-something years after publishing his first book. What an unforgiving hypocrisy! A man with such a complicated story, a difficult relationship with his dad, failed marriages, just human drama that _all_ people have or will experience in their lifetime… what right did he have to disappoint you so tremendously?
- HKH2 4y ago> What does fame or being an alcoholic have to do with giving good advice? You asked the OP to name someone, so presumably you're after someone famous. > Watts was smart, insightful, highly versed in philosophy and religion. Does being an alcoholic or a smoker or <choose your transgression> negate that? Not necessarily. Giving advice about those things is a separate matter though. > Edit: it’s really sad that you would summarize this complex man as an “abusive alcoholic”. He dedicated decades of his life to learning and sharing knowledge, inspired millions of people, certainly advanced Western philosophy. In his late years he drank heavily - 30-something years after publishing his first book. What an unforgiving hypocrisy! A man with such a complicated story, a difficult relationship with his dad, failed marriages, just human drama that _all_ people have or will experience in their lifetime… what right did he have to disappoint you so tremendously? I was using the OP's words. Was he an abusive alcoholic or not?
- zppln 4y agoWhile I do find Watts pretty based overall, some of his talks do give me that TED talk vibe, i.e. man on stage who says things that sound intelligent and an audience of middle class people sitting there spellbound and thinking they're educating themselves, whereas in reality most of them will forget everything they heard during the drive home.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- thisiswater 4y agoIn counterpoint, the wisdom and knowledge that Watts delivers has massively helped me out of chronic mental health problems (being the middle class white target audience). The thing I really enjoy about Watts, and what seems this article seem moot, is that lazy mysticism is half the point. He is offering a counterweight to social pressure and an 'age of anxiety' by suggesting new points of view in which desperate clawing and ladder climbing are absurd. He says very clearly not to take him too seriously, because he's not offering a new totalizing point where you should be anxious about nothing - just showing that there is an alternative, and you are poorer for not having considered it. And if that doesn't work for you, no worries, he's a lazy mystic not a preacher.
- radley 4y ago> lazy mysticism is half the point Heh, well said. It's zen meets scotch.
- nullish_signal 4y agoWatts said he enjoyed Speaking because he enjoyed hearing himself Talk And if anybody should start getting Giddy over any great Pearls of Wisdom he delivered, he said that it would be like a Thief returning a Pocket Watch they had just taken from you - Humans are already equipped to exist in Nature, and whatever Watts says doesn't change that He's not delivering Weather Forecasts or Road Conditions (Facts upon which to Deliberate) - He's populating Silence with the Word of Alan Watts, and if tomorrow you don't remember all of the words then so what? There will be more words.
- jessermeyer 4y agoThis piece accusing Watts of laziness is just as guilty. `It’s true that Buddhism, and particularly Zen Buddhism, teaches that we are perfect just as we are, we have merely forgotten our true nature.` As someone who has studied Zen Buddhism for a few decades, you will be very hard pressed to find anyone practiced in it refer to the words 'true' and 'perfect' so casually. True is only meaningful with respect to an abstract system of rules, and this extends likewise to perfection. You need an external metric to determine what is, and by the same token, is not, perfect. Zen Buddhism teaches people how to experience the world independent of that part of your mind that is actively categorizing the world into true, false, imperfect, perfect, etc. To experience your own experience of life as directly as possible, without mediation through your linguistic centers or moral philosophies. Since we're programmers, one analogy would be to reduce all those needless abstractions in the call stack down to the essential turing-complete read/write add/sub and jump instructions. So Alan is forcing an important point on the Yogi. You can only know or define enlightenment with respect to an abstract system of thought. Remove the abstraction, and there is a complete liberation. No meaningful way to form distinctions. "Doesn’t he see the Brahman everywhere, and in all people, all beings". All becomes one. There is no difference between the enlightened and the non-enlightened in the non-conceptual world. Which is the world that Zen teaches how to experience, if for no other reason than to reveal that it is possible, and provide a renewed perspective on the seemingly ordinary miracle of conscious life.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- 09bjb 4y agoWish I could upvote this one ten times, or a hundred. Thanks for taking a little time to type it up.
- oldstrangers 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- pvg 4y agoPlease don't complain about tangential annoyances—things like article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- delecti 4y agoI thought the same thing. I had to modify the site CSS to even manage.
- labrador 4y agoI used to criticize Watts for what I thought was not practicing what he preached: he died of alcoholism. That was until I suffered late-stage alcoholism myself. Fortunately, in the modern era I had available all kinds of help not available to Watts at the time. Very people in those days escaped the ravages of late-stage alcoholism, enlightened or not. Edit: See also Jack Kerouac
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- shrimpx 4y agoBuddhism and Christianity make it sound like you have to be perfectly clean and disciplined to be “enlightened”, causing feeling of guilt and failure when you stray from the behavioral/moral prescription. Indians like Siddarameshwar and Nisargadatta were addicted to tobacco. Nisargadatta (who claims he was in the “highest state” and I have no reason to doubt it) died of throat cancer due to hardcore smoking of cloves. When pressed about his addiction he would say “When I showed up in this body I found it with certain habits and didn’t see any reason to interfere.”
- zozbot234 4y ago> feeling of guilt and failure when you stray from the behavioral/moral prescription. Those feelings are caused by attachment and craving. Learn to let go of your attachments; that's a big part of the "discipline" that's conducive to spiritual practice.
- labrador 4y agoI agree with this. We are always going to have to deal with our cravings. I find The Seven Deadly Sins to be a useful model of what to try to avoid.
- ewzimm 4y agoThis is specifically mentioned in Buddhism as one of the ten hindrances, "sīlabbata-parāmāso," attachment to rules and rituals. In Christianity, this is similar to the idea of works-righteousness which was the basis of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. In either case, spiritual practice would be meaningless without passing through the messiness of life and learning from mistakes rather than dwelling on them.
- osigurdson 4y agoWhat I find incredible about Watt's history is how so many of his talks were recorded with fairly high fidelity. There was almost nothing that could have been done with these in the 60s, yet they were preserved for 40 years until an appropriate distribution mechanism materialized. I do like his content but there is almost kind of a defeatist element to it. I often wonder if this somewhat dark shading was, in part, due to the alcoholism.
- thisiswater 4y agoI disagree about the defeatism. Acceptance and "giving up" in the productive sense of not bashing your head against a wall and maybe doing something else are encouraged, but I think defeatism is part of a world vs me attitude which is exactly what he is trying to offer a counterpoint to. He also speaks about mastery as a key element to his philosophy, and to enjoying the world, and of discipline as being the key to mastery - I think, the opposite of defeatism.
- jodrellblank 4y agoOff topic, but talking about recorded talks, it bugs me that there seems to be no recordings of this: “In 1985, [Powell] Janulus entered into the Guinness World Records for spoken fluency in 42 languages. To qualify, he took a two-hour conversational fluency test with a native speaker of each language he spoke at that time. This testing took place over one month. Powell said that he considers himself skilled in 64 languages” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powell_Janulus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powell_Janulus That is recent enough that it could have been recorded on tapes or video and extraordinary and interesting enough to be worth it, but it doesn’t seem that it was.
- copperx 4y agoWhat about the TV interview? Is that somewhere to be found?
- a9h74j 4y ago> so many of his talks were recorded with fairly high fidelity Just a possibility here. I have the impression he worked for KQED TV for a time in the 1950s. That might have put him in touch with competent sound techs. I recall someone who was also at KQED at that time relating this: Alan Watts told her he would write a blurb for any book author who requested one. (Speaks to some flare for self promotion.)
- theonemind 4y agoI think we in the modern era have some tremendous advantages in understanding Eastern spirituality in light of developments in neuroscience, Western philosophy, and a longitudinal overview of several traditions like Advaita, Neo-Advaita, Taoism, Dzogchen, Mahamudra, Mahayana, and the original Zen. I think they point toward the ability to shift one's way of being in the world using one's whole capacity as a human being. Generally, an interconnectedness or oneness counts as a fundamental insight; however, I think these traditions have doctrines like karma so that such an insight does not become a regressive excuse for lackluster moral behavior. For instance, the human frontal lobes give us distance in the world, the ability not to react, to take a different perspective. This enables the Bodhisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism using the highest faculties available to man--necessary distance to be guardians of the world, not merely to, say, become stoically un-reactive, or to distance one's self from moral responsibility. The "supreme insight" preached by Alan Watts seems ironically potentially harmful if not well-understood and grounded, a flight crashed halfway so that it would've been better not to get on the plane--to let the original error of separation in through the back door, ethereal "insight" not bound together with the rest of relative existence. Spiritual traditions have these proverbial cracked jugs with real insight of a sort, like Chogyam Trungpa.
- duvenaud 4y agoCan you explain a bit what neuroscience adds to the picture? To use your example, once we know that humans can take a difference perspective, what does it help to know which structure in particular is responsible for that ability?
- theonemind 4y agoIt helps to know that the shift has a solid foundation, that it's not some kind of act one just needs to put on forever. We know, for instance, about mirror neurons, and that seeing some else's pain can light up some of the same parts in the brain of the observer. You can tune them out, or strengthen them. We know that the right hemisphere has entirely non-verbal modes of thought and generally sees the whole without breaking things into pieces--we don't have to put together some mystical oneness, but just tune into those aspects of our own being. Without understanding these things about the brain, I'd take pointing out the potential for transformation as just moralizing and conceptualizing, just a draining act to put on for all time. There's a solid foundation to build on--it will run on the hardware, it's not just emulation.
- slowhadoken 4y agoI got 10 words in and hit “prophet-of-rage Jordan Peterson” and tuned out.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- delecti 4y agoAmusingly that comment is what got me to read the article rather than just browsing the comments like I usually do.
- darepublic 4y agoWent on a spree of listening to Alan Watts videos on YouTube some years back during a major bout of depression. It was after accidentally stumbling across a programme about him on the CBC. The premise of his talks would intrigue me but honestly I didn't find much to remember in those talks, and the main benefit is they were vaguely comforting.
- ciroduran 4y agoIf you like Alan Watts, you should play the David OReilly's videogame Everything. Gameplay might seem a bit funny at first (with the rotating animals and such), but the gameplay along with Alan Watts' speeches makes a lot of sense. It's a wonderful experience!
- eternalban 4y agoSince Rumi was mentioned as one of the messengers of "joyful" spirituality, just for the record, Rumi extensively used the story of Joseph (as told in Quran) as a metaphor for the journey of the successful spiritual seeker. A key element of that story was the fact of 10 near-murderous 'brothers'. Also the fact that 11 stars and the sun and the moon bowed to Joseph in his dream. Rumi's mysticism very much belongs to the category of spiritual schools that assert the existence of an 'elect of spirit' among humanity, who further require 'training' under the guidance of an adept (the Pir or Elder) involving great demands on one's will power and mental states. (Which was basically the guru mentioned in the article's point.)
- globalreset 4y agoWatts is awesome. I sense lazy Millennial nihilism.
- addcn 4y ago“Letting go” doesn’t mean “giving up”. That won’t make sense written down unless you’ve done a whole lot of meditating.
- RHSman2 4y agoWell, if you have basic understanding of English you will. ‘I let go of the dog leash so my dog could run free’ ‘I quit holding onto my dog as he was pulling so much and that cat had it coming’ No meditation required
- addcn 4y agoTo be a bit less mystical than my original comment… I used to think “letting go” meant “giving up”… “Letting go” in the Alan Watts sense means being willing to give up on the means — not the outcome. I’ll let go of the way I’ve been doing things, let a small part of me die, so I have a better chance of meeting the outcome I am looking for. The psychological establishment might call that flexibly minded or low aversion to loss. Giving up is convincing yourself a difficult the outcome/goal wasn’t worth it — instead of finding new means to reach it.
- RHSman2 4y agoThe scripture says….
- dukeofdoom 4y agoTheatrics are a big part of first year science lectures. At least when I went. A lot of the chemistry lectures had demonstrations on the level of a Harry Potter play... special effects; kaboom and smoke in many classes. It made you feel special to be there. Alan Watts makes his audience feel special. Kind of like Sam Harris lulls his audience into feeling smart.
- Stamp01 4y agoAlan Watts is a sore subject to me. I've given his philosophies a fair shake and many don't ring true for me. However, I've met several people in the tech industry who are adherents. Whenever any conversation entered slightly philosophical in nature, which happens unusually often in tech in my experience, the individuals I'm thinking of would immediately ask, "Well, have you ever read or listened to Alan Watts?" I'd simply say something like, "Yeah, but he doesn't really do it for me." And I'm met with this condescending "You'll understand/agree when you get older (aka wiser)" response. I'm 35, not 15. Anyway, yeah, I'm sure it's not all Alan Watts stans, but isn't it weird that it happened 3 times? I now regard advertising Alan Watts as a red flag.
- thenerdhead 4y agoThe red flag is arrogance, not the author. It is worth separating the two.
- paraph1n 4y agoCan you elaborate on what doesn't "ring true" for you? It's an odd statement to make, since these aren't true/false facts we're talking about.
- Stamp01 4y agoFour times.
- asveikau 4y agoI don't think these people in the HN thread are trying to convert you and make you accept Watts, I think they want to understand what isn't resonating and how. I myself found Watts helpful a few years ago, but I got a little tired of what I perceived as his egotism and how he sort of defends selfishness. I imagine some of the issues in his personal life vaguely alluded to in this thread overlap with that. Still an interesting character. I think it's probably dangerous to go "all in" with a guy like Watts. Seems like it would put you vulnerable to a personality cult. He has things to say and he's flawed.
- nerfhammer 4y agoAt some point I realized his "solution" to philosophical problems was always to get really vague and hand-wavey
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- thenerdhead 4y agoWhile he couldn’t save his life, he surely saved a great deal of others. I will always remember listening to his lectures while going on runs during a dark time in my life. He helped me find peace, and introduced me to ideas I would probably have never found until much later in my life. For anyone to do that, I think we owe a great thank you.
- BashiBazouk 4y agoMaybe because I've been an ardent atheist since my mid-teens and an agnostic before that, I enjoyed listening to Alan Watts as a good explainer of how it all works. How the eastern and western ideas of spirituality differ and where they came from. He seemed very knowledgeable about that. I was never tempted in to Christianity, Buddhism or any other form of spirituality or enlightenment after listening to many of his lectures. The author of the link seems a bit resentful that other philosophers, especially those of the 60's and 70's had a lot more fun than him after reading this piece and a couple of others on his site...
- jrm4 4y agoBroadly, I think, what happens is that "wisdom can't be taught." New ideas can get thrown at you and it can be fun and exciting to play with them, but sometimes even the people putting them out there can't really handle it. I don't know about Watt's story, but that's 100% Jordan Peterson; the epitome of "smart but not at all wise." (I think e.g. Slavoj Zizek and Nassim Nicholas Taleb have correctly figured figured this out in their own ways. I think the former knows how much he's "trolling" sometimes)
- sammalloy 4y agoCalling it "mysticism" is missing the point of everything Watts said and wrote. It’s essentially anti-mysticism when you get what he’s talking about.
- AdolfLincoln 4y agoKkkk
- AdolfLincoln 4y agoComo isso funciona
- RHSman2 4y agoTry Peter Russell. A much more modern and sage man in my opinion.