Preview

Philosophers

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
34395 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Philosophers
Alan Watts
FAMOUS AS: Philosopher, Writer & Speaker
BORN ON: 06 January 1915
BORN IN: Chislehurst, Kent, England
DIED ON: 16 November 1973
NATIONALITY: United Kingdom
WORKS & ACHIEVEMENTS: Popular philosopher known for his Eastern philosophy and Zen teachings, Wrote famous books like The Way of Zen (1957), Psychotherapy East and West (1961), The New Alchemy (1958) and The Joyous Cosmology (1962).

Alan Watts or Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker who popularized and interpreted Eastern Philosophy for the Western audience. He attended the Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and received his master's degree in theology. He became very popular in San Francisco Bay Area as a volunteer programmer at KPFA, a Pacifica Radio station in Berkeley. Having written more than 25 books on important topics related to Eastern and Western religion, his famous books include The Way of Zen (1957), Psychotherapy East and West (1961), The New Alchemy (1958) and The Joyous Cosmology (1962). He also studied Chinese and was known for his Zen Buddhism, his reading and discussions delved into Vedanta. He was also interested in cybernetics, semantics, process philosophy, natural history, and the anthropology of sexuality.
Alan Watts Childhood & Early Life Alan Watts was born in a middle class family in the village of Chislehurst, Kent, England on January 6, 1915. His father worked for the London office of Michelin Tyre Company, whereas his mother was a housewife. Alan grew up in pastoral surroundings. Her mother’s religious family had a significant impact in shaping his religious side. From his childhood Alan was attracted towards the storybook fables and romantic tales of the mysterious Far East. Alan was believed to be headstrong, imaginative and talkative since his childhood days. From his early years, he was sent to boarding schools to receive academic and religious training. During his teen years, he got an opportunity to travel

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Philosophy Examined

    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages

    It is possible to interpret Freud as being committed to hard determinism. It is also possible to interpret Freud as believing in freedom.…

    • 1878 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Sixth Patriarch

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is a unique attempt at finding the true Buddha-nature of Hui-neng’s teachings, which are at the core of Ch’an and Zen Buddhist traditions. I would recommend this book to readers interested in the foundation of Ch'an Buddhism and the Zen ideology that arises from this type of Buddhist teaching and methodology. Although the Tun-huang has its limitations, Yampolsky’s translation is—by far—the most accurate translation an English-speaking reader can find in this sect of Buddhist teachings. Yampolsky provides an accurate account of the Chinese language in this text, which retains a highly objective and scholarly approach to The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch in the later half of the 20th century. I would suggest this book as the pinnacle of Western academic translation for the teachings of Hui-neng in the Ch’an Buddhist tradition. More so, this book is inspiring for all followers of Zen Buddhism, since it defines one of the earliest texts related to this adaptation of Buddhist thought in japan and in the United…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Enlightenment Philosophers

    • 3839 Words
    • 16 Pages

    The British philosopher John Locke was especially known for his liberal, anti-authoritarian theory of the state[->0], his empirical theory of knowledge, his advocacy of religious toleration, and his theory of personal identity.…

    • 3839 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Compare Browne and Nagel and give their arguments for why we should, or should not, be selfish. Give your own opinion and justify it.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Philosophy Ethicals

    • 4224 Words
    • 17 Pages

    1. There may be biological differences between blacks and whites which would affect the applicability of the findings…

    • 4224 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    philosophy

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    - understand that this is a debate regarding whether or not ethics is an objective or subjective discipline…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the enlightenment period there were many philosophers and thinkers. The philosophers were from all of Europe. They all had many ways of believing how a country should be ran and how people should have their own rights. I will be telling you about many philosophers including Thomas Hobbs, Baron de Montesquieu, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Adam Smith and more.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    While early in America's history, scholars, Transcendentalists and Theosophists knew about Buddhism, it was not until the early 1950's that most Americans heard of Buddhism. This greater exposure is thanks to the writers and poets of the Beat generation who took up Buddhist practice and incorporated it more blatantly into their widely published works. Later in the 1950's, Alan Watts began giving erudite public talks on Zen Buddhism. Shunryu Suzuki established San Francisco Zen Center and Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi established the Zen Center of Los Angeles. In the 1960's – the age of psychedelics – the more colorful Tibetan forms of Buddhism began to flower. In the 1970's, Insight Meditation Society, a lay meditation center, was…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Buchanan’s philosophy is that to enhance means to make better. Sandel agrees but, when talking about the human race, to play with the genetic makeup could very well exterminate the human race all together. If nothing else it would make the experience of life boring.…

    • 1326 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Buddhism Paper

    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In this paper, there will be a summary of the history of Buddhism and the life of Buddha, the basic teachings of Buddhism, and what makes the Zen Buddhism special school of the Mahayana Buddhism, unique. The Chan school of Mahayana Buddhism was created in China in the 6th-century C.E. Allegedly it was spread from Japan in the 12th century C.E. There was an Indian Monk and scholar named Bodhidharma that has the acknowledgment of conveying the customs from India to China. The core of his philosophy is he understood one did not need to learn sacred texts, worship gods, or do any complicated spiritual ceremonies to reach insight. He sensed that an individual needed to come through their limitations of conformist thinking by using meditation and feeling their realm, as it is, in this instant. Zen supports that this was the approach the Buddha himself achieved enlightenment. There are two major sects of Zen Buddhism one is Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen, and they developed various methods to achieve this enlightenment, which includes zazen (just sitting), meditation. So who is this Buddha, and what was his life like ("The Life Of The Buddha", 2015)?…

    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Philosophy

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cite your sources and provide a Works Cited page. Failure to cite sources constitutes plagiarism. (If you are using websites, I recommend putting their URLs etc. in footnotes.)…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    philosophical skeptics

    • 372 Words
    • 1 Page

    Define knowledge, defend your definition, and explain it using examples. (2) Do likewise for skepticism, and set out at least two skeptical arguments in standard numbered premise conclusion form. (Choose from the illusion argument, the dream argument, the evil demon argument or the brain in a vat argument.) (3) Critically evaluate these arguments, considering possible objections and responses. (4) Finally, try to answer the following questions: Should we be philosophical skeptics or not? What, if anything, can we rightly claim to have knowledge of? Make sure that your paper is about 5 pages/1500 words in length, and typed double-spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font. Submit it both via SafeAssign and in hard copy, follow the guidelines below, and cite sources using MLA style.1…

    • 372 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Key Philosophers

    • 4709 Words
    • 19 Pages

    Immanuel Kant: The German Philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is one of the central figures in Modern Philosophy. In the The Methaphysik der Sitten (1797) (Methaphysics of Ethics) Kant described his ethical system.…

    • 4709 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hermann Hesse Siddhartha

    • 40429 Words
    • 109 Pages

    poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The…

    • 40429 Words
    • 109 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Christian Philosophers

    • 9122 Words
    • 37 Pages

    Augustine was born in 354 in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa. His father, Patricius, was a pagan, and his mother, Monica, was Christian. Scholars believe that Augustine's ancestors included Berbers, Latins and Phoenicians. Augustine's family name, Aurelius, suggests that his father's ancestors werefreedmen of the gens Aurelia given full Roman citizenship by the Edict of Caracalla in 212. Augustine's family had been Roman, from a legal standpoint, for at least a century when he was born. It is assumed that his mother, Monica, was of Berber origin, on the basis of her name, but as his family were honestiores, Augustine's first language is likely to have been Latin. At the age of 11, he was sent to school at Madaurus (now M'Daourouch), a smallNumidian city about 19 miles south of Thagaste. There he became familiar with Latin literature, as well as pagan beliefs and practices. While at home in 369 and 370, he read Cicero's dialogue Hortensius (now lost), which he described as leaving a lasting impression on him and sparking his interest in philosophy.…

    • 9122 Words
    • 37 Pages
    Powerful Essays