Alan Watts's 1966 book, published by Pantheon Books, arguing that the ordinary Western sense of the self as a separate ego locked inside a body is a culturally taught convention rather than a fact of experience, and that this "taboo" against seeing through it is what keeps people fearful and alienated from the wider world and from one another. It draws its non-dual argument from Vedanta and Zen alike but is written as Watts's own case for a change in how a reader experiences selfhood, not as an exposition of either tradition's own scholastic terms.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability TierTier two: Alan Watts's own 1966 primary text arguing that the separate ego self is a culturally taught convention, drawing its non dual argument from Vedanta and Zen alike. It is written as Watts's own case for a change in how a reader experiences selfhood, not as an exposition of either tradition's own scholastic terms. NotesWatts's own argument for a change in the reader's experience of selfhood, drawing loosely on Vedanta and Zen; reliable as a primary statement of his personal non-dual philosophy, not as an exposition of either tradition's own technical vocabulary. 1 Citation
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Source Encyclopaedia Britannica: Verified Biographies (online academic reference)Encyclopaedia Britannica editors
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Verified Biographies (online academic reference)
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 2026View the Source Claims Backed By This Source (2 claims)
This source backs 2 claims across the atlas. As facts: 1 well-attested. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Historical Figures, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
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