An Evaluation of Watts
Peter J. Columbus
September 11, 2023 DOI: 10.4324/9781003385936-14 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Alan Watts's pantheistic mystical philosophy fails on four grounds: it cannot account for the validity of everyday consciousness, it conflates Christian and non-Christian mystical experience, it is self-contradictory in using logic against logic, and it lacks an adequate theory of experience for mystical experience. |
Abstract
This chapter is theistic critique Alan Watts’ mystical philosophy considered a type of pantheism. The critique is fourfold: (1) It is argued that Watts cannot account for the validity of everyday consciousness; (2) Watts conflated Christian mystical experience with non-Christian mystical experience; (3) Watts’ arguments are self-contradictory in that they employ logic in the rejection of logic and in support of non-logical epistemologies; and (4) Watts does not have an adequate theory of experience to support idea of mystical experience. Originally published in 1978, this chapter is supplemented with a new prefatory note by the author.