Watts Reading Response

Alan Watts thesis is what should a young man or women know in order to be "in the know"? (pg. 3 par.1) What Alan Watts is trying to say is that now a days there aren't really that many taboos because everything has been exposed and made into old news. For instance when he speaks of sex (pg. 3, par 2) he states that in the past adults made it much harder to speak about because of emabarassment and now a days teenagers sometimes know more about it than adults and this shows how ideas change over time. I believe it means to be "in the know" when you know the secret to life and happiness, it's just no one has fully found that answer yet. On the other hand I also believe that that people who have become close to that answer try and tell the world and other people but no one is really 'listening'.

Alan Watts' view on religion is that religion is one's own private business, (pg 4 par 2) and debating about your religion vs. someone else's is ignorance because who is to say who's is right. Also when you read the bible now a days it's much harder to understand because in our current society we have our own thoughts as to whats right rather than relying on a Bible or Holy Book for answers. Our world has evolved so much from the times of when people would strictly follow a Book that now when we attempt to learn about it people will just tell us to act holy and god like and we will be saved.

Alan's proplem with the concept of 'conquering nature' is that instead of becoming one and living together with our nature and the things in it we are trying to conquer it. We as humans will hopefully find out that by destroying nature we are in fact destryoing what our life depends on but humans are too concered with gaining power. (pg.8&9 par.3)


Watts describes the 'new experience' (pg 11) as a new feeling of what it means to be 'I'. What he means when he says that we don't need a new religion or new bible is that humans don't need to follow the same thought we just need something new to happen to us to feel like we are an individual. Or at least that's what I got from the reading.

He believes the purpose of myths are to make sense of life by saying what it is like rather than what it actually is. (pg.12 par.2) Also he thinks you should not confuse myth with fact because you will be living a misleading life and ignoring what is actually happening or going on. Myths are just ways to simplify life and make it more understandable.

Watts says that to find our own identity you should let life take it's course (pg.21 par.2) and take what you can get from life and learn by experience.