‘A critique of culture’: Alan Watts, psychedelic Buddhism, and religious play in postwar America
Self & Society October 2, 2017 M. Shipley 1 citation
The post-World War II era in America, despite economic prosperity, saw religious revivals in evangelicalism and apocalyptic thought that reinforced neoliberalism and consumerism, leading to cultural and spiritual alienation. Psychedelics offered an alternative by fostering mutuality and compassion, as outlined in Alan Watts' work, which used them to reveal Buddhist wisdom emphasizing existence as absolute interconnection rather than difference. Watts' non-doctrinaire approach invites exploration beyond subjective selfhood toward an unselfish expression of the absolute 'other'.