Nature, Man and Woman - Softcover

Watts, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0394705920 ISBN 13: 9780394705927

Publisher: Random House USA Inc, 1970

Synopsis

In Nature, Man and Woman, philosopher Alan Watts reexamines humanity's place in the natural world--and the relation between body and spirit--in the light of Chinese Taoism. Western thought and culture have coalesced around a series of constructed ideas--that human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled; that the mind is somehow superior to the body; that all sexuality entails a seduction--that in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotion, and our loneliness and reluctance to love. Here, Watts fundamentally challenges these assumptions, drawing on the precepts of Taoism to present an alternative vision of man and the universe--one in which the distinctions between self and other, spirit and matter give way to a more holistic way of seeing.

About this title

About the Author

Alan W. Watts, who held both a master's degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity, is best remembered as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. Standing apart, however, from sectarian membership, he has earned the reputation of being one of the most original and "unrutted" philosophers of the twentieth century. Watts was the author of some twenty books on the philosophy and psychology of religion that have been published in many languages throughout the world, including the bestselling The Way of Zen. An avid lecturer, Watts appeared regularly on the radio and hosted the popular television series, Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life, in the 1960s. He died in 1973.

From the Back Cover

That human beings stand separate from a nature that must be controlled, that the mind is somehow superior to the body, and that all sexuality entails a seduction - a danger and a problem - are all assumptions upon which much of Western thought and culture is based. And all of them in some way underlie our exploitation of the earth, our distrust of emotions, and our loneliness and reluctance to love.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Publication date: 1970
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394705920
• ISBN 13: 9780394705927
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224