illegitimatt Posted October 19, 2014 Posted October 19, 2014 Alan Watts is a philosopher, and many people have posted videos of his seminars, I used to listen to a lot of them and really felt like this guy understood reason, at least to some degree. I don't know much about his personal life. I was wondering what the breakdown of this guy is and I couldn't think of a better place to ask. So, if anyone knows about him and how well he holds up to upb, logic & reason, let's hear!
The Red Prince Posted October 19, 2014 Posted October 19, 2014 I've listened to Alan Watts for a number of years, and kind of served as a "proto-molyneux" to me, his stance on modern society is nearly identical to Stefan's approach, but the the obvious difference lies in his sympathy with religion. Looking further, his real philosophy lies in Advaita or non-dualism. Although a systematic mental negation of reality-- it is patently non-violent, atheistic, and therefore within UPB, it's fine. This philosophy is not imposed violently on any individual, and it bears some research, traditional monotheistic religions have a lot of problems with this. I wouldn't view Alan Watts as a philosopher in a pure sense, but an artist. Playing with thought concepts, and advocating a very creative non-violent way of life. 1
LovePrevails Posted October 20, 2014 Posted October 20, 2014 I am an Alan Watt's lover - it is a good thing for the internet otherwise much of his wisdom would have been lost. Thankfully he has found an audience.
fractional slacker Posted October 20, 2014 Posted October 20, 2014 For clarification purpose , are you referring to this Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts
CulturalHeretic Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 For clarification purpose , are you referring to this Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and populariser of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts Or Alan watt? http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Alan_Watt
William Wyatt Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 Earlier this year, I experienced some cognitive dissonance when heavily invested in both the perspectives of Watts and Molyneux. Perhaps I viewed them both as dogmatic bearers of universal truth, yet molyneux's lack of experience with Psychedelic drugs led me to some deep intense confusion in my search for a unified grand theory, which Watts seems to provide to some extent... 1
villagewisdom Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 How serendipitous is this? I have an interest in pantheism and just came across his work yesterday and was intrigued. So I'll be looking into his "philosophy" more. Any recommendations on where to begin? 1
kalmia Posted November 15, 2014 Posted November 15, 2014 I like listening to Alan Watts and Terrance McKenna for a perspective shift at times. It's like getting a second hand psychedelic effect. Both strike me as the type of people who would have really cool podcasts if they were alive today. 1
William Wyatt Posted December 4, 2014 Posted December 4, 2014 How serendipitous is this? I have an interest in pantheism and just came across his work yesterday and was intrigued. So I'll be looking into his "philosophy" more. Any recommendations on where to begin? Watch some of his podcasts then read "The Book: on the taboo against knowing who you really are"...
bootoo Posted December 4, 2014 Posted December 4, 2014 he died from drinking - of all the ways to live and die i liked his style
villagewisdom Posted December 4, 2014 Posted December 4, 2014 Watch some of his podcasts then read "The Book: on the taboo against knowing who you really are"... Thanks. Not sure why this took so long to get to my inbox. Anyway, I'm listening to a You Tube channel called Alan Watts Philosophy and have purchased the book. Thanks again.
villagewisdom Posted December 7, 2014 Posted December 7, 2014 I'm listening to lots of You Tube stuff on him now. It's very interesting and dare I say enlightening to me. Are there any Stef podcasts addressing his thoughts on Alan Watts? I'm hearing a lot of history of eastern philosophy in Watts' work and since Stef's background is history of philosophy I was wondering if he studied any of this stuff and what he thought. Can anyone point to podcasts discussing this?
fractional slacker Posted December 8, 2014 Posted December 8, 2014 I'm listening to lots of You Tube stuff on him now. It's very interesting and dare I say enlightening to me. Are there any Stef podcasts addressing his thoughts on Alan Watts? I'm hearing a lot of history of eastern philosophy in Watts' work and since Stef's background is history of philosophy I was wondering if he studied any of this stuff and what he thought. Can anyone point to podcasts discussing this? Never heard Stef mention Watts. FDR 802 is podcast of Stef's thoughts on Buddhism.
villagewisdom Posted December 8, 2014 Posted December 8, 2014 I just listened to FDR 802. Is the topic of science being the religion of the atheist and the scientific method is the 10 commandments discussed anywhere in this forum?
DCLugi Posted December 9, 2014 Posted December 9, 2014 The south park lads are Alan Watts fans and have some interesting videos. It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -Jiddu Krishmamurti anyone?
villagewisdom Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 I've learned some of Krishnamurti's ideas via the Theosophical Society stuff which is far too religious and preachy for me. But I just looked him up on Wiki and am now intrigued to understand his work in more depth. It seems he broke with Theosophy due to the same issue I just stated. Any recommendations?
Recommended Posts